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“I am.” I had to brace because he launched himself into my arms for the tightest hug ever. Like I’d been gone three weeks, not three days. Warmth spread from my chest, down my arms and fingers, every spot that touched Knox melting like ice in July.
After giving me a sound kiss, Knox scooped up the cat lurking near the stairs. “Wallace missed you. See?”
“Just Wallace?” I was tired and in dire need of a shower, a beer, and a bed. And Knox in said bed. But then Knox made the cat wave at me, and I couldn’t help grinning, my tiredness replaced by a near-giddiness at being back in the presence of the guy I…
And there I had to stop. There were words I couldn’t let myself think, let alone feel.
“You know I missed you too.” Setting the cat down, Knox gave me a longer, deeper kiss that made me forget all about being hungry and thirsty. “Hotel room phone fun notwithstanding, it was too damn lonely in the big bed here. I had to go sleep on the third floor last night.”
“Aw. Poor baby.” I chuckled, mainly at Knox’s blush at the mention of the phone sex we’d had two nights ago. “I had to turn a pillow sideways on the left side of the hotel bed.”
“We’re a pair.” He shook his head at me, expression fond but exasperated, exactly the one all the happy longtime couples I knew used. And I’d never wanted that either. No homecoming. No attachments. No wedding bells. But then I’d danced with Knox at Kale and Eric’s wedding and watched Knox climax on the hotel balcony, and I could have sworn I heard distant chimes. The entire weekend in San Francisco had made me long for everything I’d never wanted before. I held his gaze, trying to soak up another few seconds of undiluted happiness until he rolled his eyes and kicked at the tile. “So…when are you going to tell me what you found out? I’m dying here.”
Knox was now as invested in this case as Holden and I, demanding updates, offering suggestions, and celebrating the breaks along with us. While in Florida, I’d reviewed a bunch of case records not available online, interviewed a few people connected with the case, and been granted a short, frustrating visit with the chief suspect.
“The threads are tenuous, but they’re there, and they keep adding up.” I leaned against the counter as Knox moved to the fridge. He passed me a sparkling water before studying the contents of the vegetable drawer. I took a sip of water before continuing. “The main thing is the tangential connection to this region, roughly around the same time frame. I’ve got some interviews set up with a few of the original witnesses here, like her friends, to see if anyone recognizes this suspect.”
“Sam’s mom. If she wasn’t on the original list of interviews, she should have been.” Knox nodded sharply as he stacked an onion, zucchini, and two peppers on the counter. “She knows everyone and everything going on in this town, and she’s both sharp and honest. My grandpa was on the original case, of course, but my grandma is another one who knows everyone coming and going.”
“Good ideas.” I still had a hard time thinking of Rob’s parents as a grandma and grandpa, but it was true that they might have some valuable insights. “I can’t wait to share with Holden. Need to tell him about the suspect interview too. Tried calling him on my drive from the airport, but I think he was teaching his summer class.”
“And now he’s probably getting ready for trivia night.”
“Trivia night.” I echoed Knox, adding a long groan. “Hell. I need to beg out of that—”
“No, you don’t. You should go.” He waved at the door I’d only just entered.
“But you were about to cook.”
“It can be for me.” He shrugged, but the way he’d been pulling out ingredients said he’d been planning on feeding us both. “And I’ll save some for your lunch tomorrow.” He waved again. “Go on. If you hurry, you’ll get there before the first round. I know you want to tell your friends about the trip.”
“But I want to tell you more.” I sounded like a whiny ten-year-old, but Knox’s small pleased smile at my lament gave me an idea. He was so used to being not included and an afterthought, which had never sat right with me. After the past few weeks, I wanted him to come first, not be left out entirely. “You should come too.”
“To trivia night?” He pursed his mouth like I’d handed him a lemon, not an invitation.
“We need a sports expert. We keep missing basketball questions and stuff like that. And Sam said it wouldn’t be weird to bring you. We can socialize with each other. No harm in that.” It wouldn’t be as fun as San Francisco, where I could touch and love on Knox as much as I wanted, but it would be better than nothing.
