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Spence stared at her for a long moment. For a second, his gaze was unguarded. Open. For just a moment, longing filled his expression. Desire darkened his eyes. Then the shades came down again. He turned away and stared out the window at the choppy waters of Puget Sound below them.
But she’d already seen the truth, and her breath caught in her throat. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. Zoe wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. If what she felt was one-sided, it would be a lot easier to control it. Keep it pushed below the surface. Hidden.
But now that she knew he wanted the same thing she wanted, restraint would be a lot harder.
She was under no illusions that she and Spence would have some grand romance. Long-term wasn’t her style. And even if it was, his job wasn’t in Seattle. She owned a company, and she couldn’t pack it up and move it to Montana.
But maybe they could enjoy the time they had together.
She’d have to make the first move. Spence was way too conscientious and careful to tell her how he felt. She had to catch him in an unguarded moment to breach his defenses.
* * *
An hour later, Spence leaned back from his computer on the table in the corner of Zoe’s office. He’d emailed Mel, sending her a list of things to check for him.
First was asking if she’d found any current pictures of Davies. He had to look a lot different than the eighteen-year-old who’d killed Zoe’s father. In order to watch for him, they had to know what he looked like now.
Then he asked her to notify the Seattle Police Department about Davies and ask them to have a patrol car cruise past both Zoe’s condo and office building regularly. Officer Woods might have already done that, but it didn’t hurt for Mel to request it, as well.
Spence didn’t think they’d be lucky enough to spot Davies skulking around either building, but stranger things had happened.
He asked her to put together a fake identity for him, last name Riley. And to make him a computer guy. Post it somewhere online, where it’d be easy to find. Maybe LinkedIn. She’d done that for other people in other situations, and she’d probably have a computer tech background all set to go.
Finally, he asked if she’d had any luck finding out where Davies had been living and working. He wanted as much intel on the guy as possible.
When his gaze drifted to Zoe, staring at the huge monitor on her desk as she typed on her keyboard, he lingered for a long moment before jerking his attention away from her. God! He didn’t want Zoe to spot him mooning after her.
He needed to keep busy to keep his thoughts from going places they didn’t belong. Bedrooms. Couches. That big desk Zoe worked at.
Spence shoved his fingers through his hair. He needed to get his head on straight. Keep his mind on the case and not Zoe’s curves. Her smile. That amazing red hair of hers. And yes, when he’d told her about lovers dreaming about that hair trailing over their bodies? He was picturing that hair on his chest. Tickling him. Arousing him.
He shoved away from the table, pushing so hard that his chair bounced off the couch three feet behind him.
Jesus! If he didn’t get his head in the game, he’d have to call Mel and have her send someone else. Being so distracted by Zoe was dangerous. And the last thing he wanted was to make her situation more dangerous than it already was.
He paced the perimeter of her office, only stopping when he saw Zoe watching him. “Something wrong?” she finally asked.
He shook his head. Scrambled for an answer. Settled on, “Waiting for Mel to get back to me with answers I need.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You sure that’s all it is?”
“What else would it be?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to snatch them back. He’d seen the way Zoe reacted to him. And that was a discussion he did not want to have.
“You tell me, Spence.”
He threw himself back into his chair. “Just frustrated. We know he’s in Seattle. And we’re just waiting for him to make a move. I want to be proactive, not reactive.”
Zoe leaned back in her chair and studied him. “Nothing to be proactive about right now. Except the new lock on my back door.”
“Yeah, I know.” He nodded at her computer. “You able to get some work done?”
“Surprisingly, yes,” she said. “Nothing that requires deep concentration, but it’s better than staring at the walls. Or out the window.”
“You’re setting a good example for me, Zoe,” he said, letting his shoulders relax. He could do this. He could have a normal conversation with her. Exactly what he needed to keep his thoughts out of forbidden territory. They’d strayed into taboo areas far too often in the last twenty-four hours.
Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door. Zoe buzzed it open, and Janet stuck her head into the room. “You guys order some food?” she asked. “Because there’s a delivery guy downstairs with your lunch.”
Spence looked at her, and she shook her head. “No,” he said, leaping for the door. “Call Bob. Tell him to tell the guy that Zoe’ll be right down.”
As he raced out the door, Janet called, “I already did.”
“Good job,” Spence called back as he smashed into the bar across the entrance to the staircase. Taking two steps at a time, he flew down the six flights of stairs.
