Free Borrowed Baby by Marie Ferrarella

wrong at the very last minute.
    "Hey, man, it is you," C.W. cried. He stood on one side of Griff as Ernie flanked Liz.
    Ernie eyed Liz and it was plain to Griff that there was nothing short of appreciative hunger in the older man's eyes. Griff found himself edging closer to Liz and putting his body between the two of them.
    "Yeah, it's me." He seemed loath to say anything else.
    Liz took the bull by the horns. She extended her hand to C.W. since he was the closer of the two. "Hi, I'm Liz MacDougall."
    C.W. took her hand in his with no hesitation. "I'm C. W. Linquist."
    "Ernie Brewster." Ernie lost no time in edging C.W. out of the way and taking Liz's hand himself. "I work very closely with Griff." He looked over toward Griff, who was scowling. "Well, maybe not that closely." He gave Liz a broad smile.
    "Hey, Griff, I like your lady." C.W. gave him a nudge with his elbow.
    Griff didn't need C.W.'s approval or any of the talk in the locker room he knew he was in for. "She's not my lady."
    Of course she wasn't, but the way he denied it so vehemently stung. The intensity of her reaction to his words surprised her. She forced a smile. "I'm just a friend," Liz clarified.
    "Didn't know you had any of those, Griff. No offense," Ernie added hurriedly. Ernie's expression did not go unnoticed by Griff. The man's eyes skimmed over Liz's legs again as if he were drinking them in for some future fantasy.
    "Now you know." Griff took Liz by the arm and guided her away without bothering to say goodbye.
    "See you in the precinct on Monday," C.W. said after Griff's retreating back. There was a chuckle evident in his voice.
    "Nice meeting you both," Liz called to them over her shoulder.
    "Do you have to wear shorts that—that short?" Griff grumbled harshly into her ear. ''Don't you know it's winter? You're supposed to wear pants."
    His breath felt warm against her ear and it tingled inside her. But she wasn't going to be intimidated by his voice. She had a feeling he wouldn't respect anyone who wouldn't go toe-to-toe with him. And anything less wasn't her style.
    "Winter in Southern California doesn't count when the thermometer hits seventy-five. Besides, you didn't complain about my shorts before. Are you jealous?" she asked, recalling the way Ernie had ogled her.
    "Why the hell should I be jealous of them? I'm just not interested in starting any riots. I'm a policeman, remember?"
    She rose on her toes and kissed his cheek just before they entered the baby store. "You're lying, Griff Foster. I can see right through you."
    "For your sake," he told her as he followed her into the store, "I hope that isn't true."
    His justifiable homicide list was expanding by leaps and bounds.

Chapter Six
    Liz rushed into her house, dropped her purse on the sofa and glanced at the clock on the mantel. Seven o'clock. Only thirty minutes to get ready.
    It was her own fault. She knew she should have left Griff's house long before she did but with each attempt to leave, a new excuse seemed to crop up to make her stay for just a few more minutes. A few minutes had networked themselves into three hours. Somehow, she just couldn't manage to tear herself away from Casie. Or from Griff. How could she have left someone who was so hopelessly inept when it came to dealing with the baby's needs? To do so would have been displaying behavior bordering on cruelty. She felt compelled to give him at least some basic pointers'.
    Besides, for reasons she hadn't totally sorted out yet, she really liked being with him.
    When she had made a comment that afternoon about how adorably hopeless he was, he had indignantly informed her that he had changed Casie during the previous night. It had taken a lot for Liz not to laugh out loud as she had tried to envision Griff tackling a diaper. She had far more success envisioning him tackling an escaping felon. He was undoubtedly a lot better at that.
    The image of him struggling to diaper Casie's wiggling bottom brought a smile to her lips