He held her gaze, bracing himself for the possibility of rejection. The prospect unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.
Then she smiled—a soft, shy smile that nearly stopped his heart.
“I’d like that.”
Relief swept through him so fast it almost brought him to his knees. “Good. How about tomorrow?”
The words were out before reality slammed back into place. His smile faded.
“The case.” He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to look like. I might be free, or I might be stuck at the department all night.”
She lifted her fingers to his lips, stopping his rambling. “It’s okay. If you have to cancel, I’ll understand.”
He pressed a kiss to her fingertips before lowering her hand. “I’ll call around two. By then, I should know what I’m dealing with.”
“That’s fine. And if tomorrow doesn’t work, there’s always the weekend.”
“Always the optimist.”
Leaning down, he gave her one more quick kiss before forcing himself to step back. Any longer and they’d be right back where they’d started.
She slipped into the driver’s seat and fastened her seatbelt. He closed the door, then tapped on the window before she could pull away. When she lowered it, he bent down. “Do me a favor and call when you get home. I’ll feel better knowing you’re safe behind locked doors.”
She nodded, wished him goodnight, and drove off.
Sean stood at the curb, watching her taillights disappear into the darkness. The night air skimmed across his skin, but it couldn’t erase the grin on his face. For the first time since transferring home, he had no doubt. Coming back to Whisper had been one of the best decisions he’d ever made.
Chapter Eighteen
Grace had changed clothes seven times.
The growing mound of rejected outfits covering her bed was proof enough, with skirts, blouses, and dresses draped across the comforter in a colorful heap that would have made any sane woman stop and reconsider. Grace only stared at it in mounting frustration.
Nothing was right.
She wanted tonight to be perfect. More than that, she wanted Sean’s breath to catch the second he saw her. After the kiss they’d shared the night before—the way his hands had felt at her hips, the desire in his eyes, and the way his voice had gone low when he asked her on a real date—she wanted him as affected by her tonight as she was by him.
With an exasperated sigh, she tugged off the burgundy skirt she had on and tossed it onto the pile.
A soft meow drew her attention to the other side of the bed. Rico lay sprawled across one of her pillows, his sleek gray body stretched in lazy comfort as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His bright eyes tracked her every movement.
Despite the chaos surrounding her, the sight of him brought an instant smile.
Even though things finally seemed to be moving in the right direction with Sean, she’d kept the promise she’d made to herself. After breakfast and a few errands for her business, she’d gone to the local animal shelter and adopted the velvety gray feline now making himself at home in her bedroom.
There had been dozens of cats and kittens to choose from, each one competing for attention, but Rico had stolen her heart within seconds. The moment she’d crouched beside his enclosure, he’d pressed against the wire door and nuzzled her hand before giving her fingers an insistent little head bump that had made her laugh.
The shelter staff had told her that his owner had passed away, and no one in the family had been able to take him.
Grace hadn’t hesitated to fill out the paperwork and hand over the adoption fee.
A quick stop at the pet store afterward had filled her car with a litter box, food, bowls, toys, a scratching post, and a carrying crate. Once they arrived home, Rico had explored every room, eaten a full meal, and claimed her king-sized bed as if he’d always belonged there.
Reaching across the mattress, Grace scratched behind his ears. “Get used to it, Rico. Your new mommy has standards.”
His loud purr filled the room.
The memory of the previous night slipped in.
