Okay. That last one sounded pretty far-fetched, but something wasn’t right, and I didn’t trust Grady to figure it out. I was sure he was a pleasant man and all, but he was too easily misdirected. Well, that, and my intuition was screaming at me that I needed to do this.
I’d never felt anything like it. Was that my newly discovered magical-ness? Or was it because I’d been there when Winston’s body was discovered? Either way, I couldn’t step away. Maybe Gideon felt the same way, and that’s why he was going with me today.
I opened the door at the bottom of the steps and found Gideon waiting for me. He was holding a to-go cup.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Morning.” He thrust the cup at me. “Here. This is for you.”
I sniffed it. “Coffee?”
He nodded. “And it isn’t from Lily’s. I thought you’d want something decent, and I know Elwood doesn’t keep coffee at his place.”
“Thanks.” I grinned. I took a sip and moaned. “This is perfect.”
“Glad you like it.” Gideon rubbed the back of his neck. Were his cheeks a little pinker than they had been?Weird.
Without another word, he started walking down the street. I followed. We were heading toward the town plaza. The rest of downtown was empty. It was still early, after all. But there was a cluster of cars and trucks by the park. White tents were poppingup on the massive lawn in front of the town hall like giant mushrooms, and the faint whine of drills broke the quiet.
The sky didn’t have a single cloud, and the sun was already heating the sidewalk. It was going to be another hot day. The festival committee would be happy about that.
“So, where are we going?” I asked. “Does Jim have a workshop somewhere over here?”
Gideon shook his head. “Sable heard Jim’s been hired to help set up the festival.”
“Who’s Sable?” Was that his girlfriend?Shit. I should have guessed a guy like Gideon would be in a relationship. And why did the idea of Gideon in a relationship make me a teensy bit irritated?
“Sable works with me at The Den,” Gideon said when we reached the intersection and had to wait for a car to coast by before we crossed.
I took another sip of the excellent coffee before I asked something I shouldn’t, like: Are you single?
“Most of the tools Jim needs for larger jobs are still in Winston’s building. And he can’t get them from the crime scene because the police are still going over the place looking for evidence. There isn’t much he can do without all his equipment.”
“Makes sense, I guess.” I nodded. “So, what’s the plan? Are you playing bad cop? Because I feel like I’d make a better good cop.”
“We aren’t cops.”
“No, no,” I said as we crossed the other street to get to the park in front of the town hall building. “I realize that. But it’s an interrogation technique, right?”
“You watch too much TV. We’re just going to have a conversation.”
“Right…” I nodded. “But I’ll be the friendly one who commiserates. You’ll be the hard ass.”
Gideon lifted one of his eyebrows. It was quite impressive, really. I’d never been able to do that. Instead of agreeing, Gideon said. “Let’s just talk to the man and go from there.”
“Fine.”
Gideon should loosen up a little. Role-playing could be fun. Everyone knew that.
And because my mind was a fun little amusement park of its own, now I was thinking about what Gideon would be like in bed. Because thoughts of role-playing led me to think about other times I’d role-played, which then jumped over to sexy role-playing… and yeah. Imagining what Gideon would be like in bed… naked… made me trip over my feet.
There was no other excuse. The sidewalk was level. My shoelaces were tied. But one foot somehow caught on something, and for the third day in a row, my coffee went flying and…
“Hey now,” Gideon said, easily catching me by my arm so I didn’t splatter over the concrete like my coffee.
He yanked me upright, and I slammed right into his chest. Luckily, I’d already dropped my coffee cup, or I would’ve doused him in another coffee. Instead, it was my body plastered against his chest this time.
And… holy… the man was built. I mean, I figured as much just from looking at him, but to feel his muscular chest against mine… To have his big hand wrapped around my biceps… To look up into his amber eyes…
