She grabs a paper towel from the roll and dabs along her forehead.“You. Lurking around, waiting for me to get home.” Her eyes twinkle, the red circles of sadness no longer as prevalent.
I struggle for a comeback, but manage to quip, “Are you complaining?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” she mocks unconvincingly, briefly looking me up and down.
“Whatever. Lie to yourself if you must, but I see the smile you’re fighting.” I wink at her, turning up the charm as I find my footing. “Admit it. You’re happy to see me.”
Any moment, Morgan Freeman will appear to tell me I’m deluding myself. He’s wrong. Ihonestlysee her smile trying to escape. It’s a shot of pure adrenaline racing through my veins.
Something flashes behind her eyes right before they fall to the floor. Her cheeks get impossibly pinker, and she scampers across the kitchen to put the pitcher into the fridge. “Where’s my guitar? It’s time for my daily rendition ofStairway to Heaven. If I don’t play it by seven, the mice won’t be able to fall asleep.”
Random distraction Lila is quite possibly my favorite version of her.
Son of a bitch.I’m stuck in a loop. I gather my wits to focus, only for her to throw me off kilter a second later. Rinse and repeat for infinity.
I need to knock this shit off.Now. I’m not here to catalog and rank my favorite versions of her. I’m here for work. Andonlyfor work.
For. Work.
The case.
Morgan Freeman clears his throat in the back of my mind.Once again, our hero has found himself in delusional territory. Let’s see how long it takes him to find a way out this time.
I exhale and roll out my shoulders, happily ignoring the overrated actor impersonating my conscience.
Overrated my ass, he mumbles.
Shut up.
Once Lila closes the refrigerator, she spins around slowly and pins me with a playful look. “Is this how you spend your day off? You might need to get some hobbies. It’s never too late to learn how to become a mime.”
I don’t react to her jab, taking a step closer. “Who says I’m off?”
She puts her hands on her curvy hips, right where I want mine to be. “Special Agent Hayes, are you saying the government pays your salary so you can hang out at your sister’s apartment, waiting for her friend to get home so you can try to trick her into a dateagain?” She tsks her lips at me and takes a confident step forward. “Such a waste of tax dollars. Someone should tip off the media.”
I remove the last of the space separating us, coming close enough to feel her body heat. “Who says I’m trying to get you to go on a date with me?”
She licks her gaze across my face. I do the same, eager to soak up the view of her at this distance.
Out of nowhere, she taps her index finger on the tip of my nose. “Boop.” Beaming in a cheek-splitting grin, she walks past me, grazing my arm, which gives me a little jolt.
Fighting a chuckle, I stand dumbstruck while she leaves the kitchen, returning a second later with her hands full of the gift I brought.
She glances at the bouquet, then back at me, arching one brow like an accusation. “The flowers were a dead giveaway. Especially coming from you.”
I shrug.Yeah, she’s right. Flowers aren’t my style. At all. But I’m trying to lay the groundwork here. If I can’t get her to let her guard down, she’ll never talk to me about whatever she’s wrapped up in.
Plus, Andrews told me to bring something more than my ego the next time I saw Lila. So I did.
“Fine. You caught me.”
She delicately sniffs the colorful blooms, her eyes rolling back as she savors the scent.
Then she smiles at me, shining rays of light directly into my soul.
“These are lovely. Thank you.”
Judging by that reaction, maybe bringing Lila flowersshouldbe my thing. Her smile enchants me.
