Dev hadn’t uttered a single syllable until seconds ago. Only pointed Cash in the direction of the store while keeping his attention plastered to his phone.
“I don’t believe your boots came from this store,” Cash countered.
Dev didn’t reply to that statement. Whatever he was watching had him enthralled.
“Where else can we go?” Cash asked.
“You’re a fuckin’ snob,” Dev muttered, his eyes focused on the small screen.
That made Cash laugh out loud. He’d grown up in a travel trailer. Didn’t currently have a place to live. Everything he owned fit in a suitcase and a garment bag. Becoming a civil servant meant he’d never made that much money, and what he did earn was split between a savings account and his parents’ ministry. He was the exact opposite of a snob. When he opened his mouth to say that very thing, Dev turned the phone for him to see the screen.
He didn’t care about whatever video Dev was watching. They were on a timetable. Today was Monday. Cash was meeting Dev’s parents on Thursday. If karma worked in his favor, maybe he could find the information they needed by Sunday and be free one week from today.
If it happened that way, maybe by next Tuesday he could persuade Dev to date him. The idea of pulling this case together in a week was the only way his heart participated in any of this plan. Of course it was a longshot. But a two-hour nap after being awake the previous twenty-nine hours, and that nap happening while he was alone in his bed, sent this whole situation into the next level of panic.
His desperate heart wanted Dev.
Why? Who knew. The two of them couldn’t be more opposite.
More importantly, the dangers of this case were off the charts. He needed to worry about his own safety more than protecting a man who refused to make eye contact.
“Where do I go?” Cash responded.
“To the front parkin’ space. It just came open.” Dev pointed to the front of the store where a car currently backed out of a space. “See? Floor it. You can get there before that Civic pulls in.”
Defeated, Cash dropped his head on the head rest, staring up at the cloth-covered ceiling. “Is there a Harley store around?”
Dev chuckled. Not a funnyhahasound but a laugh intended to make fun of Cash. “They’d see you as the poser you are.”
“Then tell me where?” His head rolled Dev’s direction.
Dev rolled his eyes, his face buried in his phone again. “Head back to my shop. There’s a thrift store nearby. I buy most of my shit there.”
Like a Goodwill? He spent too many years wearing their clothes. He held in a sigh and cast a glance back at Walmart, wondering if it might be a better option.
“You’re a snob,” Dev said.
Maybe he was.
“Guide the way.”
~~~
Dev literally did everything he could think of rather than pay Cash one bit of attention. But if something didn’t give, he was going to have to hop over the sales counter and begin ringing these people’s purchases up himself. Anything to have something to do other than molest the secret agent he refused to ever acknowledge in any sort of meaningful way again.
He currently stood hunched over the service counter, elbows on the worn Formica, watching the chick behind the counter ring people up as he flirted shamelessly with every customer in the building. Well, except that one customer.
The one who held him captive, both body and soul. The fucker. The same one who had charmed his way into a makeshift fitting room in the back of the building, tucked away inside the employee storage area.
Watching Cash turn on the charm to sweet-talk his way into a dressing room helped Dev better understand why he hadn’t stood a chance against the undercover agent. Had the pretty boy talked to him with that same genuine smile and deep, sexy drawl? Oh fuck yeah, he had. At least it made him less angry with himself for being in this position. Not one person in this place could resist Cash. He was polished, all shiny and shit, but also had a way of being relatable. His rocking body with all those handsome good looks…Mmm.
The thrift store had rolled out the refurbished red carpet for Cash.
“There he comes,” the cashier said quietly to Dev, onto his pretense of ignoring Cash. He steeled his heart and stiffened his spine as he glanced across the room. The employee-only door was a straight shot from where he stood.
Cash used the lane like a catwalk, sauntering down the aisle. He turned this way and that, grinning at the customers, mapping the area as he came forward. Fucker was good at mesmerizing his prey. He’d give him that. The tension Dev had carried since last night had eased. He couldn’t keep his eyes off the man. Cash’s genuine alluring grin was in place as he used his fingers to sweep the lock of hair back off his forehead. His always perfectly styled hair was messy from all the changes of clothing.
Dev liked those strands being disheveled, falling into Cash’s face. He was truly a beautiful man. His heart wanted the dream he’d been so swept away by almost twenty-four hours ago. He envisioned Mae grinning up at Cash.
