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Gabe joined her to help because she had to be every bit as tired as he was. “Tell me about Phin. He’s kind of... intimidating.”
“He can be. I’ve known him for about a year, and ninety-nine percent of the time he’s a sweetheart—a real pussycat.” She grimaced sadly. “It’s the one percent of the time that he’s a tiger you have to watch out for. He’s a vet. He and Antoine served together in the army.”
“Antoine served, too?”
She nodded. “In Iraq. All Antoine would say was that Phin came home with a shitload of PTSD and guilt. Makes my heart hurt for him. I mean, most of us came home with issues, but Phin’s are... well, extra.” She retrieved a box of whiteboard cleaning wipes from a nearby shelf, pulled one free, and began scrubbing. “But nobody here is afraid of him. He’s good at knowing when he’s on the edge and takes a few days off. He does handyman work around the place during his security work at night. Our hours are so iffy that Burke wanted someone on-site for the times when we might be here alone. Especially Antoine. He gets caught up when he’s working and might not hear anyone breaking in. We have an alarm system, but we do make enemies in our line of work. And Burke came into this business with a fair share of his own.”
“And you?” Gabe took one of the wipes to clean the board. “Did you bring enemies?”
“Not really. I left a few in North Carolina, but they’re more the type to spit on the ground when they say my name. Mostly my ex-brother-in-law’s family. They defended him even when they saw the tape of him shooting my father. Then there were Jake’s comrades.”
Gabe paused to look at her. Her profile was tense, her jaw tight. “Comrades?”
“Jake was a cop. He had lots of pals in the local PD. A few of them reached out to me, said that they wished they’d ‘reined him in’ years before. Most just hated me.” She sighed. “Including my boyfriend at the time, who was Jake’s best friend. He still blames me for killing Jake. I truly had not seen that coming. I thought he’d be supportive, but nope. So I guess I have enemies, but I don’t think they’d come here to hurt me. They do plenty of that whenever a reporter asks them questions, which still happens.”
“I’m sorry.” And he was. His heart hurt for what she’d lost. The pain of losing her father then having to end a life. He knew her well enough to know that she still felt guilt, even though she’d do it again. “I wish I could fix it.”
She smiled at him sadly. “And I’m grateful that you do. I wish I could fix this mess for you, too.”
His chest tightened, pain for what they’d each endured mixing with gratitude that she was here. With him. He stared down at her upturned face, gratitude becoming... need. He needed to take away the sadness in her eyes. Needed to replace it with something else. Something more. Something so much better.
His skin warmed, his pulse beginning to race. He needed her. He thought she needed him, too. He continued to study her face, watched the pretty blush creep up her cheeks. Watched as her tongue stole out to moisten her lips, as her eyes grew heated, as she swallowed hard.
She felt it, too. Felt the air growing charged. Felt the connection between them.
The need.
Here in the quiet of this room. The quiet of this building, where they were alone except for Antoine and Phin. Still, she was holding herself back.
Because she’d be distracted if she let herself go. She’d be distracted and wouldn’t be able to guard him properly. He briefly considered asking Burke to give him another PI, just so she wouldn’t feel so conflicted, but that wasn’t right. She was the best person for this job, and he respected that.
He was about to step back when he thought, Antoine is here. And Phin.
He gripped her chin gently, careful not to hurt her. “Phin’s here.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Phin’s here. He’s your night security, right?”
“Right,” she said slowly. “And?”
“Antoine said that he’d be fine with Phin here. We are, too, yes?”
Her wide eyes narrowed. “Yes. And?”
“If he’s responsible for keeping us all safe, then you’re not. Yes?”
Her brow furrowed in a slight frown. “I guess. And?”
“And... if you get distracted, then I’m still safe.”
Her lips began to twitch, her eyes to sparkle, the sadness gone. “How might I be distracted?”
“If I kissed you. Tell me no, and I won’t.” He drew a breath, quietly exhaling. “But please don’t tell me no.”
She held his gaze, and he held his breath, waiting as she considered all the options. All the angles. Then she smiled and he felt nearly dizzy with it. “Yes.”
Swamped with relief, he took her mouth the way he’d been wanting to since the first time she’d walked into the Choux. The box of wipes she’d been holding fell to the floor with a thud, and she wound her arms around his neck, kissing him back.
