“Always.”
He wanted to kiss her, take her to his bed, and love her. He wanted to whisper all the words he’d been ready to say for years. But, he was not deviating from his plan, so he shot her a wink and walked away. As he stepped into the shower, an idea began to formulate as to how he could win her over…forever.
Carly sucked down a breath. Resisting Ashton was hard. The more time she spent with him, the more her walls crumpled. Telling him how she felt would be a big, bold move. She’d have to put it all out there and risk what they had for the complete unknown. She was good with following the evidence and piecing together a puzzle, but leading with her heart? That scared the hell out of her.
After getting ready, she headed out, relieved Ash had already bolted for work. That evening, Greta was hosting a leather and latex party, so she drove to her house to grab a few things, including her latex cat suit.
She parked out front, hurried inside, and stopped short. The living room was trashed with empty beer bottles and plastic cups, most of them piled on the antique desk. The secret drawer was wide open.
“What the hell?” Carly’s stomach dropped as she climbed the stairs and headed toward her bedroom. The door was open and the lights were on. Several pieces of clothing had been tossed on her mussed bed. Tabitha emerged from the small walk-in closet, locked eyes with Carly, and shrieked.
Carly’s cheeks flared. “What’s going on?”
Tabitha clutched the latex cat suit, dangling from a hanger. “I…er…um. Oh, hey. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Clearly.”
Two women floated into the bedroom, one with a lit cigarette in her mouth.
“My head is pounding,” said the non-smoker. “I need aspirin. What time is it?”
“No smoking in my house,” Carly said, before shifting her gaze to Tabitha. “You know my house rules.”
“Put it out,” Tabitha said to her friend.
“Geez,” said the smoker. “Fine, whatever.” The woman sauntered out, followed by a trail of smoke, the stench of tobacco making Carly’s eyes water.
“I had a party and those two were too drunk to drive home.” Tabitha hung the outfit in the closet. “They slept in my bed, and I slept here.”
Hating confrontation, Carly pushed down the anxiety as she gestured to the clothing strewn on her bed. “And this?”
“You have great clothes. Can I borrow your cat suit?”
“Got coffee?” asked the second woman. Carly shot her the death stare and she trudged out.
Leaning against her bureau, Carly crossed her arms.
Tabitha’s cheeks flushed. “I…um…I’m not sure what you want me to say. Sorry?”
That sounded heartfelt. Not.
“So, er, I think one of my friends broke the secret drawer on that beat-up old desk.” Tabitha’s gaze stayed glued to the floor. “He found an old calendar in it.” She snorted. “You know…the paper kind.”
Narrowing her gaze, Carly forced herself to continue, despite her soaring pulse. “I gave you a place to live while you looked for something permanent. One month turned into three and you’re taking advantage of the living arrangements…and of me.”
Tabitha’s shoulders slumped. “You weren’t supposed to see any of this.”
“But I did. Look, it’s time for you to find somewhere else to live.”
“Sure, okay.” Sighing, Tabitha left the room.
As Carly put away the clothing her roommate left out, she shook off the anxiety. Whenever possible, she avoided conflict. That left her vulnerable to her mom and sister, who took advantage of her all the time. Today, however, she found the gumption to speak up for herself. With a touch of pride, she made her bed and packed her cat suit, plus a few other things. With bags in hand, she found Tabitha cleaning up the living room.
“I tried fixing the secret compartment, but it’s busted,” Tabitha said.
Carly spied her grandfather’s pocket calendar sitting in a bowl of chips and tucked it into her handbag.
“I’m sorry,” Tabitha said. “You’ve been super nice to me and I was taking advantage of your not being here. It’s just that things have turned around for me since I wrote that short story about the case you were working on.” She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Ah, shit.”
