Page 42 of Capture My Heart

She caught the smirk as he got out of the car. Damn him.

Flipping down the visor mirror, she stared at the freaked-out woman looking back. Pull it together, Larson.

Her shoulders dropped, she bit back her frustration and opened the door. Trey stood on the other side, hand extended. Her gaze jumped from his hand to the dare in his eyes.

She slapped her hand in his. Challenge accepted.

The first person to see them was Maria from work. Amy fought her eye roll. The other woman loved the celebrity gossip sites and would no doubt come up with some blended name thing to call them.

Maria’s eyes went wide and bounced from their joined hands back up to their faces. “Hi guys. I didn’t know you two were together.”

“It’s new.” Amy forced a smile and pointed to the bag in Trey’s hand. “Excuse us. We need to get this to the kitchen.”

Maria moved back and let them pass, but Amy caught the speculative look in her eye. Police. The most suspicious people on the planet. If they could pull this off in a party full of cops, they should win an Oscar.

Once in the house, Amy shook off Trey’s hand. She whispered, “Don’t over sell it. Cops, remember?”

He nodded and moseyed out to the patio where the others were gathered.

Thank God. She needed a minute to settle. Not that she would admit it to him or anyone, but Trey rattled her. He only held her hand for crap’s sake. What would happen if he kissed her?

An involuntary shiver slid down her body.

“Hey, you finally made it.”

Amy spun to find Ryan standing in the doorway. “Are you a cat or what? Wear a bell or something.”

His brows flattened. “What’s going on?”

“Hey Daniels.” Trey strolled in with two beers and handed her one. He slipped his arm around her waist.

So, they were really doing this.

“Thanks.” She raised the bottle to her lips but didn’t drink. She wanted to slam the whole thing but that would be a mistake. Retaining control was more important than ever today. “Ryan, you know Trey.”

“Yeah. Wicked arm. We made that out in the sixth because you chucked it from the outfield all the way to home.” He wagged a finger between them. “But I didn’t know about this.”

“It’s new.” Yup, understatement of the year. On second thought, a drink might be the only way she will get through this. Just one. She took a gulp of the smooth, hoppy drink.

Bob Peterson joined them with a short brunette. The woman wore a soft print sundress and had circles under her eyes that her makeup did nothing to hide. If Amy hadn’t met her before, the worry lines that screamed mom of a sick kid would have told her this was Bob’s wife.

“Hey guys, you remember my wife, Megan. Meg, you’ve met my coworkers before, except that guy. That’s Trey.”

Megan’s face softened and offered her hand. “Nice to see you all again. And Bob has told me all about you, Trey, the ace up their sleeve at the ball game the other evening. Bob couldn’t stop talking about it.”

Amy watched Trey’s ear tips turn pink.

Meg’s phone pinged and she checked it. She gave a quick glance at Bob and he nodded. “Excuse me. I need to take a call.”

As she walked down the hall, Bob watched her disappear before turning back to the others.

“Is everything alright?” Amy asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure it’s nothing. The girls probably want to go to a movie or something.”

He played it off, but Amy knew his oldest daughter had cancer and they were doing some experimental treatment.

“She’s antsy. It’s the first night we have left the kids home alone in a while.” Bob took a drink of his beer and gestured to Amy with it. “It was too bad about your computer. I hear it got ripped off the night of the softball game. Sucks to lose all your information on those old cases you’re always working on.”