But what if he had someone there? She couldn’t come, so he got a replacement?

Stop, he isn’t Rick.

Swallowing that absurd thought, she drove faster to Benji’s, nearly bouncing in her seat. She was doing this. She was going to freaking do this.

Stopping at a stoplight, she grabbed her phone, texting him.

Lucy: Are you asleep?

Benji: No, I unfortunately slept on the plane thinking I was coming home to hot, naked butt.

Lucy: That sucks.

Benji: You have no clue. So if I suck at kissing tomorrow, we can blame you.

Lucy: Me?

Benji: You.

Lucy: Rude.

When he sent an emoji smile that had his tongue sticking out, she giggled. When the light turned green, she set her phone down as she hit the gas, taking off in a frenzy. She was ready to see him. Now. Turning into his community, she sang to Sam Hunt, loud and with no cares. She was so excited, so damn happy, and she felt good. A little guilty, but then Jayden was Angie’s family, she was fine. Lucy was doing this for herself. She needed this.

She missed him.

When she turned onto his road, she could see his house and a grin appeared on her face as she slowed to pull into his driveway.

But then she noticed a pair of blue lights flashing on his white house.

Looking behind her, she saw they belonged to a cop car.

That had his spotlight on her car.

“Driver, stay in the car.”

Stunned, she muttered, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

But this was Lucy’s life.

A fucking mess.

When blue lights started to flash in his window, Benji turned in his chair to see that there was, in fact, a cop car in front of his house.

At two in the morning.

Probably some dumbass drinking and driving.

“Idiot,” he said, getting out of his chair to shut his blinds since the lights were distracting as he tried to watch Netflix. He really didn’t think Lucy would be there, but a part of him hoped she would be. Because of that, he was annoyed, and this was not helping. As he reached for the cord to the blinds, he looked out to not only see the cop car, but also a car that looked very much like Lucy’s.

In his driveway.

“What the hell?” he said, moving to the front door and opening it. As he stepped out onto the porch, the cop turned, and sure enough, Lucy was sitting in the car, looking at him with a sheepish expression on her face.

“Sir, return to your house. Nothing to see here.”

Benji scoffed. “You’re in my driveway. Obviously, there is something to see,” he said, coming down from the porch.

“Sir, please stop where you are. I’ll be done in just a minute,” the cop demanded and Benji paused, Lucy slowly shaking her head. Even in the dark, he could see her face was beet red. “Ms. Sinclair, why are you driving over here so late at night? Have you been drinking?”

“No,” she said, frustrated. “My, er, friend, just got home from a trip, and I came to see him.”

The cop looked back at Benji, and he waved. “Hi. I’m the friend.”

Turning his back to Benji, he said, “Now, ma’am, you were speeding through a residential neighborhood.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I was excited to see him and wasn’t paying attention. Please, don’t give me a ticket. I get one more ticket and my license gets suspended and I have a kid, and ugh, I should have never left the house.”

“I agree, ma’am,” the cop said sternly, looking at her paperwork. “But give me a minute. Let me make sure you don’t have any flags on your record.”

As he walked away, he looked back at Benji. “Stay where you are.”

“Yes, sir,” he said as he sputtered with laughter, which did not please the cop at all. When the cop got in his car, Benji shook his head, meeting Lucy’s gaze. “Really?”

“Surprise?” she said with a shrug and he laughed.

“Only you.”

“I know. It’s so bad,” she said before letting out a long breath. “I just wanted to see you.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining, and if you get a ticket, I’ll pay it,” he said with his hands up in the air and she grinned.

“Shut up,” she said as the cop got out of the car and came toward her.

“Ma’am, are you related to Jayden Sinclair?”

Lucy’s face changed, dimples beaming as she cheered internally. “Yes, sir, I am. That’s my little brother, and I love him more than anything and he loves me. I’m his favorite.”

Benji snorted with laughter as the cop nodded. “You’re in luck. He’s my favorite player on the Assassins.”

“Really? He’s one of mine too, but my other favorite is Benji Paxton. He’s standing behind you.”

The cop paused and then turned to look at Benji. “Really?”

Benji nodded. “Yup. How you doing? Can I move?”

The cop smiled as he came over, shaking Benji’s hand. “Yeah, wow, it’s really cool to meet you. Great playing in Minnesota. I watched it in my car tonight.”

Benji grinned. “Awesome. Thanks, man,” he said, slapping the cop on the shoulder and taking in his name. “Listen, Edwards, call up the box office and there’ll be some seats for you come Monday, all right?”

Officer Edwards beamed. “Yeah, thanks, man!”

“No problem. I truly believe in supporting our first responders. I appreciate you keeping the streets safe from thug speeders like my girlfriend.”