Taking a closer look into the Kia’s interior confirmed his initial assessment. There was no tree branch inside her car. No large rocks. No indication that something natural had taken out her windshield. In fact, there was nothing in the interior of her car aside from shattered glass and a yellow Yeti tumbler in her cupholder.
His frown deepened, and that twitchy feeling in his gut intensified.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Kwon asked.
“More like not seeing.” He exhaled and planted his hands on his hips. “Have cameras been installed yet?”
“Wouldn’t that have been nice,” Kwon murmured, “but negative. The cameras for this lot are scheduled for Sunday. Permanent light poles for the following week.” He sighed, glancing around. “I’ll call the sheriff’s department.”
Leaving Kwon to make his calls, he rounded the car to where Freya stood worrying her lower lip, her arms still tightly crossed over her chest. He wanted to pull her into a hug but instead placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. “Kwon’s calling the police. I’m sure they’ll want to know if anything is missing. I wouldn’t touch anything before they get here, but do you want to take a peek?”
She pursed her lips, and her gaze searched his. “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it? I mean, by the look on your face and Mr. Kwon’s, I’m assuming it wasn’t a fallen branch?”
Giving in, he ran his hands down her arms and tugged her close, pulling her into a hug. Her arms immediately encircled his waist, and she leaned into him, hugging him back. A feeling he didn’t recognize swamped his senses. Protectiveness? Yeah, but it was more than that. It was something he couldn’t quite define.
“No, sweetheart,” he murmured, dropping his chin to the top of her head. “It wasn’t a branch.” What it actually was, he didn’t know. But he was determined to stay beside her—if she let him—until they figured it out.
Running a hand up and down her slim back, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before letting her go. “After the sheriff’s department comes and does their thing, you still want to grab dinner with me? I figure you deserve an extra one of those blue drinks you said you liked after this mess. Or maybe three.”
A smile lifted her lips, and his insides warmed. He’d done that. He’d gotten a smile out of her after all the chaos.
“That sounds great.” Her eyes darted to her car and then back. “That is, if you don’t mind driving me.”
“Not at all. I can drive you home after too.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I live downtown, so I can walk.”
“Ah, that’s right.” After a moment, she frowned, and he took a guess. “You have to work tomorrow, don’t you?”
She nodded, and her forehead scrunched.
So. Damn. Cute.“Well, I don’t, so I can give you a lift to work in the morning as well.”
Her jaw dropped, and she was shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “Xander, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
Her lips pressed together again, but they tilted up at the edges. Like she was fighting a smile. “How about we grab dinner first. If you can still stomach me after food and multiple cocktails, we’ll revisit this conversation.”
He couldn’t get a read on her self-deprecating comment. Was she being funny? Or did she seriously believe he’d be sick of her after he’d already spent the last however long with her? Or was she fishing for a compliment? He mentally frowned and nixed the last option. She wasn’t the type. But if it were either of the first two, he was determined to show her how much he enjoyed her company. Fucked-up circumstances or not.
“That’s fair, I suppose.” It wasn’t, but he’d play along if it made her more comfortable. “We’ll shelve this conversation as ‘to be continued’ then.” He inclined his head toward her car. “Shall we take a peek?”
She grimaced. “May as well. The faster we get this over with, the faster I can get a cocktail in me.”
He bit the inside of his cheek and kept his expression neutral. There was an inappropriate retort in there somewhere. He was sure of it. But he dragged his thoughts out of the gutter and focused on the tasks at hand. They needed to figure out ifanything was missing from her vehicle, get a police report filed, and then get her car towed and squared away.
Because he couldn’t stand beside her and not touch her, he took her hand and walked her to the side of her car.
CHAPTER TEN
The waiter at Monty’s Tavern placed a pint of beer in front of Xander. When he set the electric-blue concoction in a frosted, sugar-rimmed martini glass down in front of her, Freya couldn’t help but smile. Holy crap, she wassolooking forward to this drink. The last hour dealing with the sheriff’s department and her messed-up car had been a lot. Though she had to admit that the man sitting across the table from her had been a genuine life saver tonight.
Xander lifted his glass, and when she did the same, he gently tapped his glass to hers. “To good days. Though I have to say—and don’t kill me here—aside from your car getting vandalized, today’s been a great day.” He shot her a lopsided smile that had her stomach doing flips again.
She grinned—because how could she not? The man’s charming smile was potent—then she took a sip of her drink. The blue-raspberry sweetness had her taste buds dancing. “The day is ending on a high note for sure.”
She wanted to pat herself on the back. Who was this woman tossing out flirty comebacks? Usually in this kind of situation, her face would be in flames, and she’d be stuttering.
