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I narrowed my eyes at the mirror as emotions warred inside me. Elation and anger, worry and joy, relief and confusion. Beneath all of them was the feeling of being a total idiot.
Not the first time I’d felt that way recently, and I didn’t like it one bit.
I needed to find out the truth.
Before I lost my nerve, I hurried to open the bathroom door and rushed out, looking right and left. That the place was a big open concept helped. You didn’t really need a tour when everything was wide open.
I hurried through the kitchen and into the living room, my ears pricked for any sound. Murphy and Latte would be back any minute.
And look at that, there was his desk. Three monitors. Big fancy setup. Was that where he sat every night when he talked to me?
If. Still a big if. There was no proof yet. Just my interest in both men. Just the fact that both lived in cabins. Both did stuff with computers.
Could I already feel so comfortable with Murphy because down deep, I already felt like I knew him?
Or that could be my conscience trying to explain away why I wanted to have sex with a man I barely knew. I wasn’t one to care about conventions much—obviously, judging from my baby proclivities—but this was sudden even for me.
Or was it?
Bypassing the view out the gorgeous floor to ceiling windows, I zeroed in on my target. His desk was unreasonably tidy. Figured. If I’d had to guess if Murphy was a Felix or Oscar from The Odd Couple, I would’ve gone with Felix. Everything had a place, rather than my organized chaos.
I sat in his big chair and swiveled between the screens, finding the monitors turned off. Once I turned them on, t
hey were all locked down with passwords. Naturally. He wouldn’t take any chances.
So, I’d just open the drawers.
Guilt niggled at me, but not much. I’d become Officer Vee. It wasn’t snooping if you had probable cause.
Time to serve the warrant.
The first drawer was so tidy I had to roll my eyes. Not in disgust. Sheer jealousy. Could I hire him to help me get my life in order? It was probably hopeless.
Perhaps I wouldn’t find anything lying around. It wasn’t as if I even knew what I was looking for. A notepad with Vee and Cabin Fortress doodled in a heart? Not likely.
I went through two more drawers and nada. Nothing. Just paperwork that was too dry for me to sort through and tidy stacks of office supplies. He had enough black pens to survive a few shortages and the same number of reams of paper.
I liked a man who was prepared, except when he was thwarting me from proving my case.
If there was any case to prove. Just because my nose was wiggling like a damn bunny’s didn’t mean much.
The back door slammed and I jerked to my feet. Belatedly, I realized that when he stepped inside, he could see me quite clearly.
Where I’d been rifling through his desk.
Maybe I was the budding serial killer. Or a fraud alert waiting to happen.
We stared at each other across the space without saying a word. I was barely even breathing. Then Latte let out a yelp and Murphy set him down, only for the dog to beeline straight for me on his wobbly little legs.
I scooped him up and buried my face in his damp fur, buying myself another moment.
Until Murphy spoke.
“You figured it out.”
I went still. My breath stuttered to a halt. But I lifted my head and met his eyes squarely. “Figured what out?”
Finally, he looked away. “You were digging through my desk.”
