Read Online All of Me by Gina Sorelle - Free Book Online Page B

at 9 o’clock at night?” he demanded.
    “Wait…what?”  Stella reared
back, hand still on the door.  “What do you mean?”
    “What I mean is, didn’t
you ever learn not to open your door to strangers?  Especially male strangers
and especially at night?”  He looked really pissed, which only made Stella
laugh.
    “You rang my doorbell!”
    His whisky eyes narrowed.  “You
open your door to everyone who rings the doorbell?”
    “Uh, no, but you’re a police
officer and not exactly a stranger.  You didn’t kill me the first two times we
met, so I guess I took a leap of faith.”
    Sweet Jesus, the man was
beautiful.  In a hard, sad, separated way.  And the way he was standing – long
legs apart, muscled arms across his chest, staring down at her like that – was
enough to make any woman swoon. 
    Even women who’d sworn off
swooning.
    Stella snapped to and flushed a
little when she’d realized she’d been caught staring at his bicep.  She’d spied
the tail end of some arm ink peeking out of the left side collar of his black
tee and she’d gone from admiring to panting in two seconds flat. 
    For some reason, she was really
grateful she still had her fake boob on.  Not that it mattered, but still.  
    “So, are you going door-to-door
performing safety tests?  Seeing which women are dumb enough to open their
doors to you and then chastising them when they do?”  Stella smiled, but
Officer Drazek’s grimace only deepened.
    “That was a joke.  A funny. 
Ha-ha.”  This guy wasn’t going to give her an inch.  “Alrighty then.”  She
dropped her arm and walked into her living room. “Come on in.”
    But when she turned around, he
hadn’t moved.  He was still standing on her porch, arms over his chest, giving
her the stink eye. 
    Stella threw her hands up. 
“Seriously, officer, you’re letting in mosquitoes.  If you’re here to kill me –
or for whatever reason - then come in and let’s get to it.”
    Moving as if he was entering
the bowels of hell instead of a tiny bungalow in Old Brooklyn, Officer Drazek
very slowly uncrossed his arms and stepped over her threshold.  And stood
there.
    “A little more,” Stella said,
laughing.  She went to grab his forearm to pull him in, but he jerked away
before she made contact.  It wasn’t an accident, but she instinctively knew not
to take it personally.  Because there was something about it that seemed
really, really sad.  Suddenly, Stella felt like crying.
    “Okay.”  She sidestepped him
and shut the door.  He smelled as incredible as she remembered.  She inhaled as
quickly and as discreetly as possible before heading back over to wine glass. 
    “I was going to have a glass of
wine.  Would you like something?”
    He shook his head. 
    “Nothing?  I have some beer for
when my dad visits.”
    Another silent shake.
    “Canoli?  Coffee cake?  A cup
of coffee?”  At his third shake, Stella exhaled a laugh.  “This is an Italian
household.  Guests don’t leave until they’ve eaten.  Or at least had a drink. 
You’re not gonna win this one.”
    He studied her for what seemed
like forever before saying, “I’ll gave a glass of water.”
    “How about a bottle?”
    He nodded.
    As Stella grabbed a cold Ice
Mountain out of the fridge, she called over her shoulder, “Do you mind if we
sit outside?  It’s so nice out tonight.”
    “It’s not necessary.  I-”
    Stella handed him the water and
unlocked her sliding patio door.  He followed her out, but didn’t sit down.
    She gestured to the other
chair.  “Sit.”
    “That’s not necessary.”
    “I know it’s not necessary, but
you can still do it,” Stella said.  She smiled and pointed to the chair.  “Take
a load off.”
    When he stood there, stoically
and motionlessly, Stella laughed again. “For me?  Please?  So I don’t feel like
I’m undergoing an interrogation?”
    Officer Drazek – Nathan –
finally perched himself on the edge of the