“I’ve known that all along.” I blew out a frustrated breath and said, “I’m going to take him home.”
Adrian looked at me skeptically and said, “Gabe, I don’t think…”
“This is something I need to do, Adrian. I promise I won’t fuck up the case.” I thought about what it meant that he’d recently had an overnight guest. “There’s no future for us and no harm in me taking him home.”
“Okay,” Adrian agreed after a few more moments of hesitation.
Too bad Josh wasn’t as agreeable. “I’d much rather walk.” He was so huffy that it almost made me smile.
Adrian shut off the camera and said, “I’ll just let you two work this out.” The asshole didn’t bother to keep the smile out of his voice. I glared at him as he exited the interview room.
“I don’t have to accept a ride home from you,” Josh said as he rose to his feet.
“What exactly are you afraid of?” I asked him. “I only want to talk to you.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” He stood taller and lifted his chin arrogantly.
“Good, then you don’t mind accepting my offer.” The look I shot him in return was just as arrogant.
He reluctantly followed me to my car. The majority of the short ride to his home was done in silence. “I just want to reaffirm that I do not think you killed Georgia Beaumont. I’m really sticking my neck out by telling you this.”
“Don’t do me any fucking favors.” His words were as icy as the frost covered lawns he stared at through the window as I drove.
His attitude was really starting to piss me off, but I stamped down the temper that was brewing inside me. I pulled up in front of his house and parked. “Look, I think you understand why we had to call you in and interview you. I think your irritation is directed at me personally and not the fact that we brought you in.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” He finally turned his angry eyes at me. “You could’ve at least been the one to come and take me in.”
“I thought it would make it worse,” I replied.
“Because you’re Detective Dumbass,” he said nastily. He ran his hand over his forehead as he worked to calm himself down. “Look, I don’t know why the hell I’m telling you this because it means nothing to you. I’m nothing to you,” he amended. “My overnight guest, Merrick, wasn’t there for the reason you might think.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” I wanted to ignore the way his words eased the tension in my body.
Josh looked at me like I truly was the idiot that he accused me of being. “I didn’t have to see the look on your face to know how pissed off you were at the thought I had been sexing it up with someone other than you. The anger rolled off of you in waves.”
“So why are you telling me?” I couldn’t help but ask. I tried to school my features into a mildly curious expression instead of the hopeful one I was feeling.
“Damned if I know.”
I wanted to reach over and pull him into a kiss to show him why he told me, but I did nothing. Instead, I sat quietly as he got out of my car without another word. Yes, I watched the exaggerated sway in his hips that irritation seemed to bring out in him. Yes, I sat there in my car longer than I needed to while I debated following him, but I didn’t. I put the car in drive and headed back to the station while my thoughts remained on Josh. Was that his way of taking the next step in whatever was brewing between us?
IPACED THE FLOORof my salon instead of taking inventory like I normally did. God, that man drove me bat shit crazy. I ran my hands through my hair, not even caring that I destroyed the look I carefully styled after my shower. After I dressed, I had two cops at my back door informing me that they had to take me in for questioning in the death of Georgia Beaumont.
I was confused as to how they came to the point that I was a suspect, regardless of the blustering Georgia did before she left my shop. I was angry that Gabe wasn’t the one to pick me up, although I wasn’t sure why I felt that way. We weren’t friends nor would we likely be, but I had thought we had become friendlier to one another or at least civil. I was scared that I would somehow go down for a crime I didn’t commit, even though I knew damn well there had to be evidence pointing the finger at someone else since I didn’t harm a hair on her head. As much as I had cared about Georgia, I wasn’t blind to how she treated others.She just wanted to be loved.The thought ghosted through my mind again for the umpteenth time since I learned of her passing.
Then they pulled out the photo showing an older pair of my engraved scissors. I wasn’t lying when I said that I gave them to Georgia as a memento. I should’ve told the truth about my alibi when they first asked about it, but I didn’t want Detective Crusty Butt to know my personal business. I knew the conclusion he would’ve drawn and I wanted to avoid that conversation at all costs. Turned out I had to confess to having an overnight guest after all.
Merrick wasn’t just my usual type of friend. He happened to be my former fuck buddy and we still hung out platonically every once in a while. The man who swore he’d never fall in love had gone and done just that. At the time it happened, I was disappointed that our sexy times would come to an end, but I was not angry with him. Merrick and I entered our agreement with our eyes wide open. Both of us had a history of hurt and was only looking for sex occasionally. My heart had been safe with him because I didn’t love him and he wouldn’t hurt me.
Anyway, he called me up out of the blue and asked if he could come over. He’d had a nasty argument with his boyfriend when he discovered that Kevin had been cheating on him with a coworker. I had to admit I was shocked because Merrick and Kevin seemed to be the perfect couple, even though I knew there was no such thing. Still, I couldn’t resist a heartbroken friend who needed someone to talk to, regardless of my being surprised that I was the one he chose. Once he arrived, it made sense; things were safe and simple between Merrick and me.
The same could not be said about myfeelingsfor Gabe Wyatt. Every particle in my body wanted to know every particle in his, and worse than that, I wanted to learn things about him – what made him tick, what kind of music he liked, or how the hell he was getting along with his new dog. Yes, a tad bit – okay a lot – of jealousy flared up inside me when he told me he was going to meet up with his ex to have him look at Buddy. I didn’t remember what day he said he was taking him because I was too busy castigating myself for the way I felt.
Therefore, when Chaz called me in a panic that something was wrong with Harry, his hairless cat, I didn’t hesitate to drive to his house to pick them up and take them to see Dr. Vaughn. Chaz was too worried about Harry to be driving, so I felt it was the right thing to do. I regretted my decision when I pulled into the parking lot and saw Gabe’s badass Charger parked in front of the building. All the feelings of jealousy and – I hated to admit it – insecurity came flooding back to me. My brain immediately began coming up with ways I could drop Chaz and Harry off without drawing suspicion from him, but I knew it wouldn’t work. Besides, I wouldn’t let that man chase me off and make a fool of me.
I sat stiffly in a chair next to Harry’s cat carrier while Chaz signed him in. Gabe was nowhere in sight so he and Buddy must’ve already been in one of the exam rooms. Try as I might, I couldn’t help picturing the detective and the doc rekindling their love connection. I don’t know why I cared, but I… I just did. My imagination didn’t seem like much of a stretch when the hunky doctor walked Gabe and Buddy out to the lobby, which he never did. I’d been there on enough visits with my pets to know he usually shook your hand before moving on to his next patient.
I couldn’t help but stare at them as they stood facing each other. They had similar builds and heights, although it looked like Dr. Vaughn spent more time in the gym than Gabe did. They had similar dark hair but wore it styled differently – Gabe wore his hair a little longer while Dr. Vaughn wore his stylishly short. I talked him into trying something different last year on one of his visits to my salon and he had kept it up nicely. I figured that Gabe got his hair cut at Burt’s Barber – more like butcher- Shop. I wanted to get my hands on Gabe’s hair, but that wouldn’t be a very good idea. Normally, I’d be all gloaty inside over Kyle’s transformation, but he was standing too close to Gabe and they were obviously having a serious conversation. Then the good doctor reached out and gripped Gabe’s bicep. I just knew he was turning his gorgeous blue eyes on Gabe and pleading for… Nope! Not going there.
