“Exactly what I was going for.” She stooped, hooked the towel with a couple of fingers, and returned it to the bathroom. “I don’t think you ever wore these. They were still store-folded.”
“My mother sent them to me my first Christmas Eve after I was married. It made me laugh. Diane didn’t think it was amusing. She didn’t get the tradition or the humor. Squeezed the fun out of it for me. I didn’t tell Mum I never wore them, that I never wore any of the ones she sent me while I was with Diane. She kept sending them; I kept putting them away. When Mum got sick, and I came back to help out, I wore some of them so she’d see. I guess I didn’t get around to that pair.”
Ramsey was at the bedside by now. Without any indication of what she meant to do, she pulled the drawstring on the pajama bottoms, wriggled her hips and legs until the drawers pooled at her ankles. She stepped out of them, bent to pick them up, and tossed them at Sullivan. “Go on. Wear them now. You can have the top when I’m not in it, but that’s not tonight.”
“Thanks. I think.” He unrolled the cuffs she’d made in the legs, and then pulled the bottoms under the covers and shifted back and forth until he was able to get them on. He tied the drawstring and patted his flat stomach. “Still a good fit.”
Ramsey tugged on her striped top so the hem covered her hips and carefully climbed into bed. She turned out the bedside lamp and scooted over until she was a handbreadth away from Sullivan. When he slid down out of his sitting position, and invited her closer, she rolled in and tucked herself against him.
She placed her hand on his chest, splayed her fingers. The room was quiet and she cleared her mind and allowed herself to appreciate the silence. In the event he had fallen asleep, or thought she had, she spoke on a mere thread of sound. “Thank you.”
Sullivan laid his hand over hers and let that suffice as his acknowledgement.
She turned her head and placed a kiss against shoulder. “You don’t know why, do you?”
“Not a blessed clue,” he said sleepily.
Ramsey yawned. “That’s all right. So many things.”
“Tell me tomorrow?”
“Mm-hmm.” She closed her eyes and didn’t remember when dreams pushed aside every other thought.
34
Ramsey drankthe remainder of her cereal milk straight from the bowl and put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. She watched Sullivan spread orange marmalade on a triangle of toast. He took so much time getting marmalade to the edges of the triangle that she began tapping her foot.
Sullivan took note of the foot tattoo and raised an eyebrow. “Are you always this eager to get to work?”
“I have to go home first, change my clothes, and I was serious about not being late again. I don’t need you to walk me to my car.”
“Maybe not, but I’m doing it.” He folded the toast triangle in half, finished it in two bites, and dusted off his hands. “All set.” He took his jacket off the back of one chair and then tossed hers over the counter. “Maybe I should follow you to your house.”
“No. Let’s stick to what we agreed. I’ll call you if Jay’s there or if he shows up at the Ridge.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to that, but I’ll go along for now. Reluctantly.”
They used the front door to exit the house and the sidewalk to reach her car. He stood back while she climbed in, but when she was behind the wheel, he motioned to her to lower the window. He stepped up to the door. “License and registration.”
“Will you accept a bribe, officer?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“This.” She leaned over and kissed him full on the mouth. It was a deep, wet, lingering kiss, and it left them both a bit dazed. She blew out breath as she faced forward again. “Whoa.”
“Uh-huh. Hell of a bribe. I should arrest you for assault.” But he was grinning stupidly as he retreated to the curb, tapped the roof of her SUV, and waved her on. Standing there, watching her go, he wondered when she might be ready to hear that he was in love with her.
In deep, in love. Period.
Jay’s car wasn’t anywhere around when she arrived home. She parked in the garage, hurried inside, and changed her clothes. Dressing for success, she put on a pair of black leggings and a dark green cable knit sweater dress that almost reached her knees. She slipped back into her ankle boots, gathered her hair in another loose topknot, secured it with a couple of tortoise shell picks, then added a chunky multi-strand wooden bead necklace. A little powder, a swipe of lip gloss, a touch of mascara, and she was bolting out the door, carrying her coat over her shoulder.
Ramsey punched in with a minute and a half to spare. When she turned away from the time clock, Paul was standing right there. In spite of her annoyance, or maybe because of it, she greeted him brightly. “Good morning, Paul. What’s up?”
“Keep an eye on jewelry. The reports indicate we’re losing inventory at a rate that’s going to get this store tagged as an outlier.”
“Then it’s likely a team.”
“Or someone working the inside.”
