Page 15 of Head Over Heels

Her gaze flew to her speedometer, which read ninety-five. She eased off the gas and started praying, watching the cop car get farther away in her rearview mirror.

Please don’t pull me over. Please don’t pull me over. Please, please, please.

Just as she thought she was safe, the car did a U-turn and the lights started flashing.

Shit!

Heart pounding, she slowed down and eased to the side of the road. Was it too early to throw Charlie’s name around?

Charlie Radcliff was the county sheriff, this cop’s boss, and they were friends. Didn’t that mean she automatically got out of tickets? Would that even work? Okay, she’d feel out the cop and make a decision on the fly on whether to drop Charlie’s name. Besides, she was good at talking her way out of trouble; maybe it wouldn’t even be necessary.

She came to a stop and the car pulled in back of her. Even if she didn’t drop Charlie’s name, she had a ready plan for handling the police. She was always prepared with her license and registration. She was extremely nice, cheery, and full of bright smiles. She never made excuses, was apologetic, and took full responsibility for her actions.

It got her out of tickets nine times out of ten.

While the cop got out of the car, Sophie busied herself getting out her license, registration, and current insurance card. She managed to get it all together and fix most of her brilliant smile on her lips as the shadow fell across her car.

“I’m so sorry, Officer,” she said in her most sunny voice as she turned to the man in uniform. She looked up—and up and up.

The smile fell away as she stared into a pair of mirrored sunglasses and the face of her nightmares.

“You!”

Ryder cocked a grin. “Me.”

No way. She glared at him. “There’s no way you’re a cop.”

“But I am. Chief deputy sheriff, to be exact.”

She could only stare at him in complete horror. “This has got to be a joke. I don’t believe you. Let me see your badge.”

He shook his head and took out a black leather case, flipping it open and handing it to her. “What, do you think I rented a uniform, complete with cop car, on the off chance I’d spot you on the road and could pull you over?”

Okay, that did sound ridiculous. But still, how in the hell could Ryder be a cop? What kind of justice was there in this world? She studied the title under his name and handed it back, ignoring his barb. “What exactly is a chief deputy sheriff?”

He flashed her that wicked grin. “It means I’m the sheriff’s second in command.”

Why? Why is this happening to me?Stupidly, she sputtered, “But that’s impossible.”

Between Charlie and Ryder, the women in this town had to be begging to get arrested. Her mind instantly filled with a fantasy of late-night traff ic stops on deserted roads, being handcuffed and pushed facedown on the hood, legs spread.

She shook it away. This was not the time.

“Afraid not.” He put his arm on the edge of her window. “Do you know how fast you were going, darlin’?”

Oh God, this was some brand-new fresh version of hell.