Destiny Revealed (There's Always Tomorrow Book 2) (3 page)

“Wouldn't you rather sit inside?” Vance asks quietly.

“No, why?” Melina asks with a raised eyebrow.

Vance looks at her for a moment before shaking his head. “No reason,” he mumbles.

If he thinks that she doesn’t want to be seen with him, he's got another thing coming

A young male waiter comes over, introduces himself, and takes their drink orders. Melina orders a glass of wine while Vance orders a beer. Melina likes that he doesn't feel the need to impress her by drinking wine, too. The waiter doesn't agree, though, and gives Vance a disapproving glance before walking away. Sadly, Vance caught it, too. Melina sees his jaw clench and his body stiffen.

Great!

“You look so different out of uniform,” Melina says with a small smile.

Vance's eyes flick to hers. Melina is worried that she’s going to see anger, but sadly, what she sees is embarrassment. Melina frowns. The waiter made him feel that way, like he shouldn't be here with her, which is totally ridiculous. She can be with any man she deems worthy dammit.

“Why am I here Melina?” Vance asks, his gaze guarded.

Melina's brow furrows. “Because I wanted to thank you for helping me. And because I am attracted to you.”

Vance leans back in his chair and smiles mischievously. “Yeah, well, who could blame you?” He chuckles briefly and then gets serious again. “No really, Melina. I kinda feel like an ass sitting here with you. Being driven around, being picked up like a chick…” he mutters.

“I just figured that we would both be drinking, so I didn't want us driving,” Melina admits.

Before Vance can reply, the waiter comes back with their drinks. Vance takes a long swig of his beer, much to the distaste of the waiter.

“Have you decided on what you would like for dinner?” the waiter asks blandly.

“Not yet,” Melina says with a tight smile.

“Okay, I'll give you a few more minutes,” he replies, giving Vance a dirty look as he walks away.

“You caught that right? The way he looked at me?” Vance grunts, taking another long sip from his pilsner.

“Please, Vance. I don't care what anyone thinks and neither should you. It’s nobody's business but ours. I just want to have a nice dinner with you,” Melina pleads. She reaches across the table and covers his hand with hers.

Vance looks down at their hands on the table and Melina can see him struggle to relax. He takes a deep breath and brings his eyes up to meet hers. He gives her a sight nod. “You’re right.” He lets out the breath he was holding and his body naturally unwinds.

Melina smiles and affectionately rubs the top of his hand. “Thank you.”

Vance gives her a small smile and throws back the rest of his beer.

The rest of the dinner goes smoothly after that. Vance ignores the waiter, and once he has a few beers, he really starts to loosen up. The first time he laughs, Melina's breath catches. Lord he is so handsome. He has an amazing smile and his laugh is infectious. They surprisingly have a lot in common, and conversation is easy and light.

The bill arrives just as they finish their desserts. The waiter walks up with a smug smile and offers the bill to Vance. He narrows his eyes at the guy and snatches the bill out of his hand, mumbling something about a tip after the waiter walks away. Melina stifles a laugh in her napkin.

“I got it, Vance,” Melina says softly then reaches across for the bill, knowing that he would never let her pay.

Vance glares at her. “You are not paying,” he snaps and looks at the bill.

Melina has to give him credit; he doesn't flinch, choke, or even make a face. She knows the bill has to be about $350 before tip. Vance calmly leans back in his chair and lifts his hip to get his wallet out of his back pocket. He pulls out four $100 bills and puts them on the little tray that the bill came on.

Vance looks at her, lifting an eyebrow in challenge. He is daring her to say something. Melina bites her bottom lip and that seems to please him because he smiles and crosses his arms over his chest. The waiter comes back, his eyes locking on the money and most likely calculating his tip.

“Thank you, I hope you have a wonderful evening,” the waiter says.

“I want change,” Vance says, his expression bland.

The waiter's eyes widen and he opens and closes his mouth a few times before he says, “Yes, Sir.” The waiter glances at Melina almost pleadingly before walking away. Melina shrugs.

The waiter comes back a few minutes later with Vance's change. He stands, pulls out a ten-dollar bill from the change, and slaps it into the waiter's palm. “This is because you’re a douchebag. Here’s another tip…learn to show a little respect to people, it goes a long way,” Vance says, looking down at the young waiter, who only comes up to Vance's chin.

The waiter swallows hard and nods before making a quick exit.

Melina laughs and gathers her purse before taking Vance's hand to leave the restaurant.

“I think you scared him,” Melina says as they walk out the door and onto the sidewalk.

“Good, that'll teach him not to be such a tool,” Vance growls.

Melina laughs. “A tool?” She giggles and pulls Vance to a stop.

Vance smiles as he looks down at her. “Yeah, would you rather I called him a jerk?”

Melina clings to the lapels of Vance's jacket while she throws her head back and laughs. She’s feeling a little tipsy, but it’s all good. She slowly stops laughing and looks at Vance who is watching her with a soft smile on his face. It makes her stomach flutter and her heart pound.

“You are so gorgeous when you laugh,” Vance utters softly, his eyes drifting down to her lips.

Please kiss me, Melina begs in her own head.

Melina smiles, unable to take her eyes off his. She feels one of Vance's hands leave her waist. He brings it up and cups her cheek, his fingers sliding into her hair. He leans down and presses his lips tentatively to hers. Melina sighs and melts against him. That must have been enough of a go-ahead for Vance because his arm tightens around her waist and he uses his hand on her face to pull her into a deeper kiss.

Melina has died and gone to heaven. She slips her hands under his t-shirt and around to his muscled back. His skin feels so good under her palms, so hot. Vance groans and tilts his head to get even closer as he slips his tongue between her parted lips. My god, is he a good kisser, probably the best Melina has ever encountered. Plus, there just seems to be an extra spark there, something she's never felt with anyone else. He’s kissing her like they’ve been doing it forever, not for the first time. She has a feeling that she's met the man that she is going to spend the rest of her life with.

Vance pulls away reluctantly. They are both panting. She tries to make eye contact, but he quickly lowers his eyes, seemingly thinking of something serious. Melina can’t figure out what’s running through Vance’s mind, but what she does know, is that she is unbelievably turned on. And she never gets that way from just a kiss. She also knows that Vance is turned on because she felt his very large erection pressed against her belly.

“Mmm, kiss me again,” Melina breathes, her lips brushing against his.

Vance sucks in a sharp breath and pulls back. “No, if I kiss you again, I won't be able to stop,” he groans and steps back. “We need to go,” he mutters and takes her hand as he starts toward where the car is parked down the block.

Chapter 2

“Summers! Get in here!” booms Chief Shawn Peterson’s deep voice as Vance walks by his office on his way into the station on Monday morning.

Vance shakes his head, trying to clear it.  Every time he sees Chief Peterson, his mind swims with memories of his “partner” Shawn.  The strong, caring, supportive, loyal, partner Shawn.  The one who helped him solve murder cases and gave him advice about Melina. Not his control freak, egotistical, douchebag boss, the Chief. But then again, “partner” Shawn never really existed, did he?

Vance backpedals a few then steps into his boss’ office.

“Shut the door,” Chief Peterson snaps, his gaze furious.

Vance groans inwardly as he shut the door.

“What did I do now?”

“What the fuck is this?” Chief Peterson asks and tosses a magazine on his desk in front of Vance.

Vance steps closer and looks down at the tabloid magazine sitting there. The headline reads,
Melina's Hot for her Hero Cop!
And under it is a quarter-page sized picture of them kissing outside of the restaurant. There is also an inset of a smaller snapshot of them laughing at dinner.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Vance barks and snatches up the magazine. They are the cover story. Vance flips through to the article, which has more pictures from dinner and of them kissing outside. It goes on to tell personal information regarding Melina's story of her ex abusing her to how Vance got there just in the nick of time to save her, blah blah blah. And according to “inside information,” she and her “hero officer” are now dating.

What the fuck?

“Do you have any idea how bad this looks for the department, Summers?” Chief Peterson growls. No wonder he’s pissed.

“I had no idea we were being photographed, Sir,” Vance says, sounding stupid, even to him.

“Why the hell were you out with her anyway?”

“She said that she wanted to thank me for helping her. I haven't even talked to her since. It was a one-time deal...” Vance rambles, his arms flying all over the place as he tries to explain away his fuck up.

“Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me, Summers. You were caught kissing her!” Chief Peterson snaps.

Vance flounders, really having no excuse. “It won't happen again, Sir.” Vance sighs.

“You're damn right it won't! If I see any more pictures like this, you're going to be in deep shit, Summers! Drawing negative attention to this Department will get your ass a one-way ticket out the door. And screwing victims or potential witnesses is the dumbest way to go!” Chief Peterson shouts then points toward the door.

Vance takes the hint and leaves the Chief's office. He walks into the locker room and is immediately harassed by his fellow officers. They are all giving him shit about the picture, and he’s not surprised to find it plastered all over his locker. Great, he’s going to be the butt of all jokes until something happens to someone else to top this mess.

Vance sighs, he should have known better. He can’t even blame her because he kissed her, too.

Fuckin’ idiot, he should’ve listened to his gut and not gone out with her.

Vance pulls open his locker then starts undressing. He changes into his uniform while officer after officer comes over to screw with him. Some guys make kissing noises, and some give him pats on the back, while others rub up on him like idiots and make lewd comments. Vance feels like such an ass. He shakes his head in disgust, mostly at himself.

Vance gets home around five pm and goes straight to his room for a shower. Melina called him multiple times throughout the day, but he ignored her. He doesn't want to talk to her. He’s still pissed about the magazine and the likelihood that she knew full well what would happen. What pisses him off even more is the fact that the kiss they shared was mind blowing. Her lips were so soft and silky - just as he remembered - and he swears that they were made just for him. And her sweet sexy body still fit perfectly against his.

Ugh! Damn her!

Vance climbs out of the shower and runs his towel over his body to dry off some before walking out into his bedroom. He has his towel over his head, drying his hair, as he’s walking back into his bedroom. The female gasp makes him freeze. Vance slowly drags the towel down his face until his eyes meet Melina's. She’s sitting on his bed, her mouth hanging open, and her face beet red. Vance quickly slings the towel around his naked waist.

“What are you doing here?” Vance growls as he walks over to his dresser for a pair of gym shorts.

“I...Dayne...he told me to wait here for you,” Melina's soft voice stutters, obviously mortified.

“Fucking asshole,” Vance grumbles.

Dayne did that on purpose. He knew that Vance would walk out of his bathroom naked and that Melina would get an eyeful. Vance pulls on a pair of gym shorts under his towel then removes the towel and wipes down his chest and abs again.

“What do you want?” he grunts as he tosses the towel into his hamper.

Melina frowns. “You didn't answer any of my calls.”

“Maybe I don't want to talk to you, ever think of that?” Vance snaps nastily.

Melina flinches, making Vance feel like a shithead.

“I'm sorry about the picture, I wasn't thinking...” she starts.

“Oh, come on, Melina. You can't tell me that you didn't know there’d be paparazzi there. You get followed all of the time. You have your picture taken daily. I didn't think that you were that hard up for publicity, but I guess I was wrong.”  Vance slips on a t-shirt, needing to cover up completely.

Melina gapes at him.

“I hope you got what you needed because it'll never happen again,” Vance snarls.

“I wasn't trying to get publicity, Vance! I just wanted to go out with you. I never meant for our date to be exploited like that,” Melina argues, looking sincere.

But Vance can't let himself believe her. He needs to stay mad at her, but she looks really good, and he wants so badly to kiss her again.

“I got into trouble at work because of that fucking picture, and I'll be in even deeper shit if it happens again,” Vance says.

Melina blanches. “Oh god, I'm so sorry, Vance,” she says, dropping her face into her hands.

Fuck! He hates it when she looks so upset; it screws with his head and makes it difficult to stay angry.

“Is that why you wanted to sit outside?” Vance asks quietly. He has to know if she did it on purpose.

Melina's head flies up, her shocked green eyes locking onto his. “Is that what you think?” she whispers.

Vance shrugs. “I can't see any other reason.”

Melina shakes her head. “Is it really that hard to believe that I like to sit outside? It was a beautiful night,” she murmurs quietly, turning her face away, but not before Vance catches the tears rolling down her pink cheeks.

Vance plants his hands on his hips and drops his head back on his shoulders. He takes a deep breath and tries to focus himself by staring at a discolored spot on the ceiling. He hates when women cry, but with Melina, it’s the absolute worst. It just tears his heart out. She really seems like she’s being honest, that she never meant for this to happen. Dammit! He wants to stay mad at her, but it’s so hard with her sitting on his bed, crying.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Vance. I'm sorry,” Melina whispers, brushing the tears from her face.

Vance sighs and walks over to the bed.  He sits down next to her and takes her hand in his. “Don't cry, Melina. I’m sorry for yelling at you,” he says softly, running his thumb over her knuckles.

“I hate this aspect of my life sometimes - no privacy and everyone I associate with gets dragged down with me.” She sniffs. “Can you forgive me?” she pleads, looking up at Vance with her sad eyes.

Why does she have to be so beautiful?  He could never resist her.

Vance sighs and rakes a hand through his damp hair. “Of course.”

Melina smiles and it melts Vance's heart.  “I swear I'll make it up to you.”

Vance raises an eyebrow in question.

“How about I make you and the guys dinner tonight?” Melina offers brightly.

“You cook?” Vance asks, a little shocked. He just figured that she had people to do that for her.

Melina rolls her eyes. “Yes, I cook.”

Vance shrugs. “I'm sure the guys would enjoy that.”

Melina frowns. “And you?”

“Me, too.” He nods. “But I'm still mad; you need to give me time to get over this.”

Melina nods. “I understand,” she says and gives him a sad smile.

So Melina cooks dinner for Vance and the guys. This is an absolute first for them. None of their previous flings/girlfriends have ever cooked for ALL of them; usually it was only for the guy they were seeing. Melina seems to understand that they are a package deal, which makes Vance annoyingly happy. And damn she’s a good cook. Using some things that are already in the fridge and pantry, she makes a pasta and chicken dish that is absolutely delicious.

“Who the hell knew supermodels could cook like this?” Dayne groans around a mouthful of pasta.

Everyone groans and grunts in agreement. Melina just smiles and shakes her head.

“I can't tell you the last time I've had a woman cook for me,” Mike murmurs, digging into his pasta for another huge bite.

Melina frowns. “Really?”

“Mmm, my mom passed away when I was 13 and my sister...” He snorts. “Forget it, she's a horrible cook, burns everything.” Mike rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“She's not that bad,” Tripp mutters quietly, his eyes on his food.

Mike points his fork at Tripp. “You only say that cause you have the hots for her.”

Tripp's cheeks turn pink as he pushes his pasta around in his bowl. Vance smirks and nudges Tripp with his elbow since he is sitting next to him.

“Can you blame him? Shit Mike, your sister’s friggin’ hot,” Dayne says.

“Don't start, asshole. I don't want to hear about my sister,” Mike snaps.

Vance meets Melina's smiling green eyes across the table, feeling his gaze soften as he looks at her. His friends have never accepted a woman so easily. Especially Dayne. Dayne’s a tough one for women to get along with, but Melina handles herself just fine, and actually won her way into their hearts by cooking them dinner. Dammit, what the hell is he going to do now? They are still worlds apart without any middle ground to stand on.  Not to mention the Chief, who will have his ass.

Melina's phone rings and she excuses herself from the table. She walks into the other room to answer her phone so Vance has no idea who she’s talking to. But when she comes back to the table, her whole demeanor has changed. She’s tense and withdrawn and refuses to look at him, so he can't get a read on her from her eyes. What was that call about, and who was it? All he can tell for now is that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

The guys insist on cleaning up after dinner since she cooked. Silently, Vance pours her a glass of white wine and hands it to her while she stays seated at the table. He knows that something’s up, she can sense him watching her. She can't help it, though, she’s now scared out of her mind. The call was from her lawyer saying that Damien has been released on bail. Yeah, she has a restraining order against him, but that won't stop him. He has money and good lawyers to get him out of trouble. Melina sips her wine as the guys clean up around her.