He kept his gaze on her.“Really sorry about Liam, Josie.I know I didn’t come around much to see if you needed anything.I just...I didn’t know what to say.We were all affected by Liam’s passing and I didn’t cope well.”
Josie lowered her gaze to the table and lifted her shoulders.“No need to be sorry,” she said, her voice flat.“I appreciate you putting this stuff together.”She folded her arms on the table then met Cody’s gaze.“Do you suspect that something was amiss that day?”
Cody slid his fingers over the mousepad then blew out a breath.“I wish I could say yes.Quin showed me the harness, and I admit it looks as though it was tampered with.But in this industry accidents happen all too often.Either way, I just want the truth and if I can help bring peace, or catch someone, I’m down for that.”He stood and held out his hand to Quin.
Quin got up, accepted Cody’s hand, then clapped him on the back.“Thanks, man.I’ll watch the footage and get back to you.”
Cody snorted.“There’s several hours’ worth and you’ll need some caffeine to do it.”He chuckled, waved to Josie, and left.
Quin shut the door and locked it.Turning back to the table, he studied Josie as she threaded her fingers through her hair and stared at the tabletop.
“You okay?”he asked.Tension radiated up and down his forearms.Who was he kidding?Of course she wasn’t okay.She’d just kissed him—a major step and possibly a huge mistake on her part—and then had to relive Liam’s death in the next breath.He wouldn’t be okay.
She lifted her chin.“I don’t want to talk about the kiss.Let’s just watch the videos and eat, okay?”
He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth.“Okay.”He pulled out a chair and sat then opened her computer and accessed his email.In seconds he had the first video loading.
Josie shifted next to him.Inches separated their arms, but instead of the familiar crackle of electricity, he felt an icy wall.The conversation before she’d kissed him ran through his mind, his own words playing in his head like a sick broken record.He was the one who’d opened the door.He was the one who’d expressed his long-suppressed feelings.
She might have kissed him, but the fuckup was on him.
***
Eight minutes.
Josie sipped from her matcha latte and batted her heavy eyelids for the thousandth time.Cody hadn’t been lying.No amount of ramen, sushi, or caffeine was going to keep her alert.They’d been watching the tapes for the last four and a half hours.
But the amount of time Frasier had disappeared from the cameras for stuck in her mind as they watched the other, even more boring, tapes.Like Cody had said, eight minutes could have been a chat with a worker, a phone call, a bathroom visit...or screwing around with the harness that Liam had died wearing.
Quin stretched and scrubbed the back of his neck.Somehow, he’d managed to stay a heck of a lot more interested in the surveillance than she had.
I kissed Quin.
So much for not being a hussy.She’d be lying if she said her mind had never ventured into that territory before.She’d never fantasized about him.Oh, no.Liam had been her one and only.But over the years, she’d experienced the odd dream where she was kissing Liam only to pull away and find herself in Quin’s arms.Her subconscious mind had clearly picked up on his attraction for her, and yeah, probably the little queasy feeling that danced in her stomach whenever he gave her a longer-than-usual look.
But kissing Quin had been reckless.Now, there was a fat-ass elephant in the room and she either had to be a coward and pretend as though it didn’t happen or face the music—which she was so, so not going to do tonight.
“My money’s still on Frasier,” Quin said.“What do you think?”
“It’s definitely possible.”
“Why don’t we take a break?”Quin turned off the video and shut the computer.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes.“I needed that.”
He chuckled and sat back in his seat.
She copied his movement, letting the wooden-backed chair press into her shoulder blades.Her stomach flopped over.If he wanted to talk about the kiss, she might have to turn in early.She needed time to process what she’d allowed her instincts to do before she talked about feelings.“And do what?”She kept her tone passive, despite the jumping of her nerves.
He shrugged, dipping the corner of his mouth.“What’s Josie do for fun these days?”
She grinned and shook her head.“My work is fun.”
He squinted with interest, and her insides instantly knotted.“Still making crystal jewelry?”
“Yeah, I do custom pieces now and started selling them at Dez’s store.”
He lowered his gaze to her neck.“Is that one of them?”
