“This is incredible,” I tell him, still taking it all in. Sheesh, even his light fixtures are beautiful. “Are you a decorator in your spare time?”
“No, but when I was in high school trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I considered it. My parents own a furniture store in Seattle, so it’s always been something I’ve had an interest in.”
“The paint, furniture, and countertop updates at the station make more sense now. I figured it was just the council wanting everything to be fresh and clean, but you chose it all, didn’t you?”
He nods. “Guilty.”
“I’m seriously impressed.”
“Thanks.”
Stepping forward, he gestures to the big couch. “Take a seat. Do you want anything to drink?”
The nervous feeling in my stomach dulled down a little while I was looking around, but now that we’re about to talk, the nerves are doubling back in full force.
I assumed he’d sit on the loveseat, but that goes out the window when Boo jumps onto it and spreads out. For a not-huge dog, she takes up a lot of room when she wants to. Even though the seat Tyler takes is on the other end of the couch, it still feels oddly intimate, like we’re closer than we are.
“Talk to me,” he says. “You’ve been flat at work, you avoid me when you see me walking down behind the houses with Boo, and the way you looked out on the street made it clear something big is bothering you.”
I swallow nervously, twisting my fingers together in my lap as I choose my words. “It’s about Rita,” I begin.
He lets out a hiss of breath, and I tense up. Crap. He’s not going to listen to me.
“Never mind. Let’s forget—”
“Stop doing that. I don’t want you to shut me out or avoid me or treat me like someone you don’t want to know,” he says, his voice rough.
My head comes up in surprise, and my eyes fly to meet his. When they do, I see he’s staring at me imploringly. The message he seems to be sending, quite intently, is don’t run away.
“I don’t want to piss you off,” I blurt.
“Babe. Please. Stop hiding. It’s fucking killing me.”
His words—specifically the use of the word babe—cause my pulse rate to quicken. He looks frustrated as hell, which somehow makes him even hotter. God, my hormones around this man are all over the place.
“Ashley,” he rumbles, his voice low. “Talk.”
I close my eyes for a few seconds to gather my thoughts—and to cut off my line of sight to him so I don’t combust. I need my wits about me for this.
Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and go for it. “When I answer the phone at the precinct and Rita is on the other end, she’s extremely inappropriate. Today, she told me my voice sounds fat. Yesterday, she said my ass is too big to wear jeans. Last Wednesday, she spent ten seconds mooing. The day after, I answered the phone to her moaning and calling your name. She says lewd things about having sex with you. She continuously calls me a fat, stupid whore, and those are only the things I’m willing to repeat. The rest of it is pure filth, which is really saying something, considering the things I’ve already told you aren’t great either.”
“That. Fucking. Bitch,” he spits.
“Yes, well—”
His eyes are full of frustration as he cocks his head. “Why the fuck didn’t you say something to me about this before?” he asks, his tone incredulous.
I narrow my eyes. “What did you want me to say?” I ask, defensively. “Your ex-girlfriend is a stone-cold psychopath who’s out to make my life miserable? I’ve kept my mouth shut, because there’s no upside to this for me, and aside from her, I like my job. I don’t want to quit, but she’s making it damn hard.”
“You’re not quitting,” he growls. “You never needed to be afraid to talk to me about this either. I can’t stand the bitch.”
I cross my arms over my chest and cock my head. “That’s weird, considering you take her calls every day.”
He blows out a frustrated breath as he runs his hands through his hair. “I take her calls, because I don’t know what the fuck else to do. If you paid any attention, you’d notice that when I talk to her, I hang up in under thirty seconds—and normally, it’s more like five to ten seconds. She’s a fucking nut, a liar, and a goddamn nightmare, full stop. I’ve been trying to stay cool, because I’ve got a goddamn public job and I didn’t want to blow up and have everyone gossiping about me. I can’t be an effective chief of police if I’m a joke to the people of the Cove, but I’m done trying to deal with this quietly. Going after you was a step too far.”