Free Perfect Fling by Carly Phillips

could only imagine how her colleagues would react when her stomach ballooned and the truth about her and Cole came out.
    Especially Evan. He postured around Cole, and Cole returned the favor. And for what? Yes, Evan had asked her out in the past. Yes, they’d gone on one date when he moved back to town, before he’d been elected and become her boss. But no, she hadn’t found the chemistry needed to go out with him again. Not that he didn’t keep trying, but it had become a game between them. She was his challenge, and he enjoyed the chase. But Evan respected her legal abilities and she felt the same about his, and that was that. Harmless. Not that Cole understood.
    Since the flowers had arrived, Cole acted like Evan was both the enemy and direct competition who needed to be chased off. Unfortunately, Evan treated Cole the same way. In reality, neither man had a claim on her, and the endless stress of the two men’s reactions was slowly driving her insane.
    As for her shooting, the bullet had been found lodged in a nearby car, as well as the shell casing, near the woods. Only an amateur would leave evidence behind, but at least they had something to work with. Mike sent the evidence to the state police crime lab, which was backed up with
more important cases
, and that news sent her brother over the edge. To calm him while waiting on ballistics, Erin had given in and gone over her cases with her brothers, even though she believed the possibility was ridiculous. Still, the Serendipity police were questioning people she was prosecuting—and, as Erin had predicted—with no results.
    With Cole around, a reminder of his presence in Erin’s future, her brothers were in constant bad moods just as she was in a constant state of awareness. How could she not be? A sleepy, just-awake Cole was as sexy as a ready-for-bed, sleepy-eyed man. Knowing he was just a room away added to her tossing and turning.
    At least she was now allowed to remove the sling and use her arm as far as was comfortable, which helped her feel better and improved her mood.
    She glanced at her watch, noting it was time to leave for her three P.M. appointment. She walked out of her office and nudged her bodyguard. “Time to go.”
    “Where are we off to?” he asked.
    “It’s a long story,” she said as they made their way out of the office and to the elevator.
    “I’m not going anywhere,” he reminded her.
    She sighed. “I’m doing a favor for Macy’s aunt Lulu. You see, she had an argument with her sister, Macy’s grandmother, over the pies at the restaurant. So Aunt Lulu applied for a job at the new supermarket that just opened in town.”
    She glanced at Cole to see if he was really listening and was surprised to see his eyes on her, rapt and attentive. With a shrug, she followed him onto the elevator. Cole hit the ground-floor button, and while they took the short ride down, she continued her story.
    “So while Aunt Lulu was setting up the cake displays at the supermarket, a portion of the roof collapsed and she ended up with a concussion and some bruising. She sued, of course, and it should have been settled quickly, but instead the parent company sent in a high-powered law firm, who immediately slammed Lulu’s attorneys with paperwork and discovery documents in an effort to get her to drop the suit.” Erin frowned, hating how the older woman was being railroaded by a big corporation.
    “You’re a criminal prosecutor. What does this have to do with you?” Cole asked, pausing by the security desk in the lobby.
    Erin shrugged. “I promised her I’d look into why a small workers’ comp case has turned into some legal nightmare. Maybe throw my weight around and pull some strings. It makes no sense to hound an older woman.” Erin had already made some phone calls prior to being shot, but nobody at the supermarket’s main office had returned them.
    Cole nodded and turned to Edgar, the afternoon security guard stationed in the lobby. “Has