* * *
Laughter bubbled up from the back of Gillian’s throat. “You’ve got to be kidding me. They’re psychic and intuitive, even if I managed to pull off this lie, they’d be able to see right through it by my breathing and body language.”
“Not if it were true.” Mulroney reached over and pushed her hair behind her ear. Goosebumps pebbled along her skin. “Like it or not, you’re attracted to me. Well, at least physically anyway.”
Maybe it was the warmth in his blue eyes or the huskiness in his voice, but Gillian couldn’t help thinking that maybe the feeling was mutual. The abrupt shift in his demeanor made her head spin. “You’re pretty sure of yourself, Detective,” she whispered, not able to deny the stream of anticipation pulsing through her blood in hot revolutions.
“Forgive me for also pointing out that your heart rate speeds up whenever I come within five feet of you. I’m not saying this to sound arrogant. It’s simply the truth and will assist in our cover. It shouldn’t be too difficult to convince everyone we simply took our attraction to the next level.” His words cut through her and cleared away any misconceptions she had about their relationship. She was good for one thing—to act as bait.
“Okay fine, so maybe my body might be, but it takes more than physical attraction to make a relationship, even a fake one. What about trust and compatibility? We have none of those things, and how about the fact that we barely tolerate each other?”
“Don’t make this more complicated than it has to be,” he said, finishing the last of his breakfast and pushing his plate away. “We should start by getting to know each other. What if we say that we started dating recently and kept in touch after the investigation on the coven? We convince everyone there were instant fireworks between us.”
“Oh, there were fireworks alright.” She wanted to throttle him.
“Not those kinds of fireworks.” His expression grew serious. “Can I ask you a question?
“Why not?” She smirked. “We’re a couple now.”
“Last spring, during the investigation on the coven, you never told me why you took such a personal offense when I interrogated you.”
She shrugged and ran a hand through her tangled hair. As much as she might be put off by staying here, he was risking his own life to keep her safe. At the very least, he deserved to know the truth. “When I was younger, my parents used to have some very heated arguments, mainly about my dad’s gambling. I remember one night in particular. I was probably about seven at the time when the neighbors called the cops.”
He knitted his brows together. “Please, go on.”
“It had been a Sunday evening, and I’d just finished watching a cheesy family movie on TV. We were about to have dinner when the fight started. It got heated fast. I was ashamed when the cops came in and started questioning my parents. I remember I ran out of our apartment and hid in the hallway until they left. I guess having you come to the coven reminded me of that time in my life and it freaked me out.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through something like that, or if it brought you back to a dark place.” His words softened the crux of her anger. “It was never my intention.”
There was still the matter of him ruining her chances at a job she’d been vying for, but this wasn’t the time or the place to drag up the past. For now, they’d bury the hatchet for everyone’s sake. Besides, once Brooke was found she’d probably only see Mulroney in passing. “Apology accepted.” She got up from the table, rinsed her plate, and loaded it in the dishwasher. “Since you cooked, I’ll do the dishes.”
“Fair enough.” He loaded the rest of the plates in the sink, cleaned off the counter, and put away the remaining food in the fridge. When he finished, he leaned his hip against the edge of the counter. “We should probably start by asking each other some questions.”
“Okay, let’s do this.” She glanced at the clock on the microwave. “We have about thirty minutes to get to know each other before I have to get in the shower.”
It didn’t take long to learn where they’d both grown up, their favorite movies and TV shows. Who knew Mulroney lovedImpractical Jokers? It was hard to believe he had a sense of humor. He always came across as such a tight-ass.
“Where did you go to college?” he asked. “Wait, I saw the NYU sweatshirt.”
The subject filled her with regret. She finished the last of the dishes and refused to look him in the eye. Mulroney brushed past her to open a cabinet under the sink, and a shiver danced along her skin. He pulled out the dishwashing liquid and poured the soap in then pressed a button.
After she wiped her hands on a towel, she walked into the living room and sat on the couch. She tucked her legs beneath her. He followed and took a seat opposite her in one of the wing-backed chairs. “I never went to college. The sweatshirt belongs to Brooke. I had to take care of my mom. I went to work instead.” She leaned back against the pillow. “Enough about me, how about you?”
Gillian braced for the worst, expecting him to look at her with pity in his eyes, something she wouldn’t be able to handle. His gaze filled with compassion instead. “I went a few times actually, first in Europe, and then, to Fordham for criminal justice. It’s never too late to go back and take some classes online you know. You can do anything you want to.”
His encouragement surprised her. Warmth spread from her head to her toes and everywhere in between. “I have thought about it. Okay, back to the questions,” she said, eager to change the subject. “Do you have any siblings? I mean, are any of them vampires?”
He gazed down at a spot on the coffee table before his eyes met hers once more. When he did, his expression became stormy, filled with a myriad of emotions. “No. They all died a very long time ago.”
“I’m sorry. It must be difficult to live all this time alone.”
He remained silent. She sensed there was a lot more to the story, but it wasn’t her place to probe. “Okay, we might have enough to convince everyone if they ask us questions, but what about Willow and Alex’s engagement party? It’s in a few days. I hope we’ll find her by then, but with Brooke missing, how can I plan on attending?”
“You must do what you normally would to not draw attention to yourself, or it might make the others suspicious. It’s important to stick to your routine. I was invited to the party as well. We’ll have to figure that part out later.”
This was getting more difficult than she thought. She assumed she could keep their pretend relationship under wraps, claim they were having some crazy hot sex, and then, when Brooke was found, she could say things had simply fizzled out. The idea of trying to “fake it” in front of their friends was something she wasn’t sure even she could pull off. She glanced at her phone. “We have a few more minutes left. Are there any deep, dark secrets to divulge?”
His eyes clouded. Perhaps she hit too close to home. “How about we focus on how we started dating.”
