When Tessa turned back to the basket, Benjamin made eye contact with Zane, then mouthed, “She okay?”
To which Zane gave nothing more than a barely there shake of his head. Luke and Gil were talking to Tessa but paying attention to him and Benjamin. Concern on every face. They were taking this seriously, but their banter had lightened the mood and seemed to snap Tessa out of the dark mental space she’d been in.
How was he blessed enough to work with these men? Before he went back to DC, he would have to be sure to tell them how much it meant to him to know they had Tessa’s back.
“This came from Hank Littlefield?” Gil removed a box of Bit-O-Honey from the basket. “Did he buy every candy at Mast General Store?”
They didn’t have a Mast General in Raleigh, but there was one in Winston-Salem. The store had barrels filled with all manner of candies, including everything from chocolate-covered pretzels to old-fashioned, individually wrapped hard candies. Tessa made ita point to stop there anytime she was in the area. Zane knew that. As did Gil and Luke. Benjamin might have.
But how would Hank Littlefield know about Tessa’s deep love for all forms of candy? And not just any candy. He’d created a basket filled with her favorites. Was he following her? Stalking her?
“Looks like it.” Luke examined the box of peppermint sticks. “Still sealed.”
Tessa finally spoke, her voice rough. “I’m not touching any of it.”
“Oh, we’re tossing all of it.” Gil picked up another bag filled with strawberry bonbons. “But not until we know where it came from and how he could have known that our Tessa has a sweet tooth.”
“Ihave a sweet tooth,” Benjamin all but growled. “Tessa has a highly advanced sweet obsession. I’d never seen anyone as giddy as she was the day that package came with the Zero bars in it.”
Luke and Gil both grinned huge. Tessa kept her eyes on the basket. Benjamin went on, oblivious to the sudden shift of the mood in the room. “You’d have thought someone had given her tickets to the Super Bowl. She hugged the box.”
“Did she?” Zane tried to keep his own grin from breaking free.
“Wait.” Benjamin turned to Tessa. “They weren’t from Littlefield, were they?”
“No.”
“Who sent those?” Benjamin asked.
Tessa gave him a tight smile. “Zero bars are hard to find around here. Zane found them and mailed them to me.”
Now it was Benjamin’s turn to grin, and his grin came with a healthy helping of sly innocence. “Wow. Zane. That was so nice of you.”
Zane took back every positive thought he’d ever had about Benjamin North. “Can we get back to the fact that Littlefield showed up here bearing gifts for Tessa?”
“He’s a moron.” Tessa stood with her arms wrapped around herself as if she were trying to keep from flying apart. “But it’s hard for me to see him as a threat. Unless his idiocy has been a long-term ploy to make himself appear too stupid to pull off anything so he can get close and successfully implement an attack.”
“We need to get the contents of this basket tested.” Luke piled everything back inside. “I’ll call CCBI and see what they can do for us.”
The City-County Bureau of Identification was unique to Wake County and one of the best forensic teams anywhere. They’d be able to get answers.
“Until we have results, we proceed with caution.” Everyone agreed with Luke’s remark. “We assume he’s either part of the plan to take Tessa out, or he’s being used by the people who want her out. If we’re wrong, and this is nothing more than a misguided attempt at courting, then we can point out the error of his ways after this is over.”
“Do we have to?” Gil tapped the basket. “I mean, wouldn’t it be a disservice to all humankind if this man married and reproduced? It would be wrong to unleash someone like him on humanity. If he carries on like this, he’ll keep himself out of the dating pool indefinitely.”
“Good point. We’ll revisit it later.” Luke looked around the room. “All agreed?”
A chorus of yeses was the response.
“Excellent. Let’s get this stuff out of here, debrief, and go home.” Luke picked up the basket. “I’m tired, and I’d like to see my wife before midnight.”
“Me too.Mywife, that is. Not yours.” Gil opened the door as laughter filled the room. They filed out and went down the hall to their offices, each with a wave or salute to Greg.
WHEN THEY REACHEDthe conference room, Luke and Gil veered off to log the offending basket in to evidence. Benjamin’s phone rang, and he disappeared into the cubicles to answer it.
Tessa was left alone with Zane. There were so many things she wanted to say. Needed to say. But now wasn’t the time or the place. So she settled for the barest minimum acceptable response. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Princess.”
