He bristled. “And…?”
“Relax. Sleeping with the woman doesn’t make her innocent, West, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” he snapped.
“Chill. You’ll do your job.”
“I will. Yeah.” He realized he was leaning from foot to foot, head thrust forward like he expected Mark to throw the first punch. Hell, he half wanted him to.
Rick had granted himself a window of private time up there at the creek, but in the cold light of the case, he saw he’d been wrong. Way wrong.
“What about your tail on Sylvestri?” he asked, backing away, forcing the tension out of his voice. “Anything there?”
“Oddly enough, the guy’s spending a lot of time at the yarn shop, though we did pick up a debate over the cut—of what we don’t know—at that strip club, Moons. Lots of strangely worded cell calls. Something’s about to break, I can feel it. Anything at the other shops?”
“From what I’ve seen, Mirror, Mirror is clear.”
“All of it?” His partner honed in on him.
“Yeah, all of it,” he said, but his belly churned with acid. Mark doubted his judgment. And he had good reason. Rick wanted everyone at the center to be clear of Sylvestri’s crap. Bianca, too, who, he was reasonably certain, was clueless. Had his hope that the Mirror, Mirror crew was innocent compromised his investigative skills? Dulled his instincts?
He was sure as hell distracted by this thing he had for Samantha. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. Now that he’d had sex with her, it was even worse. He felt as though he traveled in a cloud. Had he lost his edge, tripping over his own dick?
“Whatever’s happening there, I’m on it, all right?” he said, rubbing his face, weary and worried.
“Get some sleep, man. You look wiped. The case will come together.”
He was wiped. Torn up inside. Besides sorting out what to do, he’d kept going through their time at the creek and how great it had been.
For the first time, the idea of settling down with one woman for the rest of his life felt real. He wanted it. Not just because it was time, not just for Brian, but because he wanted to be with her. Samantha. Just her.
She was smart and kind and full of life and she just made him feel good, as if he had a place in the world, as if he belonged. As if he were home. He could see waking up with her every day and coming back to her every night.
But that was impossible. Even if the case didn’t stand between them, Samantha wanted to explore, for God’s sake. Crazy. Knowing what was out there, he wished he could tell her just to forget it, stick with him. He’d be whatever she needed him to be. He’d said that from the day he’d stood at her counter with his beat-up portfolio.
But that was crazy, too.
He was who he was—a good cop who put the job first.
He looked around the squad room at the officers who trusted him with their lives and knew what he had to do.
He had to end this thing with Samantha.
He’d had a weekend off the clock. And now he was back on duty. He’d phrase it in a way she’d understand. Or maybe he’d just let it drop, be friendly, but back off. Maybe she’d want that, too. She hadn’t come last night, after all. Maybe she’d realized they’d had a good time and that was enough. He hoped so. He couldn’t stand putting any more hurt in those clear blue eyes. He said goodbye to Mark and headed off to do the right thing.
SAMANTHA WOKE ON Monday morning feeling great. Her sore muscles reminded her of all the fabulous sex they’d had in Sedona and her brain bubbled over with fantasies she would soon be exploring with her man.
The ride home in the golden dusk had been dreamy and they’d kept grinning at each other, laughing for no reason, all the way to her place.
I just might surprise you tonight, she’d teased, kissing him through the driver’s window before she skipped up to her place. He’d agreed to sleep on the fairy-tale bed, so why not?
But she’d been tired and had decided to save it for the next night so she could choose a costume and arrange everything first. She couldn’t wait to talk to Rick about it.
But he wasn’t in the studio as she’d expected when she breezed in early, excited to see him, but a little nervous, too. Must have gone home to shower or run an errand or something.
She checked the calendar, reviewed some orders, made certain Rick’s marketing call list was ready for him, all the while watching for him like a girl expecting her prom date.
Finally she saw him, heading in from the parking lot and her entire body trembled with pleasure. Her man. He looked so handsome, extra-tan from their day in the high-desert sun, and so tall. She wanted to meet him halfway and hug the hell out of him, but decided that was a little too eager, even for her.