Luca snorted. “You couldn’t pay me to spend my weekends with a bunch of little kids. Serious respect, though, man.”
Evan tried not to notice the way Becs’s face fell. He knew she’d been trying to get Luca’s attention for months. Ever since they started working here, she’d had eyes for him. He suspected Becs was keeping her advances subtle so as not to alert the entire team to her intentions, but Evan hadn’t missed them.
He wanted to say he didn’t care that she had a thing for Luca, but that was a fucking lie. Despite knowing he would never be a good fit for Becs, Evan couldn’t deny he’d returned to the land of the living because of her. He’d been mourning the death of his wife for so long that he honestly thought it would never happen. But here he was, pining for her like a damn teenage boy, not a grown man who knew better.
Realizing he was still staring at Becs, he sat up straight and stretched his neck, pretending he’d been lost in his thoughts. She was now looking at him, but he couldn’t decipher her expression. She seemed almost … surprised. As though she was seeing him for the first time.
Or she was simply trying to figure out why he was staring.
Yeah. That was more likely.
***
Becs managed to stay busy until lunchtime. She waited until almost everyone had disappeared, hoping for a moment to speak to Evan alone. And she finally had the chance since they were the only two people in the barn. Downstairs, anyway.
JJ was still in her loft office, likely with her headphones in so she could work in peace. Baz had left to pick up food for the two of them. Atticus had gone to the house earlier to talk to Reese or Brantley about a case he was working on. He never came back. Holly and Elana had taken their lunch break to run to the outlet mall in Round Rock. Evidently, Elana had a date on Saturday, and Holly was helping her find the perfect outfit.
Even Slade had slipped out, deciding to grab lunch at the diner in Coyote Ridge with Luca after the man asked everyone if they wanted to join him, and no one else hopped on that bandwagon. Although two months ago, Becs would’ve jumped at the chance to make a fool of herself in front of Luca, she’d picked up on his hints lately. Like his comment earlier when he said he wouldn’t spend a minute with a bunch of kids even if someone paid him. She got the feeling that wasn’t entirely true. It was merely his equivalent of a semaphore flag, warning her to keep a safe distance.Stop. Turn around. Not interested.
Yeah. She got it.
And if shit like that hadn’t been obvious, Becs had figured it out on her own when she saw Luca with another woman after work one day. Rather than go straight home, Becs had headed to downtown Coyote Ridge to stop in at the bookstore. Turned out Luca’d had a similar idea, only she was sure he wasn’t there searching for a book for an eight-year-old. If he had, she didn’t know how he could’ve found one while playing tonsil hockey with a stunning brunette near the back door.
Not that seeing him had broken her heart or anything. Becs had thought he was an attractive, intelligent man when they first met, and she’d indulged in the fantasy that one day, she might date a cowboy.
But she’d gotten over him quickly. Not only because she realized they had absolutely nothing in common outside the office but also thanks to an infatuation she wasn’t quite as capable of shrugging off. Seemed to be a trend she was starting. Finding herself attracted to men in the office. And in this case, one particular man she had no business whatsoever fantasizing about.
Evan Vaughn.
In all fairness, she had far more in common with Evan than anyone else on the task force, although she was sure he would say differently. On the personal side, they were both in their thirties. It didn’t matter to her that there were seven years between them. Evan had turned thirty-nine back in June, and she’d turned thirty-two last Monday. He claimed he was now on the fast track to forty, but Becs had never been one to gauge age by a number.
Plus, they both had daughters who were the center of their worlds, respectively. Career-wise, they’d both started out pursuing legal careers before shifting into law enforcement. Evan had done two semesters of law school before dropping out and becoming a police officer in Tampa. Becs had been a paralegal prior to this job. On the past relationship front, Evan had lost his wife to violence, and Becs had divorced her husband because he inflicted it.
Okay, so the last point wasn’t really a similarity. Becs did not relate her abusive marriage to the fact that Evan’s wife had been brutally murdered by a serial killer. Aside from the fact that the experiences had shaped who they’d become, there was no correlation at all. And while she knew Evan hadn’t fully recovered from the loss, Becs found herself wanting to help him move on even if it wasn’t in her best interest.
But while they did have things in common, and she was certain they’d make a great couple, Becs didn’t want Evan to know she had a crush on him. Over the past few months, they’d developed a rather wonderful friendship outside the office, and she had no desire to give that up. Not even if it would quench her long-running dry spell.
Becs cut her gaze to Evan, waiting to see if he was getting ready to leave. Based on his routine, he would get up from his desk in roughly three minutes. He would make a quick stop at the restroom, then he’d come back to his desk, grab his phone, his wallet, and his keys before heading out the door. The man was nothing if not a stickler for routines, and if he didn’t get lunch at the appropriate time, his natural grumpiness level dialed up about ten notches come mid-afternoon.
Countdown begins in three … two…
Becs locked her gaze on her computer screen when Evan pushed his chair back from his desk. She skimmed her email while he stretched and waited another minute when he went to the back of the barn where the restroom was.
Once she was alone in the space, she began running through what she wanted to say to him.
Hey, Evan. Your mom and I thought it would be best if I stayed the night and helped with the birthday party.
Hmm. No, that sounded like it had been Kaye’s idea. Since it hadn’t, she figured it was best not to blame Evan’s mother.
Hey, Evan. I talked to your mom the other day. I was thinking maybe I could spend the night and help with the birthday party.
No, that wouldn’t work. Without a direct question, Evan would likely shrug her off.
Hey, Evan. What do you think about me staying the night to help with the birthday party?
Maybe that was too forward.
Shit.
