“That’s a lot of stuff.”He followed her back to where she’d been working.
“It is.I was able to buy everything but the medical equipment with the loan I took out.The rest is rented.”She sighed.“Hopefully, I’ll be able to buy them, too, after a year or so.”
“Will you be working here alone?”he asked.
Grace shook her head.“No.I’ve already hired a receptionist and a part-time billing clerk for now, and I put an ad in the county paper yesterday for another PT.I received a few responses today and set up a couple of interviews.Tomorrow I’m going around to some of the doctor’s offices in the area to introduce myself and try to drum up some business.If all goes well, I can open on time.”
“That’s great.”Sean could see the pride in her eyes.They glittered with excitement, and he wondered what they would look like in the throes of passion.God, he had to stop thinking like that.She was practically family… yet she wasn’t, was she?
Picking up her paintbrush again, she turned back to finish painting the outline of a golfer.“So what brings you by?”
“I… uh, was over at the Sheriff’s Department with Matt Griffin and my brother Brian.Matt asked us to help out on a case.I saw your light on as I was heading home.”He felt funny just standing there while she worked.“Can I help you?”
“No, thanks.I’m almost done for the night.My arm’s getting tired.”
He laughed and came close to offering to massage it for her.He stopped himself, though, because he wasn’t sure how she would take the suggestion.“Listen, have you eaten yet?I’m starved.While you finish up, I can run over to Basil’s and pick up a pizza for us.”
“That sounds fantastic.Their pizza is the best.I haven’t had a chance to eat there since I’ve been back, and I’m starting to crave it!”
“Toppings?”
Her eyes lit up as glanced over her shoulder at him.“Pepperoni, of course.Lots of it!”
Nodding, he pivoted toward the door.“Works for me.I’ll be back in a few.”
“Don’t forget to grab some paper plates and napkins.”
Sean acknowledged her with a wave over his shoulder as he unlocked the front door and let himself out.While he was gone, Grace finished up the silhouette and then cleaned the paint brushes and her hands.A short time later, they were sitting on the floor of her business with their backs against one of the walls that had been painted a few days earlier.The partially eaten pizza sat in an open box between them, along with two small bottles of Coke.Hungry, they ate in silence for a few minutes.
Reaching for a second slice, Grace asked, “So what case are you working on?No offense, but I assume it can’t be good if you were asked to get involved.”
He waited until he swallowed a mouthful of pizza before he answered.“No, it isn’t.It’s a homicide.Female victim under strange circumstances.”He didn’t go into it any further since it still wasn’t public knowledge a serial killer had settled into Dare County.
She looked over at him.“You can’t tell me anything more, can you?”
“Not really,” he admitted while grabbing a third slice.He hadn’t been kidding earlier when he’d said he was starving.At least the pizza was settling better in his stomach than his sandwich had after the autopsy.“Sorry.”
“No problem.I had quite a few friends on the police force in New York.They couldn’t discuss their cases much either.”She put down her paper plate and picked up her soda bottle.“That was delicious.Thanks for getting dinner.”
“No problem.”He pointed to the golfer silhouette.“The walls look great.You’re a good artist.”
Grace let out a small snort.“Actually, I’m a good tracer.I borrowed an old overhead projector from the elementary school, put outlines of athletes on it, and blew them up onto the wall.All I had to do was trace the images.”
Looking at an empty space on the wall next to the skier, Sean was barely able to make out a pencil outline of a baseball player holding a bat.“Well, it’s much better than I can do, so I’m still impressed.”
She smiled at him in thanks, and he felt warm inside.Without thinking, he reached over and gently tugged a strand of her hair through his fingers.It was as silky as it looked, and he felt his groin tighten.When he realized she was staring at him questioningly, he snatched his hand back.“Sorry.You had some paint in your hair.”
It was getting harder and harder to fight his attraction to her, but he was still up in the air about whether or not he should make that attraction known.He had no idea if she shared the same feelings or not.Sean jumped to his feet and began to gather up the remnants of their meal.“I better get going.It’s been a long day.I’ll throw this in the dumpster out back.”
Grace stood also.“I’m exhausted myself.Probably sleep like the dead tonight.”She immediately grimaced.“Sorry.Bad analogy.”
“No problem.I’ve heard worse.”Members of law enforcement tended to have a warped sense of humor.“If you’re ready to leave, I’ll walk you out.”
“Okay.Let me just grab my purse, and I’ll lock up while you take out the garbage.”
Later that night, Sean lay in bed, frustrated.As tired as he was, he just couldn’t shut down his racing mind.He had brought home copies of the case files to continue familiarizing himself with the facts and hopefully come up with a profile of the UNSUB.He’d struggled to concentrate on the computer printouts, but his attention kept wandering back to Grace.
What would she say if he invited her out on a date?He groaned.Fuck!What would Bonnie say?It would probably be just plain awkward for everybody.Besides, Grace probably thought of him as a brother or cousin.If he asked her out, it would undoubtedly have anick factorabout it.
