Description: After nights of tossing and turning, the heart of Juliet Jones is stuck in a holding pattern of worry for her sister Eve. Can Julie's cop friend Eddie get over his attraction to her for just a moment to deliver what he's dug up on Glenn Sabine?
The Miss Teenager Pageant. PART 31.
The office of the mayor of Devon was a bus stuck in a holding pattern, and the heart of Juliet Jones was the Grand Central Station of anxiety. She loved her sister more than anyone in the world – apart from Pops, that is – and would do anything to make sure that Eve wasn’t headed on a one-way street to heartbreak central.
So what do you do when practically everything your sister tells you about her dream-come-true sounds more like a clever scam from a clever con-artist bent on taking advantage of not-so-clever teenage girls? Two hundred dollars worth of pure horse manure was exactly what Julie would gamble that he was selling. Like a fish snapping its gums over a dangling worm called acting lessons, Eve had taken the bait and was all-in.
For Julie, the restless nights of tossing and turning and dwelling on this “contest” Eve was wrapped up in were starting to get to her. She hadn’t had a date in weeks, having turned down at least two potential suitors for a Friday night triple-D: dinner, drinks, and a drive-in. Now all she could think about was Eve.
So when her cop friend Eddie from Precinct One – as if there were any other precincts in Devon – rapped on her office door, she was more than a little relieved. He was dressed in a full officer’s uniform and the glint of light from his polished silver badge on his chest caught her eye. She decided to ignore that little heart palpitation and quick breath that caught in her throat when he smiled at her from across the room.
Although he removed his hat as a sign of respect, he kept his dark round shades on, maybe to hide that attraction that was completely and utterly enraptured each time they met. This was business, and Eddie was a gentleman, for which Julie was grateful. Right now there was something more pertinent on her mind than imagining a triple-D with Eddie.
Julie got right to the point. “You were able to dig up something on Glenn Sabine?” she asked desperately.
There was a piece of paper in Eddie’s hand that he promptly brought over to her. “A couple of things, Julie,” he said, extending the paper to her. “Here. Read this!”
Just as she was about to take it from him, he yanked it back and watched her. There was an awkward moment of silence between them. Was he kidding, Julie wondered? Did he want a “physical thanks”? Then he grinned facetiously and handed it to her. This time she snatched it from him like a chimp grabbing a banana and turned her back on him. So that he knew she had no hard feelings, she turned her head back to him and winked before opening the paper like it was the most important news of the century.
Eddie stood watching over her shoulder as she read the information on Sabine. This was exactly what she had hoped for. Finally, this rat would bother her sister no more!
