Ryan and Zac were still out there, and in the early hours of the morning, Joel and Connor would switch in.
He glanced up at his house, light slipping through the crack in the curtains. Now he was going to have to tell Polly, and she was going to make the same connection he had.
Jonah was out on bail.
A new woman was missing.
A woman who was connected to Jonah.
Shit.
He climbed out and moved toward the door. The rich, sweet scent of bolognese hit him the second he stepped inside. Polly stood in the kitchen by the stove, back toward him. She wore jeans and a denim top that showed off a strip of skin.
Shit, she was gorgeous. And she gave him the first kick of energy he’d had in hours.
He stepped behind her and curved his arms around her waist.
She jumped and touched his forearm, before softening. “Joel.”
He kissed her cheek, then her neck, almost getting lost in that sweet scent of hers. “You didn’t hear me?”
“I was distracted.”
“By what?”
There was a small pause before she turned. “How was your day?”
“Not good.”
Her brows flickered. “What happened?”
“I want to know what’s going on with you first.”
“That’s not going to make your day any better.”
That familiar tension crept back into his shoulders. “I can take it.”
She swallowed, holding his gaze for another second. “Maybe you should have something to eat first.” She turned back to the stove.
“Polly?”
“I made a huge pot of spaghetti bolognese and have an obnoxious amount of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.” She crossed to the upper cupboard and pulled out two bowls. “Yes, two cheeses, because you can’t have enough cheese with pasta, right?”
“Polly.”
“Wine.” She turned and scanned the room. “We definitely need wine. Do you have?—”
He stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “What’s going on?”
She cringed. “I don’t want to make your day worse.”
“I told you, I can handle it.”
Her bottom lip disappeared between her lips before her next words came out in a rush. “Your parents came into the shop today.”
Yep. She was right. That definitely made it worse. “What did they say?”
“That they wanted to talk to me. I told them I was busy, but…” She wrinkled her nose. “Then they asked me to meet them at the inn tonight. Well, actually,askis generous. Told me to meet them at the inn.”
