“Dispatch, this is Unit 64.”
“Unit 64, go ahead.”
“If you need me, I’ll be at 218 Wilshire.”
“Affirmed, 64.”
She looked at him in surprise.“You know my address?”
The corners of his mouth curled upwards.“It’s a small town.”
Yes, but not that small.She couldn’t spout off any of her friend’s addresses.She tangled her thumb in the metal loop on her purse.It must be a cop thing.
They pulled away from the curb, and she realized that patrons at Java Mama’s were watching the cruiser raptly.Her face flared.Oh God.What must they think with her being driven away like this?Too late to explain—or even try—she wiggled her fingers weakly at Becky, who was serving coffee to the outside tables.The happy blonde looked stunned and more than ready to gossip.
“They’ll find out what happened soon enough,” Zac said dryly.
Maxie glanced his way.But would she?Would any of this ever make sense?
She wasn’t one to create waves.Look at what had happened the one time she’d tried to make a little splash.Flummoxed, she adjusted her purse on her lap.The folder.She realized she didn’t have it.Abruptly, she straightened.
“Right here.”He tapped the dash.
She sagged back in her seat.That innocuous folder might or might not hold information that was going to change everything.She was afraid to open it.Like the funhouse she couldn’t seem to escape today, she was afraid of what might spring out at her.
Wordlessly, the sheriff’s hand covered hers.The touch warmed Maxie’s cold fingers, but it also reminded her of the crush that was unexpectedly bearing down on her without mercy.
In such a tiny space, everything about him was magnified.He was big, strong and composed, while she felt small and lost.He was so good-looking, she couldn’t look at him—if that made any sense—while she sat here feeling like she’d been stripped to the bone.
Nervous, she tugged at her dress.This wasn’t the impression she’d wanted to make when she’d stepped outside to water her flowers.She’d fainted at the man’s feet.She hoped it had been a graceful faint, all feminine and poetic, but deep inside she knew she’d gone down like a sack of potatoes.She’d never forget turning around and seeing those two women facing her.Roxie and Lexie.
Roxie and Lexie andMaxie?
“We’ll figure everything out,” Zac promised as he pulled into her driveway.
Even his low voice seemed to rumble over her skin.Everything about her was too sensitive right now.She’d hoped for a hello from him today, but instead he’d seen her at her most vulnerable.He’d ventured into the back room of her shop, and now they were about to enter her house.Together.Alone.To look atthat.She eyed the folder as if it were a snake.
She’d called himhoney.
He gave her hand a tight squeeze before he parked.
Maxie settled her hand in her lap.“Um.Could you pull up to the garage?”
It would put the car out of sight at least a little bit.She knew how gossip traveled in this town.She didn’t know why she was trying to slow down the grapevine, but she was.“I usually go in the back door.”
He parked and was opening her door before she could find the wherewithal to get out on her own.Once again, his hand settled on her lower back as he walked with her to the back steps.Heat coursed from that touch, tightening some muscles and relaxing others and totally scrambling her brain.
“We could do this at the station if that would make you more comfortable.”
After the scene at Java Mama’s, she didn’t want to be seen anywhere near Sheriff’s Department headquarters.“This is fine.Better, really.”
She let him into her kitchen.Other than her bedroom, this was the place in her house where she was most comfortable.
Not that she’d given any thought to taking him to her bedroom.
Good Lord, where had that notion come from?
“Can I get you anything?Coffee?Cookies?”
