Ladies' Man Read Free Page A

he’d never truly had a chance with Ellen. She’d flirted with him, sure. But that’s all it was. An insignificant flirtation.
    She’d probably already forgotten his name—let alone his phone number. She’d never call him. Why should she? He was just some potential psycho killer she’d met at the airport.
    He’d probably never see her again.
    Allowing himself a moment to feel totally depressed, Sam rested his forehead against the glass window, watching Alma’s jet maneuver into place near the gate. He wasn’t sure why he felt so bad. He met beautiful, vibrant, sexy women all the time. So what if Ellen Layne was more beautiful, vibrant, and sexy than most? She was also—as far as he could tell—a little bit older than most of the women he usually went out with. And from his experience, older women were far more often interested in commitment. And in the past, even just a hint of the C-word was enough to send him running for the hills.
    He should be glad she’d walked away. Anything he started with her—even just a single night—had the potential to be incredibly messy and complicated.
    But unlike the AA, Ellen Layne didn’t work in his office. He could easily walk away from the ugly end of their relationship, couldn’t he?
    He scoffed at himself. What relationship? The lady clearly wasn’t interested.
    And that was a shame, because he’d
really
liked her….
    “Hello, Sam. Don’t tell me you’re waiting for this flight too?” The voice was unmistakable.
    Startled, Sam jerked his head up so quickly, he smacked his nose against the window.
    It was her. It was Ellen Layne.
    He cared more about not looking foolish than he cared about the spears of pain that were shooting through him. He tried to straighten up in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner as he turned toward Ellen, hoping she hadn’t noticed that he’d damn near broken his nose again.
    Her brown eyes were brimming with amusement and concern. “Are you all right? I didn’t mean to startle you. Your poor nose.”
    So much for her not noticing. “I broke it about two months ago,” he admitted, letting himself wince as he gingerly touched his face. “I think it’s just really sensitive.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    He started to open his mouth, but he didn’t even get a chance to speak before she cut him off.
    “I’m not going to make it up to you by giving you my phone number, so don’t even ask.”
    “Why don’t you give me your post office box number,” Sam said, “and I’ll go in for a psychological evaluation and have the doctor send you a copy of the report. Will that be proof enough for you that I’m not some deranged killer?”
    She laughed. She had a low, husky, musical laugh that stirred his blood. “I’ve heard of people asking other people for blood tests, but sanity tests?”
    “Hey, this is New York City. Get used to everything and anything, babe.”
    The airline passengers were starting to disembark. Any minute now Ellen was going to meet whomever she was waiting for. And then this time she
would
vanish from his life permanently.
    “You know, I’ve lambasted men for calling me that,” she remarked matter-of-factly.
    “What?
Babe?
”
    “Mmm-hmm.”
    “Lambasted, huh? Sounds incredibly erotic.”
    Ellen smiled sweetly. “Oh, trust me, it’s not.” She stood on her toes, trying to get a look at the people getting off the plane.
    He had to do something. And fast. “I swear to God I’m harmless, Ellen,” Sam said, talking quickly. “In fact, I’m a cop—a police detective.” He took out his badge and handed it to her. “I’d show you my gun, too, but I’m off-duty, so I’m not carrying right now.”
    He’d managed to surprise her. He took that as a good sign.
    “A cop?” She took his badge and looked at it more closely, lightly running her finger over the gleaming gold. “This thing looks real.”
    “It
is
real. I’m telling you, I’m one of the good guys.” God, what was wrong with him? He was