What the hell?No. It. Does. Not.
Oblivious to the internal what-the-fuck moment Matt was experiencing, Derek kept talking. “How’s she doin’? I heard she was at the lab when the whole thing went down.”
Matt nodded. “Better than most. Kat’s pretty tough though, so…”
“Oh, that’s right.” One corner of Derek’s mouth lifted. “Heard you two used to be a thing back in the day.”
Matt closed his eyes for a few seconds and took in a deep breath. He swore some of the R.I.S.C. operatives were worse gossipers than a bunch of bored housewives.
“Used to.” He opened his lids and stared back at the intelligent man. “Key words to remember.”
“What happened? Your needy dick screw it up?” Derek made a clicking sound with his tongue and shook his head full of shaggy, sandy-blond hair. “Knew you were quick to whip it out now, but damn, Turner. You couldn’t keep it in your pants even back then?”
Swinging his head to the door to make sure it was still closed, Matt ground out, “It wasn’t my dick that screwed it up, asshole. AndIwasn’t the one who ended things.”
Shit.He hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud. Matt also didn’t understand why the thought of Kat hearing about his generous sex life bothered him so much. She’d been married to another man, for fuck’s sake.
Sympathy swirled behind Derek’s blue eyes. “Oh. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. That split was the best thing that ever happened to me.”Liar.
Matt could tell Derek wasn’t buying it either, but at least he dropped the subject and moved on.
“So…I’m also runnin’ a check on Sloane Anderson’s financials since he owns the company and obviously knew about the formula. And Ryker’s getting me the names of the military contractors who sought out Anderson in the first place. Just in case this whole thing started on that end. And I’ll start workin’ on Todd’s phone as soon as I get back to the office.”
Matt sat the files down onto the table. “You want something to drink?”
“Nah. Charlie’s got a pretty big wedding coming up, so I thought I’d give her a break and surprise her by taking her out to lunch.”
Charlie, or Charlotte, was Derek’s fiancée and quickly becoming one of the most sought-after professional party planners in Dallas.
“You’d better get back on the road, then.”
Derek grinned. “I’m thinking I may take the scenic route home. Let Faith stretch her wheels while she can.”
Matt smiled and shook his head. “You and that damn car.”
“Hey, man. Don’t knock her ‘til you’ve tried her.”
“Ican’ttry her, because you won’t let anyone else drive her.”
Derek stepped off the porch and headed for the car. “Hell no, I won’t.”
“Not even Charlie?”
The other man turned and smiled as he opened the driver’s door. “She likes ridin’ while I do the drivin’.” With a wink, Derek got into his car and started the ignition.
With a roll of his eyes, Matt went back into the cabin, stopping short when he saw Kat standing inside the doorway.
“Oh. Hey.”
“Was that Derek?”
“Yeah.” Matt tipped his head in the direction of the table. “He dropped those off. I was going to start looking through them now, but since you’re out here, you mind if I take a shower first?”
Why the fuck was he asking her permission?
“No.” She shook her head. “Not at all.”
