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“Are you kidding me? You’re so—so sure of yourself, and collected, like nothing can really phase you. Being around you makes me feel… centered, I think is the best word. And safe. More than I feel around anyone else.”
The second the words left my mouth, my cheeks flushed. Had I laid it on too thick, sounded like I was obsessed with him? But Beckett simply blinked at me, looking surprised though pleased.
How could he be surprised? Didn’t he know how he came across?
Of course, it didn’t take long for him to recover his calm. He squeezed my hand in his firm grasp.
“I’m glad I can be that for you,” he said softly, leaning closer over the table. “I’d like tocontinuebeing that for you.”
I tipped toward him instinctively, meeting the kiss he’d been offering. We’d only kissed once before, after our first date last week, but that one had left me wanting more.
This one only made me hungrier to find out everything Beckett was capable of. His hand came around the nape of my neck, his fingers weaving into the hair at the base of my head and holding it in place. His lips moved leisurely against mine, and the gentleness in his kiss unwound me in a completely different way than any other kiss had.
What the hell was I doing, though? I wanted to kiss him, yeah, but I’d just hooked up with Slade in the law library a couple of days ago. And some part of me was still drawn to Logan, even after the crap he’d put me through. How could I untangle my emotions for these three incredibly different but equally compelling men, especially when the other two were such chaotic presences in my life.
Beckett’s fingers tightened in my hair for a brief moment before he pulled back with a satisfied smile. “And now I’m even more glad you could meet me today.”
My cheeks heated again, but I let myself say, “Me too.”
I was deciding whether I should bring up the awkward fact of my seeing other people when a ringtone sounded from Beckett’s suit-jacket pocket. Knitting his brow just slightly, he pulled out his phone, glanced at the call display, and answered.
“Yes? What’s this about? I’m in the middle of something.”
He spoke calmly but firmly, with every indication that he assumed the person on the other end knew who they’d reached. He might like the break from his work, but seeing him get all businessman-authoritative was kind of hot.
Whatever the other person said, it must have convinced him he had to stay on the line. He gave me a gesture of apology while he offered a noncommittal hum and a “Go on” into the phone. After a minute, he exhaled with a hint of a sigh.
“All right, I’ll take care of it.” He hung up, tucked the phone back into his pocket, and turned to me with a pained grimace. “I’m so sorry. It looks like I need to leave even earlier than I intended. Sometimes I swear the family business would fall apart if I wasn’t keeping an eye on everything.”
He said the last bit with a wry tone and a shake of his head, but I’d seen enough of how he handled himself to believe it could be true.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Of course you have to deal with a major problem right away. We still had a great cookie.” I paused, and added with more boldness, “And a great kiss.”
“We agree on that.” Beckett got up. “Hopefully we can do it again sometime soon. All of it. I’ll drop you a line.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I watched him stride off, admiring both the toned leanness of his tall body and his overall air of assurance. He’d taken on so much responsibility at such a young age, starting from when he was way younger than I was now, but he carried himself like he was born for it.
I drank the rest of my latte more quickly now that I had less of a reason to linger over it. My mind drifted back to the question that’d plagued me almost nonstop for the past two days—the real thing I’d needed a break from.
Had my dad been murdered?
Logan’s evidence might be circumstantial, but there was a lot of it. Slade and Dexter were convinced by it too. But there were so many pieces of the puzzle we still didn’t have. How did that warehouse factor in? What secret project had Dad been working on in the last few months before he died?
I was just swallowing the last of my drink when my phone dinged. Summer had texted me.Hey, girl. I haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s up? Is the king prick working his way up to emperor yet?
My best friend was understandably not impressed with the way Logan had treated me two years ago, and she’d have already crowned him emperor of prick-dom if she’d known about his rant after he’d caught me with Slade.
I hadn’t talked to her because I hadn’t known what to say to her. What could I tell her now? Logan had hidden the Vigil’s main investigation from me for my own protection because he thought that if I knew, I’d be in danger. If I revealed the secret to Summer, would her life be on the line too?
My throat constricted. The image of the bloody body in the warehouse, the knife Logan had said had been meant forhim, flashed through my mind, and every part of me recoiled.
I couldn’t take the chance. Summer couldn’t get involved—telling her the truth would only put her at risk without her really being able to help anyway.
Just busy with school stuff,I wrote back.Sorry I’ve been AWOL.
No worries, Maddie. I know how hard you work.
