June watched him from the corner of her eye and then looked out the windshield again, willing her thoughts to slow down.
They were heading back toward Sandpiper Shores, toward the police station, toward Tom, and toward a situation that could turn ugly in ways June did not want to imagine.
A mile passed in silence before June realized something else. She had not eaten. She had been so caught up with what the day working in close proximity to Holt was going to be like, that she’d skipped the one meal she always forced herself to have. Her stomach reminded her now with a hollow ache.
June glanced at Holt.
“Have you had breakfast?” June asked quietly.
Holt didn’t take his eyes off the road as he answered her. “If coffee counts as breakfast.”
“That doesn’t count at all,” June said with a small laugh.
Holt exhaled a short breath through his nose. It wasn’t quite a laugh, but it was something close.
“I will survive,” Holt assured her, then teased, “There are some donuts back at the precinct, I’ll have one of those when we get back.”
June looked down at her hands. The folded note rested between her fingers again. She could feel the edge of the paper against her skin, the way it had landed on Holt’s lap like a secret slipping loose.
“There’s a diner up the road,” June instructed, pointing ahead. “I skipped it this morning and don’t feel like donuts.”
“Good idea,” Holt agreed. “I don’t really feel like them either.” He smiled at her.
June nodded, relieved, and then her stomach sank again, not because of hunger, but because of a thought that had been creeping at the edges of her mind since Holt first told her what Harvey had said.
June stared straight ahead as the diner came into view, a low building with a faded sign and a row of pickup trucks parked out front. It looked harmless. Ordinary. The kind of place where people poured coffee without asking questions and kept the same regulars in the same booths year after year.
And yet June’s pulse began to climb.
The thought she’d been avoiding rose up all at once, sharp and ugly, and June nearly blurted it before she could stop herself.
“Holt, what if—” June began, but stopped. short, biting her tongue as the words died in her throat.
Because suddenly she heard herself and the way it would sound. She heard the implication of what she had almost said and could picture Holt’s face, the way his eyes would narrow, the way irritation would creep into his voice. Because the thought that had stolen into her mind would sound petty, and Holt could perceive it as June letting her personal emotions steer something that needed to stay focused on the case.
June pressed her lips together and stared at the diner’s parking lot as Holt eased the car into a space.
Holt switched off the engine, then turned toward her.
“What if, what?” Holt asked, and his voice was gentle, but there was an edge of impatience beneath it. He hated it when people started a sentence and then just cut it off, not finishing it.
June swallowed. Her heart thudded hard in her chest.
She forced herself to look at him and cleared away the doubt creeping in.This needed to be said,June told herself.It’s not petty.It’s an avenue worth exploring.
“I know how this is going to sound,” June said quietly, raising her one hand.
Holt’s eyebrows lifted. “Okay. What is it?”
June tightened her grip on the note, then busied herself by popping it into her purse more to steady and gather her composure before turning back toward him. His blue eyes were studying her intently, making her heart stutter in her chest, but she forced herself to concentrate on what she needed to say.
“Before I tell you what I need to say,” June told him, holding his gaze, “you must know that this has nothing to do with whether or not you and Victoria are dating.”
Holt blew out a breath, and his expression immediately turned to one of irritation, as if the very mention of Victoria in that context was an annoyance he had been trying to ignore. “We’re not dating,” he said through gritted teeth as if the mere thought pained him. “And before you ask, as so many in Sandpiper Shores already have, I’m not going to dinner with her.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know where that rumor came from, but it’s spread through town like a wildfire.”
June stared at him, caught off guard by the force of his annoyance. “I think it’s from her visiting you at the police department.”
“Good grief,” Holt spat, the irritation still there, but his tone controlled. “Victoria came to the police building looking for Tom. She found me instead, and before I had time to duck orthink, the moment she saw me, she launched herself into my arms before I could stop her. And believe me, it was an ambush.”
