Page 26 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“I know that, Kaylee,” he said softly, climbing to his feet like he was going to hug her.

“Nope, no.” She backed away from him in the direction of her room, holding her hands out for good measure. “Despite this little farce we have going on, we’re not actually friends.”

Rick’s lips compressed before he gave her a curt nod.

Kaylee couldn’t think of anything to say that would make this tension-filled moment any better, so without a word, she disappeared into her bedroom again, cursing her soft heart and his fetching brown eyes.

Fetching? For goodness’ sake, woman, he is the enemy! Remember that.

Chapter Thirteen

Rick

Rick woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and a stiffer hard-on. Dreaming of the woman in the other room kissing her way down his body had left him completely riveted. When the swishing hay being thrown around Pumpkin’s enclosure broke through the sensual fantasy, he’d been livid. He’d wanted to see what happened next.

How can you fantasize about someone who hates you so damn much?

Rick didn’t have an answer, at least, not a good one. Being around Kaylee stirred things in him, feelings that were less than professional. Something about her, even now when she was so angry at him, made him want to tease a smile from her, to hear that laugh, or even just annoy her until she was too flustered to speak. It was completely illogical and unlike him. Rick was used to following the rules of not letting anything distract him from his goals. He was like his father in that way.

Manuel Diaz loved his horses more than his wife or children, and although the family joked about it as if it were normal, Rick knew, from watching his other friends with their fathers, that it wasn’t. His mother wasn’t much better, but at least she’d taken some interest in his education, encouraging him to never get less than a B and to keep busy with as many sports as possible. She believed that busy boys didn’t have time to make mischief.

He’d done what she said, and now, he needed to stay focused more than ever. Despite this being a “vacation,” he was here to do a job, and he needed to concentrate on that.

He sat up with a groan, tilting his head from side to side. There were two distinct cracks, and he rolled his shoulders, attempting to ease the tension. Rick glanced over at the fluffy creature cheerfully eating, his tiny teeth munching as he stared at Rick.

“You’re a pig. Has anyone told you that?”

The guinea pig squeaked obnoxiously as if he were literally calling Mom! Mom!

Rick launched himself from the couch, muttering “Narc” as he passed the enclosure.

He used the bathroom, noting the neat, feminine touches, like the green towels with embroidered trees and the shower curtain featuring snowcapped pines and forest creatures. A candle called Evergreen was placed on a pedestal shaped like a blue spruce, both in the same color. Was this her normal decor year-round, or was it her attempt at a festive look?

When he was growing up, his family would go to his abuela’s house for the holidays, and it always looked like Christmas threw up. The spirit of the holiday disappeared with her passing. After she died, his mom sold most of her “clutter” except for her nativity scene. Rick had snatched it when she wasn’t looking and hid it in a shoebox in his closet. He brought it out during the holidays, but he hadn’t had a real Christmas since he was a teenager.

When he came out of Kaylee’s bathroom, he heard clanking in the kitchen and padded across the wood floor to the doorway. He leaned against the doorframe, watching Kaylee fussing with her coffeepot, brown hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Her plaid pajama pants molded over her butt, hanging loose around her legs, while her tank top clung to her back, showing off the soft-looking skin of her shoulders.

The hard-on he’d been trying to forget about was back in full force.

Kaylee turned, spotted him, and did a double take, clutching her chest with a gasp. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Watching you make coffee like a zombie.” His gaze traveled over the small kitchen with white linoleum and robin’s-egg blue cupboards, noticing the snowflake hand towel hanging over the door of the cupboard beneath the sink. So, maybe she had a little winter cheer.

Kaylee’s eyes narrowed. “I mean, I thought you left.”

“No, I was in the bathroom. I told you, no way you’re getting rid of me this time.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed a measuring spoon at him. “Don’t make me call Paulette and have you removed.”

He pushed off the frame and crossed the room, caging her in against the counter. “Sweetie, they would have to drag me out of here in shackles. Wouldn’t want that getting posted online, would you? Have all those nosy reporters sniffing around, blowing your carefully cultivated persona.”

Her hazel eyes blazed with rage. “You’re a pain in the ass. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Many people, including my abuela. I used to sneak cookies when she wasn’t looking.”

She choked on what he almost thought was a laugh. “This is not the same thing. This is not cute or precocious. You are messing with my life.”

“That’s not my intention. I just want to put away some bad guys, and I need your help to do it.”