Page 20 of Rookie Days

Janet looked into her eyes, translucent grey at the moment. Gorgeous eyes which had been full of pain the previous day, but now reflected only curiosity and warmth, as well as strength and quiet assurance. As Ellie flicked a thick strand of coal-black hair off her brow, Janet was struck again by how handsome she was. It occurred to her that she had never brought a woman here, to this café, before. To the one place that reminded her so much of her beloved grandmother.

“It’s kinda silly,” she reflected, “but I’ve always dreamed of going back for two or three weeks one day, hire a car, and cruise through all the best parts of Italy.”

“What’s silly about that?”

“The fact that I haven’t done it yet. I don’t want to go on my own.”

“Ah. Yes.” Ellie drowned her waffles under half-a-pitcher of sweet-smelling syrup, then paused before she attacked her meal to meet her gaze again. “You don’t strike me as the type who’d be afraid to travel on her own, though.”

“No, I’m not afraid.”

As Ellie waited, maintaining eye contact and showing that she could be patient when it meant something to her, Janet had to chuckle.

“You must be very useful in the interrogation room.”

“I do alright.”

Her little self-deprecating smirk was unbelievably sexy, and quite clearly unintentional. Janet shrugged and tried not to focus on this sort of thing too much, even though it was hard.

“Truth is, I never found the right woman to invite along for the ride. This kind of trip, I would want to share with someone special.”

Ellie did not blink or miss a beat.

“You haven’t found the right oneyet, you mean?”

“Not yet,” Janet admitted. “That’s right. But I—Oh.”

Without warning, her emotions rose in ambush. Her eyes filled up. Heat suffused her face. Too late to hide the reaction, which was both embarrassing and completely out of character. Before she could recover from it, it was Ellie’s turn to reach over. She took her hand in a gesture so gentle and natural that it made Janet’s heart trip. She struggled to blink back the tears.

“This is ridiculous. Dammit. Just ignore me, okay?”

“I don’t want to ignore you,” Ellie said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“It’s just the damn hormones, you know?”

“Mmm… Yeah.”

It made Janet groan when she noticed that Ellie was smiling at her, out of kindness, no doubt. But clearly without a clue.

“I guess you wouldn’t know.” She snorted. “But take my word for it: menopause is a bitch.”

“I see. But don’t forget as well that you’ve been dodging icebergs and polar bears on your morning swim. Maybe it took a bit more out of your system than you thought.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Ellie nodded firmly at her plate.

“Eat up, Dr Fox. You’ll feel better.”

She was right. The first big bite of moist, warm, and syrupy waffle went down a treat. Tears still threatened, stupid emotion still very much on the boil and nothing to do with a cold swim. Ellie grinned with her mouth full, obviously intent on cheering her up.

“Ocean Special deserves its name, uh?”

“Yes, it certainly does.”