Married Or Not?: Married or Not? / Ian's Ultimate Gamble

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Of course, it may be all one-sided, so if you’d rather not—”

“Uh, no. It isn’t at all one-sided.”

He settled back in the booth with a grin and said, “Good. Let’s hear it.”

“My life is very ordinary. I’ve been in school most of my life, it seems. Right now I’m taking a course in computer software and technical writing.”

“How about family?”

She shook her head. “No family. Parents died when I was fourteen. The aunt who took over caring for me died of cancer last year.”

“You’ve had some tough breaks.”

“Since I can’t do anything about the past, I do my best to look forward to the future.”

Their food arrived and they concentrated on their meal. Once they finished, Sherri looked at him and said, “Your turn.”

He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“How old you are…are you married…what about family? Those things. Oh, and why you decided to go into law enforcement.”

“Are you sure you aren’t writing my biography?”

“Depends on how interesting it might be.”

“Oh. In that case, you’ll be bored right away, so I’m safe.”

He paused. He didn’t like talking about himself. Hated it, in fact. However, if he wanted to spend time with Sherri…which he definitely did…he’d better give her some idea of who he was.

“Let’s see. I’m twenty-seven years old, never been married, got a degree and immediately went into the Police Academy.”

“Did you go to college here in Austin?”

Okay, no hedging. “Actually I, uh, no, I didn’t. I graduated from Harvard.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Really?”

“Yep.”

“Are you originally from the East Coast?”

“I have to admit I’m not a native Texan, but I got here as soon as I could.”

She laughed, which was what he wanted. “Have you traveled much during those twenty-seven years?”

“Some,” he replied.

“What made you come to Texas?”

“Because my great-grandmother lives here.”

“So what made you want to be a detective?”

“You know, there are times when I’ve wondered about that, myself. I guess I like the idea of being on the side of the good guys. I like challenges, solving puzzles, that sort of thing.” He glanced at his watch and said, “Which reminds me that I need to get back to work.”

They slipped out of the booth and he took her hand as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Uh-oh, Hogan, better slow down.

He paid for their lunch and they went outside. “I’ve got to admit, I’d rather run and play.”

She glanced up at him and stole his breath away. He’d never been so strongly attracted to anyone. What was going on with him, anyway?

They drove back to the station in silence. Once there, he walked her to her car. He opened the door and said, “I’d like to see you again, Sherri.”

Her green eyes sparkled. “I’d like that.”

“Okay, how about next Friday? We can grab a bite to eat, maybe catch a movie if you’d like.” And he would do his best not to seduce her. Unless, of course, she wanted him to.

“That sounds like fun.”

He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss. Anyway, it was supposed to be chaste, but when she responded so beautifully he might have lingered a little longer than he had intended. He straightened and placed his hands behind his back. At least he hadn’t grabbed her.

She got into her car. “Friday, then.”

“Around seven.”

“See you.”

He watched her drive away and already felt the loss of her company. Oh, brother, he had it bad. He’d known her less than twenty-four hours and he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. Ever.

Eight

Sherri really didn’t need the car on her way home. She could have floated there.

Greg Hogan had kissed her! He was practically a stranger and he wasn’t one to talk about himself much, so she really didn’t know much about him. Common sense told her that she needed to get to know him better before feeling so swept away by him.

She’d never responded to anyone the way she had to Greg. Of course, it could be a result of her dream. She certainly felt she knew him much better than she actually did. She got hot just remembering the dream.

What should she do? She’d said yes to seeing him again, but was that wise? She thought about it for a while until she came to a conclusion: she had no idea. All she knew was that she didn’t intend to cancel their date.

He’d graduated from Harvard? He’d chosen police work for a career? Greg Hogan was definitely a complex man…and so very fascinating, as well.

Once home, she forced herself to think about the homework she needed to finish before Monday. She was scheduled to work at the pet store this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. Her plans had been to study after dinner last night, but her study schedule had been abandoned while she dealt with the horror of what she’d seen.

Once she got home, she immediately focused on her schoolwork. All week she could enjoy the anticipation of knowing that she would see Greg next Friday.

She began to hum as she opened one of her books.

He tapped on her apartment door the next Friday at seven o’clock. Sherri hurried to let him inside. She’d had a crisis when it came to deciding what to wear. She didn’t want to dress too sexily in case he got the wrong idea about her. However, she did want to look attractive.