Putting Out Old Flames Read Online Free Page B

Jane’s shoulders, and she smiled up at him.
    Chance looked at that arm and decided the man looked pudgy instead of solid, and his chin was decidedly weak.
    Weak chin whined to Jane. “I’ve got everything set up for us. You’re delaying the game.”
    â€œOne minute.” Jane tucked a shiny lock of hair behind her ear. “Leon, have you met our new assistant fire chief? This is Chance McGovern. Chance, this is Leon Gabriel. My date.”
    â€œNice to meet you.” Leon took Chance’s hand. Christ, his handshake was as weak as his chin. The man looked at the chief and nodded. “Finnegan.” He pulled Jane closer into his chest. “Come on. I want to get at least two games of Dominion in. No time to waste chitchatting.”
    With a smile of apology to the chief, Jane turned and walked to one of the tables where two other people sat waiting. Her snug jeans caressed her hips with every step.
    Finnegan took another pull from his bottle. “Leon is Judge Nichols’s bailiff. He really likes game night.” His lips twisted wryly, and he shook his head. “So. You and Dispatch Jane. There’s a history there.” The chief’s voice made it known it wasn’t a question.
    Chance hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “Ancient history. We were friends, then I went to college. We lost touch.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Finnegan finished his beer. “Jane’s a professional, so I’m not worried about your ‘ancient history’ affecting work. But a lot of people like her in this town. If she keeps glaring at you like you’re scum on the bottom of her shoe, it might be a little harder for you to make nice with the folks.”
    â€œI’ll make out fine.” Chance tried to keep the edge out of his voice. It wasn’t his new boss’s business what Jane’s and his history was. And surely Finnegan’s concerns were overblown. Everyone he’d met so far had been nothing but nice to him and his son. That wasn’t likely to change if they found out he and Jane had had a bad breakup a decade ago.
    â€œI’m sure you will,” Finnegan said. “But community relations are important. Especially with our fundraiser coming up. We don’t want to give anyone an excuse to give their money elsewhere.”
    Chance blew out a breath. “It’s not a big deal. Jane and I are fine.” He thought back to that card he’d left on her porch, the one that must have cemented in Jane’s mind his status as asshole for life. Hopefully she wouldn’t let that information get around town. He’d been just a kid, but it still wasn’t his proudest moment.
    â€œMake sure you are.” The chief turned and nodded at a woman walking past. “You and Jane have to work together to get this fundraiser going. If you two have any issues that will get in the way of your working relationship, sort them out now. A bouquet of flowers and an apology go a long way in soothing a woman’s ruffled feathers.”
    â€œI’ll take care of it.”
    â€œGood.” Finnegan clapped him on the shoulder. “What say we go find a game to join?”
    Chance followed his boss to a table with a Texas Hold ’Em spread. Unbidden, his gaze drifted to Jane’s table. She was laughing at something the woman next to her said, her breasts jiggling delightfully beneath the silk blouse.
    She caught him looking at her and scowled.
    It was going to take a lot more than flowers.

Chapter Three
    J ane reread the last paragraph on the page. The novel she’d found to be a page-turner last week just couldn’t hold her attention. The description of the hero cop now struck her as too similar to her former flame, and every time he was in a scene, she pictured Chance.
    Giving up, she placed a bookmark between the pages and tossed the book onto her desk. She spun in her executive chair and looked at the posters on her