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“Baby steps?” I inquired softly, knowing he had been trying to show affection in public. He nodded, then brought his gaze back to me.

“Let’s head home. I’m exhausted. The adrenaline from performing has worn off.”

“I’m gonna drop you off and head back to my place. You need sleep, and I know if I stayed with you, I wouldn’t be able to keep my roaming hands off that hot body of yours. We’ll figure out a night this week to get together. Is that okay?”

“More than okay,” he replied.

The drive to Jonesy’s place was quiet, other than the radio on low volume, and when I pulled up in front of his building, I looked over at my guy. On the way, he’d nodded off, his head against the car window.

I placed my hand on his thigh. “Babe…you’re home,” I said, shaking his leg.

He snorted awake. “Wha⁠—”

“You’re home, sleepyhead.”

He scrubbed a hand down his face and cleared his throat. “You sure you don’t want to stay?”

“Not tonight, honey. You need your rest, and I’m not too far behind you once I get home.”

“Okay. Call me tomorrow?”

“I will. I also want to discuss Lake Tahoe again.”

He leaned over and kissed me before opening his door to grab his duffel from my trunk. I waited for him to enter the building, and he waved as he went in. I let out a chuckle, knowing how exhausted he was. And I wasn’t kidding about being just as tired.

“Wasn’t that the craziest news report this weekend about Brooke Chandler’s husband’s accident? Kinda freaky, right?” Chloe said, walking into my office and setting the mail on the corner of my desk.

“An odd coincidence for sure,” I replied, not looking at her.

“Does it seem odd to you?”

I glanced up from the file on my desk. “It’s not my job to suspect what happened, Chloe. It’s under investigation by the police. Just because Brooke was a client with a cheating husband, I’m not jumping to think there might be something suspicious about her involvement.” I lied, trying to keep any flicker of dishonesty from my expression.

“Oh, I know. It’s just so…” she trailed off, walking out of my office.

“Freaky?” I replied. She turned on her heels and kept heading to her desk, pointing a finger at me as if to say, ‘right on’.

I couldn’t blame her. I’d been thinking about calling Brooke all morning, but kept to my plan of waiting until tomorrow. I was sure the police were questioning her thoroughly, and I wanted to wait another day.

I picked up the stack of envelopes Chloe had brought in and shuffled through them. I let out a soft huff when I noticed one was on Brook Chandler's personal stationery. I opened it to find a thank-you note and a sizable check for my services. My first thought was to head to the bank immediately to deposit it. If she were guilty of her husband’s demise, I didn’t want the account to get frozen and leave me with a check I couldn’t cash.

I called Jonesy instead to see how he felt and to ask about the accident. He answered on the second ring.

“Good morning, babe,” I said cheerfully, hearing the din from his squad room.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” he replied. I heard the scanner and the sound of people in the background. I knew he was keeping his voice low and not using any endearments in return, so he wouldn’t draw attention. I let the disappointment I felt pass, thinking of last night at the club. Baby steps, right?

“I slept well,” keeping my voice light. “Got a good seven hours in, even though it was way past midnight once I’d gotten to bed. I didn’t get up until almost eight this morning. You?”

“As tired as I was, I kept waking up through the night. Not sure why,” he replied.

I knew why. He’d always had a brain that wouldn’t shut off. Between the murdered woman they’d found, the one still missing, the upcoming Miss California pageant, and finally singing his love for me, I was positive his mind had been running nonstop all night.

“I’m sorry. You even conked out on the ride back to your place.” I didn’t want to lament over his lack of sleep, so I changed the subject quickly. “Have there been any new developments in the Chandler accident?”

“I’ve been so busy with other cases that I haven’t looked into it yet. But I will.”

“That’s okay. I received a check in the mail from Brooke Chandler today.”