Excerpt of Texas Born by Ann DeFee

"Hey there, sweetheart. Mind if I join you?"

Dr. Olivia Alvarado switched her attention from her salad to the handsome man with the shaggy sun-kissed hair, mile- deep dimples and sea-green eyes that twinkled with humor and mischief.

"As a matter of fact, I do." She slammed her hands on the table. "I don't think my shots are current," Olivia hissed. "So get lost!"

She really didn't expect her unwanted visitor to take a hike; after all, the man's head was as hard as a granite slab. But she did harbor a slight hope that he'd accede to the southern manners his mama had tried to thump into his cranium and find his own table.

Instead of skedaddling, he responded with the boyish grin that had probably stopped girls' hearts all over south Texas. No! No! No way! Once burned, twice shy. And from experience, Olivia knew that this guy was capable of breaking her heart.

Daisy's Diner wasn't full — there were tables everywhere — so why did he want to sit with her? "I'm serious. Go someplace else for your caffeine. I hear they changed the coffee grounds at the courthouse," she muttered.

Sheriff C. J. Baker chuckled as he sat down on the vinyl bench next to her and scooted over so close his thigh was right against hers. "Sorry, can't do that. I want to talk to you."

Olivia moved toward the window and dredged up her best deep-freeze attitude. "Unless it's in regard to my official capacity as county coroner, I have absolutely nothing to say to you." She put on a saccharine-sweet smile. "But maybe I need to speak slower for you to understand. Get lost." Olivia drew out the short command into a polysyllabic order and turned her head.

There was a repeat of that irritating chuckle. "Trust me, I've gotten the picture. You won't answer your phone, you've ignored my e-mails, and believe it or not, I spotted you when you ran into the tax assessor's office. Darlin', my mama didn't raise a dummy. I know avoiding when I see it." He laughed as if he had a delightful secret. "Actually, I thought escaping into the tax assessor's office was funny."

As far as Olivia was concerned, nothing associated with C. J. Baker was funny.

He picked up her hand and drew tingly little circles on her palm. "Livy, sweetheart. We have to straighten out some things. Please have dinner with me."

Olivia jerked her hand away. "Absolutely no way. I will not — and read my lips if you're having trouble grasping this concept — I will not have an affair with a married man!"

Oops, that must've come out a little louder than she'd expected as several heads turned in their direction. Good grief! The infamous Port Serenity grapevine would spread that one within hours if not minutes.

Apparently the sheriff didn't take umbrage because he simply smiled, and what a smile he had. In his chambray shirt, tight faded jeans, well-worn boots and shiny brass star he could easily have been cast in a remake of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Ooh boy! Maintaining her immunity to the guy would take a resolve of steel, but Olivia intended to do exactly that. One broken heart was plenty, thank you.

He put his arm on the back of the seat and played with her ponytail. "That's funny, I thought I said dinner." C.J. shrugged and put on a cat-in-the-creamery expression. "But an affair sounds good to me." He paused for effect. "And let me make something perfectly clear, I'm not married."

"Humph," she snorted as she grabbed the check and unsuccessfully attempted to push out of the booth.

GETTING OLIVIA TO forgive him would be one of

C.J.'s toughest assignments, and as a former under-cover narcotics cop, he was used to dealing with dangerous and difficult situations. Yep — obtaining absolution from this dark-haired beauty would require a miracle. "Honest to God, if you'll have dinner with me, I won't kiss you or touch you. I won't even flirt with you. Cross my heart." He made an X on his chest.

"But I have to explain why I didn't tell you about Selena. And we need to discuss why I didn't contact you while I was recuperating. I promise I'll be a good boy." Unfortunately, C.J. couldn't resist nuzzling her neck. She had such an appealing neck. In fact, everything about this woman was tempting.

"That does it!" Olivia swatted him. "You don't have a clue when to quit, do you?" This time she pushed him hard enough to dislodge him from the booth — not an easy feat when he was six-two and built like a pro running back.

C.J. was about to concede this round when he felt a big hand clap on his shoulder. "How's it goin'?" That voice couldn't belong to anyone but his best friend and former partner in the narcotics division, Christian Delacroix. Christian was also the man who'd risked his life to save C.J. when he was shot in an aborted drug raid.

"Not bad."

"And how's my favorite pet doc?" Christian addressed Olivia. "Neuter anyone lately?"

Olivia noticed that C.J. winced. Good. "Very funny. Everyone's a comedian. How's life as a soon-to-be daddy?"

"It's interesting," Christian said before he turned to watch Lolly, his very pregnant wife, stop at various tables to chat. Although she was on maternity leave, Lolly was still the police chief of Port Serenity. "She says she wants to go by the office to tie up some loose ends. But if I know her, she'll be calling Sergeant Joe from the delivery room."

"She's so...so big," Olivia blurted. Lolly was her best friend and they'd been sharing thoughts, hopes and dreams since their first training bras.

Christian grinned as he sat down on the other side of the booth. "Yeah, and the word waddle has been erased from my vocabulary. But it'll be worth it when we get those baby girls home."

"I can't believe she's having twins," Olivia said.

"Me neither. But as long as they have all their digits and look like their mama, I'll be a happy man."

Who wouldn't be? If they looked like their mother, those kids would be drop-dead gorgeous. Where Olivia had dark brown eyes and waist-length sable hair, Lolly was a blue- eyed, natural platinum blonde.

And speaking of blondes... The blonde in question greeted half the town before she made it over to the booth. "Hey, guys." She leaned in to give Christian a kiss. "Move over. My feet are killing me." She tried to slip into the booth. "Oops. I don't think I fit." She speared Olivia with a killer look. "And if you laugh, I'll pull my gun on you."

Olivia's lips twitched. "I'm serious. I'm licensed to use deadly force." Olivia couldn't help it. She broke into a belly laugh. "Man alive, are you sure you're only having twins?"

Lolly joined her in the laughter. "Yes, ma'am, just two. I know, I know. I'm the size of an elephant, but he loves me." The "he" she was talking about gently rubbed her belly. "Doc said we're going to have these babies in two weeks come hell or high water. You're planning to be there, aren't you Livy?"

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this birthin'for the world. Those are my goddaughters you're talking about." Olivia took out her date book. "What's your best estimate?"

"I'm not sure. I should know more after my doctor's appointment. I'll call you as soon as I hear something."

Using Lolly as a distraction, C.J. had somehow managed to resume his spot on the bench, and slid even closer to Olivia. But before she could get rid of the pest, C.J.'s cell phone rang and then hers chirped almost simultaneously. That wasn't a good sign when the two people involved were the Aransas County sheriff and the coroner.

"What's up?" he asked and listened intently before he snapped his phone shut. "Guess you heard?" He glanced pointedly at the phone she'd just closed.

"Yeah."

C.J. brought Lolly and Christian into the conversation. "Mrs. Pomerantz found a body at the nature preserve."

"What was Mrs. Pomerantz doing at the bird sanctuary?" Lolly asked. As police chief, her jurisdiction ended at the city limits, unlike C.J.'s territory which included all 276 square miles of Aransas County, excluding the towns of Port Serenity and Nueces Pass.

The economy of the county flourished on tourists who sipped tea at the Victorian bed-and-breakfasts, patronized the art galleries and romped in the surf. For the more nature-minded, the miles of rocky coast were dotted with sandy beaches and thickets of live oak that grew to the water's edge, providing a lush haven for exotic birds and sea creatures. Unfortunately, a secluded wilderness area could be the perfect place for murder.

Lolly's questions drew a frown from her husband. "Well, I'm just curious." She punched him on the arm. "Okay, point taken. It's out of my jurisdiction and I'm on maternity leave."

C.J. grabbed his Stetson and stood. "My deputy's on his way. I'll let you know what I find out. You want a ride?" he asked Olivia.

Not really. Just the thought of being in a car with Mr. Too-Cute-for-His-Own-Good gave her chills. But unfortunately her Corvette was in the auto shop next door — which was the reason she was sitting around Daisy's Diner in the first place. "Okay, but no funny stuff."

He graced her with that heart-stopping grin again. "I promise. Business only. Let's go." C.J. didn't give her time to change her mind before he took her hand and helped her to her feet.

"Stop it! That's exactly what I mean." Not that her protests would make any difference. Trying to squelch his gentlemanly tendencies would be like turning back the tide. Because right to his core, C.J. was a slow-walking (Lordy, that man could saunter), quick-grinning Texas charmer.