Troping Through the Snow by Alexa Riley

“Morning.” I give her a smile before dropping my gaze so that I don’t have to meet Jack’s glare.

“Morning to you, too,” Jack mutters.

I ignore him, which is something I’m terrible at. Biting the inside of my cheek, I don’t say a word as I scream internally. Picking up the frosted donut that’s covered in green and red sprinkles, I shove the last half of it in my mouth. That should do the trick.

“Maybe I should have the donut. It must be good.” Emily laughs as I chew with my cheeks puffed out. I bet I resemble a chipmunk right about now.

My eyes catch Jack’s, and once again he’s staring right at me. Emily moves to the counter, her attention now on the display case, checking out the donuts.

“You got a staring problem?” I say as I swallow the rest of my donut.

“Is that against the law?” Jack smirks, and I loathe his cocky tone. Why is it reserved only for me?

I’m in my uniform, and although I’ve never really been self-conscious about my body or looks, seeing Emily, the perfect blond Christmas tree topper, has my uniform feeling a bit snug.

“You break enough of those, don’t you think?” I toss back at Jack-ass.

“I’ll swing by City Hall and take care of those tickets later.” He winks at me, and I grind my teeth.

“You do that,” I snap back. Frostie’s and Emily’s eyes bounce between the two of us, and Emily’s brows are raised all the way up. “You ladies have a great day. Love the heels, Emily,” I say sweetly. I hate that Jack can bring out the snippy side of me like nobody else.

I get along with everyone in Troping. Hell, I know everyone too. So why is Jack so different? Why does he go out of his way to aggravate me and push my buttons when he doesn’t even give me the time of day?

Tossing my wrapper away, I take my coffee and head out to my patrol car. Once I’m inside, I pull up the records of all the tickets I’ve given Jack.

Sure, there are a lot, but that’s because I clock the man for anything I can. It doesn’t matter how small the crime is, I have this need to irritate him as much as he irritates me. It’s not as though he can’t afford the tickets.

A smile pulls at my lips when I see today is the last day he has to pay the one I’d given him for parking in the handicap spot. If he doesn't, a bench warrant will go out for his arrest.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t fully parked in a handicap spot, and the tire of his SUV was on the line, but I really hope he forgets to swing by City Hall and take care of it.

I’ve never actually gotten to arrest anyone before, but I wouldn’t mind Jack being my first.





CHAPTER 2





JACK





“What’ll it be?” Frostie asks, and I turn my attention away from the window where I watch Tinsel grinning like she’s the cat that ate the canary.

“Just a coffee please. The usual.”

“Caramel macchiato with a sprinkle of cinnamon?” she asks, and I nod.

“Hey, Frostie, can I ask you something?”

“Go for it.” She keeps making my coffee as I move down to the other end of the counter.

“When Tinsel smiles like that, should I be worried?”

She laughs, and Emily comes up beside me. “I don’t know what you did to her, but she’s always nice to me.” She thanks Frostie for the donut and goes over to chat with Dr. Grayson, who is having breakfast with her son.

“You two just won’t quit.” Frostie sighs and shakes her head.

“She started it,” I tease as I drop some cash in the tip jar.

“If I were you, I’d steer clear of her today.”

“And what would be the fun in that?” I say as I thank Frostie for the coffee, and Emily and I leave Snow Baked.

She used to come without me, but then she started mentioning that she saw Tinsel there every morning, and I decided to tag along. I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see the woman who occupies my every thought and maybe annoy her a little because of it.

Sure, she pushes my buttons, but I like to think I push all of hers right back. That’s what happens when you fall in love with your best friend’s little sister and she’s one hundred percent off-fucking-limits.

I remember the first time I saw her like it was yesterday. She was wearing a Christmas apron with little gumdrops on it, and some of her curls had fallen out of her ponytail. There was a little flour still on her cheek, and when she smiled, it struck me straight in the heart. I’d never felt like that before, and the only time I’ve felt like that since is when I look at her. Every fucking time I look at her, to be precise.

She stood there with bright eyes, lush curves, and a mouth made to suck—

“Yoo hoo, Earth to Jack,” Emily says, and it brings me back to reality. “You missed the turn.”

“Shit, sorry.” I drive down Candy Cane Lane and make a U-turn. “I guess I was distracted by—”

My words are cut off when I hear the sound of a siren behind me, and then I see blue lights in the rearview mirror.

“Five whole minutes?” Emily checks her watch. “That must be a record.”

“Not necessarily,” I disagree. “She got me that one time for littering when I dropped my coffee and then cited me for defacing public property when it splashed on the barber shop.”