Regina smiled, trying to shake the thought of Janecia’s new, sweet, sexy boyfriend coaxing her onto his Harley. Janecia went on, filling her in on how she met Clay as they finished up and paid their bill. They moved on to the next few restaurants, catching up on family gossip and laughing about old times. Regina was so glad she’d decided to do this. It was a good thing Gaslamp was so long and there were so many restaurants. It would take many returns here before they got through the whole thing. Having this to do with her best friend definitely gave her something to look forward to.

Beginning to feel a little tipsy as they left their fourth or fifth restaurant—she’d lost count—Regina decided at their next stop she’d be having water. They walked down the street, trying to decide which restaurant to hit next, and then she saw him. Sergeant Billings was at the bar of the very next restaurant in their route. This was the first time she’d seen him out of uniform. He wore a simple black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black jeans. He stood by the bar with a couple of other guys and two girls. One of the girls was very obviously flirting with him, and then it happened.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she said, staring at him as her heart did the weirdest flutter. She actually felt a tingly sensation. “The man does smile.”

And by God, did it have to be such a beautiful smile? Even his eyes lit up sweetly, and at this distance, she could still admire how bright white and perfect his teeth were. Her heart fluttered in that weird way again, and the tingling spread through her insides.

Janecia turned to look in the direction Regina’s eyes were glued to now. “Who?”

“Sergeant Billings,” she said with no other explanation as they continued walking toward the restaurant. Just as they reached the entrance to the outside patio of the restaurant, Sergeant Billings looked up past the blonde he’d been smiling at, and his eyes met Regina’s. Not only did his smile immediately dissolve but his expression went hard and rigid, turning into the very expression she was now beginning to think was reserved just for her.

“Well, damn,” Janecia said, clearly noticing the icy change in his disposition as well. “Do you know him?”

“Sort of.” Regina was finally able to look away and at the hostess asking them if they’d like a seat inside or out. “Outside.” She smiled and followed the hostess to their table.

Taking the seat that would face the bar, Regina sat down. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just kept walking on to the next restaurant or one even further where she wouldn’t have to deal with his lethal glare. What the hell was his problem? His “lack of desire to get to know her” was one thing, but the way he looked at her now said something entirely different. Obviously, he couldn’t stand her, and Regina was at a total loss as to what she could’ve possibly done to warrant such severe detestation from a total stranger.

Janecia sat across from her, glancing back at the sergeant as she made herself comfortable. Billings had gone back to talking to the girl, but that annoyingly beautiful and playful smile she’d been privy to for too short of an instant was gone. “So what’s his deal? He doesn’t like you?”

“Apparently not,” Regina said, looking down at the menu the hostess had handed them before walking away.

“Why?”

“I have no idea.”

Regina filled in her friend about first seeing him at the airport and the first few run-ins she’d had with him, including last night when he’d made her go fetch her photo ID, knowing full well she was authorized.

“What a jerk!” Janecia frowned, glancing back at him again. “Maybe he’s one of those guys who get a hard-on from playing the power card. Aren’t most of those drill instructors like that? I mean isn’t that why they go into that field in the first place?”

“My dad was a drill instructor back in the day, Janecia,” Regina reminded her. “He’s never been that kind of person, and he always said it was one of the most rewarding duties he ever had. I don’t think it’s that at all.”

She glanced up at the sergeant but quickly looked away when she saw his head turn slightly in her direction. “I just don’t know what to make of it. From the moment I first saw him at the airport, there was this disdainful way he looked at me. It’s like there was just something about me that had immediately turned him off.” She shrugged. “I asked him about it this morning.”

Janecia’s eyes opened in curiosity as the waitress arrived to take their order. They both ordered water, and Janecia agreed to the first appetizer Regina suggested. She was obviously more interested in hearing about that morning’s happenings.

“What did you ask him?” Janecia asked as soon as the waitress walked away.

Frustrated and not even sure why she cared so much, Regina exhaled. “I started thinking maybe I did know him from somewhere. Maybe I’d blown him off in the past and didn’t even remember, or maybe he’d mistaken me for someone else, so I asked him if it was either of those things.” Feeling as little as he’d made her feel when he’d told her about his lack of desire to get to know her, she repeated his awful words to Janecia.

Her friend’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding me!”

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head. “For whatever reason, the man’s decided he hates my guts.”

Thanking the waitress for their waters, Regina sipped hers. Regina decided she’d keep to herself the fact that he’d stepped in front of her, forcing her to finish what she’d begun say. She also wouldn’t say what being that close to those acutely blue eyes had done to her. She knew her best friend too well. Janecia would want to overanalyze it, and the truth was she was done thinking about the uptight sergeant. She’d already spent the better part of her day, trying to figure it out. Even when he was looking at her with what she assumed was unexplained indignation, he did so with such intensity that it was confusing as hell. But even more confusing was what she’d thought she’d seen in his eyes when he asked her to finish what she’d begun to say that morning. The guy shouldn’t feel anything for her either way. Good or bad. He still didn’t know much about her at all. Yet even tonight there was no hiding the ill will he had toward her.