Her own smile didn’t fade as she hightailed it to her vehicle so she could get home to do the umpteen things required to travel with a dog. How had she gotten so lucky as to meet a great guy who was happy spending time with her? No agenda, no pressure, and he seemed to really get her independent streak.
Maybe Noah Colton had more in common with a unicorn than she’d expected.
CHAPTER 12
Noah threaded his fingers through Sabrina’s as he led her through the National Park Service building to Jacob’s office. She didn’t protest, but the look she slanted him dripped question marks.
“I haven’t seen you since Saturday,” he murmured and brushed a thumb over hers. “I missed you.”
“So you said,” she said, giving him a smirk. “Several times. Both on the phone and when you picked me up this morning.”
But she didn’t seem to mind an extra dose of touchy-feely, nor did she push him for any further clarification. Which was good. Because he didn’t know how to explain the sudden urge to ensure everyone—especially Jacob—knew she was with him.
This rush of possessiveness wasn’t his normal vibe at all. And he didn’t think he’d be the type to listen to emo songs and eat a gallon of ice cream while his girlfriend visited her mother either, but here they were.
Sabrina had upended everything inside his skin. He kind of liked the way it unbalanced him. Shouldn’t all great experiences do that?
“Your brother’s going to kill me for bringing you along,” Sabrina said, matching his stride as they rounded the corner.
“Probably.” Noah’s grin widened. “But what are little brothers for if it’s not showing up unannounced at an official interagency meeting. Besides, Jacob likes you. So I’m counting on you to smooth things over.”
Maybe in more ways than one. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t hope his brother could see him with Sabrina, see how great they were together and get over himself. Jacob would readily admit his warnings had been unfounded.
And the way things were going, Noah fully expected Sabrina to be by his side a whole lot more at family events and Thanksgiving and such. It would be nice if Jacob was already on board.
They reached Jacob’s office door, the buzz under his skin different this time. Better. Because he wasn’t trying to get information for his article alone, but was here with someone who’d fiercely insisted that he should do the thing he loved, that it was important to reclaim what he’d lost.
Noah had a speech prepared for when his brother realized Sabrina hadn’t come alone. Three actually, ranging from “I ran into her at the door” to “She kidnapped me and forced me to drive.” Hopefully one of them would convince his by-the-book brother to bend a little.
He pushed open the door, speech number one locked and loaded as he guided Sabrina over the threshold.
Jacob glanced up from his desk. “Officer West, right on time.” When his gaze narrowed and zeroed in on Noah, he held up a hand. “Are you a packaged deal now?”
Noah grinned. “I figured my invitation got lost in the mail. I forgive the oversight.”
“I take it you two know each other,” Sabrina deadpanned, which earned a solid laugh from Noah. Jacob actually cracked a smile. “Nice to see you, Agent Colton. It’s been a while.”
Jacob stood and extended his hand to Sabrina, holding it a touch too long for Noah’s taste. “Whatever this joker told you to get you to bring him along for the ride, it’s all lies.”
“Hey,” Noah protested, crossing his arms hard over his torso as he tried to ignore how jealous that innocuous handshake among colleagues had made him. “I brought her, not the other way around. The gentlemanly thing to do when you find out your brother has information about a case you happen to be interested in.”
“Yeah, always the gentleman.” Jacob snickered. “I’ll just call someone to escort you out.”
Noah sighed. Obviously, Jacob wasn’t in a charitable mood, though why Noah had thought his brother might be willing to throw him a bone, he had no idea.
“Agent Colton.” Sabrina stepped in front of Noah smoothly, angling her body so he was almost hidden behind her. “As you’re aware, SAR played a key role in recovering our Jane Doe. I’m certain it wouldn’t be a breach of protocol if the specialist sat in on our interagency briefing.”
There were a lot of heavy, suggestive glances going on between Jacob and Sabrina, which made Noah a little squirrelly, but she was pleading his case, so he kept his mouth shut.
Jacob folded his hands, eyebrows raised. “Are you officially requesting the SAR specialist’s presence, Officer West? As a lead officer responsible for the coordination between our departments?”
Beaming, Sabrina nodded vigorously. “Why, yes, Agent Colton. I am. How kind of you to ask.”
“Fine.” Jacob waved a hand dismissively as if he didn’t really care one way or the other. But then he eyed Noah. “Don’t make me sorry.”
“Not a chance, Agent Colton,” Noah said with just a smidge of sarcasm that was one hundred percent warranted as he parked himself in a chair just in case his brother changed his mind. Though it wasn’t bolted to the floor. Jacob could still kick him out, so that felt like not so much of a safeguard.
Really, he needed a bag to hold the remnants of his heart, which had liquefied and poured out all over the floor at Sabrina’s feet.
