"Watch it." He kissed her temple. "I'm a jealous man. And for the record, I was enjoying the view." He lifted his coffee mug and waved it toward the sky. "The first morning I woke up to this, you know what I thought about?"
"How this is shark territory and not gatorland?"
"That's cute, but no." He turned, set down his mug, then took hers and did the same. "I thought about how I wanted to share it with you."
"You’re full of all the sweet lines lately."
"I didn't mean for it to come across as a line. I?—"
"I know what you meant, and I appreciate it." She leaned into him and he lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger, taking her lips in a tender kiss. He'd never known moments like these in the past because he'd never wanted to spend the night with the women he'd been involved with. That probably made him an asshole. And while he'd had a few longish relationships, he'd never lived with anyone. He'd never gotten attached to anyone, and if anyone started needing him on an emotional level, he’d called it quits. His job had always been more important.
But now, he wanted what Trent called front porch sitting.
The side door opened, and a shadow emerged.
"Don't mind me," Buddy said.
"You could've gotten shot." Sterling broke off the kiss and glared.
Juniper groaned and dropped her head to Sterling's chest.
"You saw me out of the corner of your eye." Buddy reached for a mug and poured himself some coffee. "Oh. A bagel. You shouldn't have."
Sterling glared. "I believe that's Juniper's bagel."
"Oh, sorry. Well, it looks like there's more. Shall I pop another in the toaster?"
"I'll do it." Juniper pushed from Sterling's embrace, patted his chest and shrugged.
Buddy pulled out a stool at the island and sat. "No welcome back? I'm gone three days, and first thing I do is drive over to check on you, and not so much as a hug." He shook his head. "I'm hurt."
Juniper shoved a new bagel in the toaster. "I'd hug you." She tugged the hem of the shirt down an inch. "If I were dressed for it."
"Glad your sense of humor is intact." Buddy grinned. "You have the same problem as my wife. Steals all my clothes and thinks they’re nightwear." He pointed between them with thebagel. "Looks good on you. Better than it does on him." He leaned back on the stool. "And it’s about damn time, by the way. Except now I owe both Cullen and Trent some money. Figures."
"Are you finished?" Sterling asked.
"After the ripping I got for Fallon? I might never be finished." Buddy set the half-eaten bagel on the counter. "But all jokes aside. I didn't drive over at first light to eat your breakfast, even though I'm going to finish that bagel. But I do need to talk to you about a couple things. One of them is the robbery at the Crab Shack."
"Alright. I'm listening."
"I'm sorry, Juniper. Do you mind?"
"Whatever you've got, you can say in front of her." Sterling reached over and found her hand on the counter. "She was there, and she was very helpful in keeping everyone calm."
"I did hear that." Buddy reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, setting it on the counter. "I met with Dawson before I came here, and he had something interesting to show me. He was going to call you, but I mentioned I was on my way here."
"Just spit it out, man."
"The robbery suspect, Anthony, met with State's sketch artist yesterday." Buddy tapped his cell.
"That's news. And?" Sterling asked.
Juniper leaned her hip against the counter and picked at her freshly buttered new bagel.
"The artist came up with a pretty detailed image." Buddy flipped his phone around.
Sterling leaned in, and Juniper looked over his shoulder.
