Nick had to be losing it. It was a smell. Just a scent. It probably wasn’t even her. But he couldn’t help himself. If itwasher and not someone with the same perfume, he couldn’t resist the excuse to speak with her again.
He followed the scent up the stairs and was surprised as hell at what he saw once he got there. At the top, there was a wall of glass withSunrise Houseetched into the door. It didn’t take him long to put two and two together. This was some sort of community center, and he’d come in through the back entrance.
Beyond the glass, his eyes caught on dark hair and red lips. Rowan. His heart skipped. She was surrounded by children painting, drawing, and working with clay. This must be some kind of art studio. She was helping them, her smile as brilliant as the sun. He watched her, entranced as she leaned over one girl’s shoulder and pointed at the canvas, then helped another child pour red paint into her tray. Her hands were covered in paint. A particularly vivid red splotch brightened her cheek.
He could have watched her forever. She was like an angel, and the way the kids looked at her… Kids knew a good person when they saw one. There was nothing but love in those kids’ eyes. Everything about the scene brought him back to when he was a kid, when places like this were the only thing keeping him going, when life was dark and seemed otherwise hopeless. A lump formed in his throat.
As if she could hear his thoughts, her gaze flicked up to his and connected through the glass. She knew he was there, watching her. No chickening out now. He opened the door.
“Detective?” The smile faded from her face.
He approached her with as much swagger as he could muster considering the sight of her made his insides turn to Jell-O. “Can I talk to you for a minute? It’s about an investigation.” He pointed his thumb toward the back entrance.
“I haven’t seen a blond man here either,” she said, annoyance crinkling her eyes.
He shook his head. “This is a different case.”
“Two investigations in as many days. It seems I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“It will only take a minute.”
She pushed her hair back from her face and smeared the red on her cheek. He reached out but stopped before touching her when she pulled her head away from his hand.
“You have something there. Paint.”
“Oh.” She smiled, and he thought the light from it might burn him. She grabbed a clean rag from a pile on the counter and started dabbing at her cheek. “My office is this way.”
He followed her into a tiny room with a desk that was way smaller than it should be for an adult. She leaned a hip against the front of it and crossed her arms over her chest.
“What can I do for you, detective?”
“Do you work here?”
“I own Sunrise House and act as its director.”
Owned it. Beautiful, smart, and compassionate. He thanked the good Lord for his rib cage or his heart might jump into her arms.
“What time did you come to work today?”
“Around seven. I don’t usually come in that early, but I was helping out with the before-school program. We’re understaffed.”
“When you came into the building, did you come in through the back or the front?”
“My driver dropped me off in the front. What’s this about?”
“Your driver. Did you take an Uber or taxi?”
“Neither. I have a private driver.”
Holy shit. Was she some sort of celebrity? A trust fund baby?He cleared his throat. “And you didn’t go out the back exit between then and now?”
“No.”
“Did any kids mention seeing anything strange out back?”
“No. But they usually come in the front. I unlocked the back door this morning, but I didn’t see anything.”
He nodded. She wasn’t lying, and he doubted she could have seen anything from inside the building anyway. It was the wrong angle, and a construction dumpster was in the way. “Is it okay if I look around the building, ask a few questions?”
