Free Send Me No Flowers by Kristin Gabriel Page A

gripping the steering wheel as she drove away from the police station. “Whatever happened to free speech?”
    “I think the police officers heard you loud and clear. That’s why they threatened to charge you with resisting arrest.”
    “Well, you certainly weren’t much help. You are the mayor. Couldn’t you have called off your goons?”
    “The police aren’t my goons. And even if I wanted to, I don’t have that kind of authority. At least you got off with just a small fine.”
    “Small?” she exclaimed. “They set it at one hundred dollars!”
    “Think how many honeybuns you could have bought with that money.”
    “I’m not buying honeybuns or anything else at Bert’s Bakery until he starts treating all his customers fairly. I’d do it all over again, too, even if did cost me one hundred dollars.”
    “I think you mean it cost me one hundred dollars,” Drew said. “You forgot your checkbook, remember?”
    Rachel pressed her lips together. She never forgot her checkbook when she went out. Until tonight. She blamed Gina and Pam. Distracting her with all that talk about dating the sexiest man in town and asking her about that kiss. Her lips tingled just thinking about it. Would he kiss her good-night? Did she want him to? Rachel mentally shook herself. This date with Drew wasn’t going exactly as planned. She’d wanted to prove to him that she had no intention of backing off this boycott. Instead she owed him a hundred dollars and a debt of gratitude for driving her car to the police station to pick her up. She didn’t like being in debt to him, even for one night.
    “Don’t worry, Drew, I intend to pay up,” she said, turning onto her street. “We’ll make a quick stop at my place so I can write you a check.” She pulled into her designated parking spot and shifted the car into Park, the engine still running. “I’ll only be a minute.”
    “Aren’t you going to invite me up for a nightcap?” he asked, his deep voice curling around her in the darkness.
    Something inside her quavered at the thought of inviting Drew up to her apartment. She wasn’t afraid of him; just a little afraid of herself. What if he kissed her again? Then she came to her senses. He hadn’t mentioned their kiss once all evening or made even one move on her. He plainly wasn’t interested. Somehow, that wasn’t making her feel any better.
    “All I’ve got is grape juice,” she said, hoping he’d change his mind and stay in the car.
    Instead he popped open his door. “Sounds great.”
    She stifled a groan as she cut the engine and got out of the car. He probably just wanted another chance to do his cheerleader routine for Valentine’s Day.
    “Nice place,” Drew said, after she’d unlocked the front door and led him into her apartment. To her surprise, the place looked a lot neater than how she’d left it. Gina and Pam must have straightened things up. They’d also left soft, romantic music playing on the stereo, the alluring scent of incense in the air and a bottle of wine with two crystal goblets on the coffee table.
    So much for subtlety.
    Why not include a silk negligee and a box of condoms while they were at it?
    “Now this is my favorite kind of grape juice,” Drew said with a smile, picking up the wine bottle to look at the label. “Do you mind if I open it?”
    “I guess not,” she muttered, sincerely hoping he didn’t think she’d planned all this since it screamed seduction scene. “Help yourself while I go get that check.”
    She escaped into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her so she could regain her composure without the sensual distractions of music and incense and Drew.
    She found her checkbook on the bedstand, next to the telephone. She stared at the phone for a long moment, willing it to ring. If she was lucky, one of her patients would call in the midst of a panic attack and she’d have to leave for an emergency session. She felt a little panicked herself, her heart beating a