Sheriff Daddy’s Dreamy Little by Jess Winters

CHAPTER ONE

 

EVA

I could feel the vodka martini dripping down my shirt. All eyes of the guests were on me. I couldn’t believe this was happening, and on a busy Saturday night, no less.

I guess it was just my luck that my boyfriend—well, now my ex-boyfriend—had cheated on me with my best friend, then gotten so upset that I didn’t return his calls he decided to pour a drink on my head. At work. In front of all my customers.

“What the hell, Steve,” I hissed at him.

“Oops, my hands must have slipped,” he replied, shrugging as if this were just another casual conversation.

“I already told you I’m not speaking to you anymore. I quite literally cannot tolerate you.”

He leaned back in the booth and shrugged. “Like I said, my hand slipped.”

Across the table, my now ex-best friend snickered.

“Shut up, Lila,” I told her.

“Why? Remember, you’re supposed to be taking care of us. Should we report you to your manager?”

The movement was swift. I lifted the basket of fries, which had bene growing cold in the center of the table, and dumped them over her head.

“Oops,” I said. “My hand must have slipped.”

I rolled my eyes, turned my back, and walked away. Or rather, I tried to walk away, for seconds later Lila was yanking on the back of my uniform and dragging me towards her.

“You slut,” she hissed.

I would have clocked her if it weren’t for the swift intervention from one of the men at the bar. I didn’t see his face, nor his expression, only the shape of his muscular back as he closed the space between Lila and I.

“I’m going to have to ask you two to vacate the premises,” he said, voice calm and sweet as spun sugar.

“Us? But we didn’t do anything wrong. You saw what she just did, she poured fries on my head!”

I put a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.

“Was it or was it not your boyfriend who dumped a martini on her?”

He fumbled with the front of his jeans and revealed something from his pocket. Whatever it was seemed to deter Lila, for she rolled her eyes and said, “Fine,” before stalking off with Steve in tow.

The man turned around and I nearly lost my nerve. It was none other than Sheriff Josh, one of the men who’d just transferred to our precinct. I heard rumors about him, that he’d left a string of broken hearts in his wake.

He sure was handsome. Hot, even. He was definitely out of my league, with his tanned skin and honey-colored hair, which flopped over his eyebrows. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he was a surfer from the West coast.

“Are you alright?” he asked me.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked if I was okay. To my utter embarrassment, I started to cry in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” I said, waving him away. “Please don’t look at me when I’m like this, I’m normally not so fragile.”

“Nonsense, I don’t think you’re fragile at all. You seem like a girl who just got her heart broken by a snake, and maybe you’re in need of some protection.”

Assuming he meant I needed a new boyfriend, I merely shrugged as a response.

“I have to get back to work,” I told him.

This was a lie, of course. My shift was nearly over, and besides, I couldn’t have worked in those clothes—they were soaked through with the scent of cheap alcohol.

“Come on. I’ll take you home,” he said.

“Don’t you have to get back to work?” I sniffed.

He shook his golden locks. “Nope. It’s my night off.”

“Well that only makes me feel worse,” I groaned.

“Nonsense, I insist. Besides, it’s not every day I get to rescue a beautiful young woman like yourself. However am I going to repay the favor?”

My face turned every shade of red.

I turned around and mumbled to him that I would need to do my cash-out report with my manager, and we could leave shortly after that.

“Perfect. I’ll meet you back at the bar,” he told me.

I glanced over my shoulder and watched as he flagged down the bartender. Seconds later, I saw her rear her head back and laugh.

I told myself it meant nothing. As I walked to the back room to change, I thought about every single woman he had probably seduced. If the rumors were true, he probably already had a girlfriend—maybe even two or three.

In my locker I retrieved my cell phone, which had more than a dozen missed calls from Steve, including some volatile text messages. I rolled my eyes. What a piece of garbage he was.

Perhaps if Josh could help out, he might be able to create a restraining order against Steve. If I couldn’t capture his heart, at least I’d be able to earn his favor. Besides, he was a sheriff, it was practically in his job title to help me out.

Wringing my hair in the employee sink, my thoughts returned to Josh. His coy smile, the way he had not one but two dimples when he grinned. And he’d flashed that dazzling smile at me, of all people.

Another server slammed into the room, another  young  woman I didn’t know too well named Camila.

“Nice ride,” she commented, eyeing me in my tank top.

I quickly tugged my sweatshirt over my head.

“He’s just giving me a ride home and nothing more.”

Camila laughed. “I don’t know about that. Haven’t you heard the rumors? Josh is a player, I’m sure he’s in this for more than just a random act of kindness.”

I rolled my eyes.

“That’s not true, you don’t know anything about him,” I replied.

“Oh, and you do?”

“Yes,” I lied.

But god, did ii want him to touch me all over. I could feel myself getting turned on at the mere thought of him.

Like I’d said earlier, it was never going to work out. I wasn’t perfect enough, I’d grown used to this.

Grabbing the rest of my belongings, I headed towards the office to bid farewell to my manager. When I glanced out at the bar, I found it surprisingly empty.