“I think I told you—she’s my sister’s best friend. My sister’s married...” He paused and grinned. “To a man—they’re not that kind of best friends. And my ex is a nice person, a real nice person. I admit, it threw me, but that was years ago. I’m over it. She’s happy, she has a good life, she’s successful...”

 “But you took some heat?”

 “I’m a cop, what do you think? There are some good women in the department but it’s still mainly a guy’s shop and yes, they didn’t let up for a long time. They still give it to me from time to time. But they also like my ex. Because she’s...” He shrugged. “Likable. But it’s mostly over now.”

 “Mostly?”

 “Well, there’s that odd first date when you have to explain your wife left you because she’s a lesbian...”

 “I’m sorry, I was very rude. I shouldn’t have found humor in it.”

 “You laughed your ass off,” he pointed out.

 “Well, just before that revelation, you’d been way too confident. So what does she do? Your ex?”

 “Nurse practitioner. We dated a year, were married a year, been divorced eight years, still see each other all the time because she hangs out with Bernie, my sister.”

 “It sounds kind of nice. Family-like.” She smiled at him. “Let’s have coffee,” she suggested.

 Before Logan knew what was going on, over two hours had passed and he’d had one of the best first dates he’d had in a long, long time. He found Riley to be funny, cute, sexy and smart. He was intrigued by how she built her business. He loved hearing about the way she grew up, the family’s struggles, the family’s close relationship.

 She never once mentioned Emma Shay and he grew hopeful that there was no strong connection between them.

 “Why am I telling you so much?” she said, well into her second cup of coffee.

 He shrugged. “I’m a detective. I know how to ask the right questions. I know when to ask them. But hey, I play fair—this is a date, not an interrogation. I’ll tell you anything.”

 “Anything?”

 “Pretty much. I can’t talk about cases I’m working on but you’d find that boring anyway. Riley,” he said seriously, “this turned out really nice. I think your mother catching you having a date broke the ice.”

 “I think you’re right,” she said. “And I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

 “Are you ever going to tell me why it was me?” he asked. “And why tonight was the night?”

 She wore a mysterious smile. “Maybe next time,” she said. “Or the time after that.”

 “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

 * * *

 Logan wasn’t allowed a kiss that first night, but she did make plans with him for the next day. She agreed to meet him Saturday afternoon for a movie and early, casual dinner. He took her to see a disaster film—a violent earthquake took out the entire west coast—and if it had been a test, it was a very successful one; she loved the movie and it had her nearly sitting on his lap through the whole thing. And then during a dinner of pizza and beer he was more than happy to tell her his life story.

 Logan’s parents had divorced because his father cheated on his mother when Logan was at a very vulnerable age of thirteen. Although his father never remarried and his parents seemed to have made their peace with each other, Logan wasn’t over it. “I’m thirty-eight, my dad has always stuck around, made amends as best he could, I get along with him as well as possible but the truth is, I’m still pissed.”

 “That’s a powerful grudge,” she said. “Remind me not to make you angry.”

 “Funny thing is, I don’t think I’m that kind of person, not really. I didn’t stay mad at my wife, did I? My sister’s fine with him. But we just rub each other the wrong way. And the rest of the family gets chronically annoyed with both of us. Maybe we just don’t like each other that much.”

 “Did you like him once?” she asked.

 “I worshipped him,” Logan said.

 “And there’s the problem,” Riley said.

 If that had been a second test, she passed with flying colors. She was good to talk to—perceptive and sensitive. Intelligent and compassionate.

 “Might be time to let that little boy in you grow up,” she said.

 And she made him laugh. For Logan, a laugh was almost as good as a kiss.

 Almost.

 On Sunday they went to brunch in Bodega Bay then drove to a hilltop that overlooked the Pacific. Once there, Logan got his kiss and it was so excellent he helped himself to several more. He got the message Riley was just as pleased because in no time they were making out like teenagers. And it was good. She tasted good, felt good, responded to him in a lush and delicious way.

 She stopped him. “Whew,” she sighed. “I’m not ready for more than that.”

 He smiled and kissed her nose. “That’s fine. You’re probably the smart one here. But you have to admit—we have ourselves a very nice start.”

 “Meaning...?”

 “Three dates in three days, good food, good talk, excellent making out...”

 “Yes... And now the workweek starts and...”

 “And?” he asked.

 “I have long hours, family obligations... I don’t usually have this much time to play around.”

 He hugged her close. “I’m not playing, Riley. And I understand about schedules, work, family. How about if I call you? How about we stay in touch? In close touch? Let’s work out when we’ll get together again.”