She came forward and shook his hand. “Fifth and Fortieth, three years ago.”
He shook his head to indicate he didn’t follow.
“You’re trying to figure out how you know me. Three years ago, you gave my news van a parking ticket, and we exchanged…words. That’s where you know me from. I’m Ava Sims.”
“Well I’ll be damned,” Luc said quietly as the memory rolled over him. Legs had spotted Luc writing up her crew’s media van and gone all crazy on him, apparently oblivious to the cuffs and gun he carried.
He’d issued countless parking tickets, but rarely was he caught in the act of actually writing one. And when you were caught in the act by someone who looked like her, you remembered it.
She had tried to pull her hand away, but Luc held fast, just to mess with her. She sniffed in annoyance, but he didn’t miss that quick slip of her tongue over her lips.
He nearly grinned at her discomfort.
Yup. That zip of sexual chemistry was every bit as familiar as her legs.
Her eyes flicked to his mouth for a moment, and this time, he didn’t bother to hide the grin. The physical appreciation between them hadn’t faded.
But other things had. Ava had changed. She was still beautiful, but back then there’d been a sort of wildness about her. Hell, you had to be half-wild to get into it with a uniformed police officer on a crowded midtown sidewalk.
He had a fuzzy memory of her dark hair in one of those messy knots, with pieces falling down all over the place, her eyes sparkling with passion as she’d raged at him for obstructing her rights, or some hippie shit.
Somehow he couldn’t imagine this version of Ava Sims losing her cool over anything, much less a parking ticket. Not only was the outfit completely buttoned up and tailored, but her hair, while still sexy as hell, had an almost stiff look about it. The lips too were full and tempting, but they had the shiny look of that goopy stuff women put on them. Gloss, or whatever.
Still stunning. But different.
Luc didn’t break eye contact with the gorgeous brunette in front of him.
She was a couple inches shorter than his six-foot-one even with her high heels, but somehow she managed to give the impression that she was looking down at him.
Ava tugged again with her hand, and Luc tentatively released it, searching for the passionate woman he remembered. Instead, all he saw was icy reserve.
This wasn’t the wild, don’t obstruct my rights Ava. This was polished, TV-ready Ava.
He felt the loss more acutely than he should for a woman he didn’t even know.
They continued to hold each other’s gaze until Brinker broke up the moment. “Moretti, you were on traffic duty? I had no idea police royalty stooped that low. Were you grounded?”
Brinker laughed at his own joke, and Luc forced a smile, finally releasing Ava’s hand.
“Well, Officer,” Ava said with mocking respect, “it looks like you’ve come a long way from trying to impede on New York citizens’ First Amendment rights.”
Her voice was all sweetness and honey, but since Luc had a sister and a string of ex-girlfriends, he recognized her tone for what it really was: sugared venom.
He felt a strange surge of relief that she still had sharp edges beneath that tidy outfit and perfect makeup.
Luc moved a half step toward her, pleased that she didn’t move back. “Tell me, Ms. Sims, where in the Bill of Rights does it permit citizens to park next to a Stop sign, in front of a No Parking sign, just three feet from a fire hydrant?”
She rolled her eyes, which up close, he could see were warm honey brown. “Yes, thank God you were there at that moment to keep the city safe. I mean, just where would we be if you hadn’t been there to stop the local media from getting a shot of the mayor leaving a fund-raiser!”