“And then you never called.” She finished.
“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to.”
“Oh?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Let me guess. You lost your phone. No wait, your dog ate my number. Then you lost your memory and forgot where I lived.”
“I don’t have a dog,” I quipped.
She didn’t think it was funny.
I sighed. “Right after I dropped you off that night, I got called into work.” She didn’t shoot out a smartass comeback so I figured I had her attention. “I got assigned a case that kept me out of town for a long time.”
“They didn’t have phones where you went?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t allowed to have contact with anyone I knew. Not even my family.”
Her eyes widened. “Like you went undercover?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I’d really rather not say.”
Her lips pursed. I sighed. “It’s for your safety.”
She seemed to accept that, thankfully. “How long were you gone?”
“I got back two weeks before I came in for a haircut.”
I watched the realization come over her features. She looked at me closely. “You were gone all those months?”
“Yes.”
“That’s why your hair was so long when you came into the salon that day,” she said, almost like she was talking to herself.
“Yeah, and now it’s all short and clean-cut looking,” I muttered, wishing I hadn’t cut it.
Her eyes went to the floor where I tossed the hat I was wearing. “You were covering up how short it was?”
I nodded.
“Why would it matter now?”
“Because they put me back undercover. Tonight.”
“Tonight,” she scoffed.
I scooted up onto the bed and leaned against the headboard. Then I patted the mattress beside me, inviting her closer. She hesitated for a second but then crawled over the top blankets and settled beside me.
“I couldn’t call you. I had to turn in my phone and my car. The rules of going undercover are strict. Especially since I’m going undercover in this town.”
“They took your phone and your car?”
“Yes. And I’m not to go to the station or my house, or anywhere else I might normally go for the foreseeable future.”
She rolled her head to the side and stared up at me. “But you’re here.”
“I shouldn’t be,” I said softly, gazing into her face. There was something about her… something that just made it hard to stay away. Like she emitted some kind of secret gravity, the kind of gravity that pulled in only me (it better not be pulling in anyone else).
“Why are you here, Blue?”
“I couldn’t stand the thought of you thinking bad about me.”
“Oh, I was thinking hateful things,” she said, her voice low.
I laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, tonight…” Her voice trailed away.
On impulse I reached over and threaded my fingers through hers resting in her lap. “Tonight I really wanted to go out with you.”
A soft smile played on the corners of her mouth, but then she blinked and looked away. I took it as a good sign that she left her hand in mine. “At the club…”
“The club was a freaking cluster-fuck.” I blew out a breath.
“You were undercover there?”
“Yeah, I was working on my cover.”
“What’s the case about?” she asked tentatively.
“Drugs.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that why you asked me about drugs and my drink?”
I nodded. “That guy you were dancing with, he’s a dealer. He’s dangerous, Julie. Stay away from him. From that club.”
She shuddered. “I have no intention of ever going near either again.”
“Hey,” I said softly, pulling her chin around so she could look into my face. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” Her voice was breathless and it made desire spark through my veins.
Without thought, I dropped a kiss to her forehead. She froze, like she didn’t know what to do. I smiled against her skin and then dropped my forehead down to lean against hers. “I’m sorry I stood you up tonight.”
“Duty calls,” she replied.
“Yeah. Sometimes I really hate my job.”
“How long are you going to be undercover?”
I released her chin and leaned my head back against the headboard. “I don’t know. ‘Til the case is over.”
“This is the same case you were on before?”
I nodded. “It’s the same case. Different location. It turns out things are happening closer to home than we realized.”