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He sounded like a big old douchebag, but she would try to make a note of what he looked like and if it appeared they were having a casual conversation or something more.
There was a knock on the door, and Hale popped his head in. “Hey, your dad wanted me to tell you he’s going to be a while. Something about Nelut mating habits, and there might have been the word apocalypse thrown around.”
“It’s fine. It’s one of his favorite words.” She stood because she’d gotten everything out of Chelle she was going to get.
“Anyway, Cassidy’s going to come pick him up if he runs too late. If the world doesn’t end, that is.”
He was truly adorable. Maybe she could put in her request with security and they could have lunch.
She turned to Chelle. “Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else, give me a call.”
Chelle stared Hale’s way. “Hey, I think that’s one of those guys we were talking about. You know the ones who slept with every woman in the lodge.”
“I did not.” Hale frowned, his brows furrowing.
“It was more like half.” Van was suddenly beside him, as though he’d been waiting so he could make an entrance.
“It was not.” Hale’s voice went low, and he sent his partner a shut-the-fuck-up look.
Chelle had gotten to her feet, her chest coming out a little. “I’m Chelle. I’ve heard so much about you guys.”
“Wrong things,” Hale shot back.
“I thought you guys left. If you’re still working here, maybe we could have a drink sometime,” Chelle offered.
The need to stake her claim rose fast and hard, but she held back, wanting to see how her guys handled a woman hitting on them. Technically Van wasn’t hers. He could have a drink with anyone he wanted to. He was free and easy.
“No.” Hale’s hand slipped into hers. “I’m with her.”
She probably should have mentioned that to Chelle, but it hadn’t mattered to the investigation. That hand squeezing hers did though. It mattered a lot.
“I’m totally her adjacent.” Van took a position on her other side. “Not looking for anyone else. She’s all I can handle.”
So at least he was in for now.
Chelle stared at her standing between two gorgeous men and her jaw dropped. “See, its witches. I know it. I need to find a way into that coven.”
“Hey,” Hale began.
But she didn’t mind being called a witch under these circumstances. It truly was magical. “Come on. I’ll buy you guys lunch while the security crew finds my footage.”
She walked happily out the door.
* * * *
“I thought we were going to the restaurant.” Elisa stared back down the hallway they would have been going down had they actually been going to the lobby.
Hale had other plans.
When he’d realized she was still at the lodge and likely would be for most of the afternoon, he’d quickly gotten the heater working again—though oddly it had only worked after Mel had allowed maintenance to flatten out the field. When Lucy had tried to pay him, he’d asked for something other than cash.
“We’re going someplace better.” Van had picked up some sandwiches, drinks, and cookies from the small café at the front of the lobby.
“What are you planning?” Her eyes narrowed but her lips curled up in the sexiest smile. “You know my father is still here, right?”
“He’s busy ensuring no alien mating happens in unsecured zones,” Hale explained. Or was it in secured zones? He wasn’t sure, but he was certain Mel was busy. And he didn’t think Mel would turn out to be one of those “don’t touch my daughter, she’s so pure” dudes. He was one of those “you better make her smile and make her happy in all ways” type of guys.
He kind of liked Mel.
He pressed the button to call the elevator and gently pulled her inside when the doors opened.
Van joined them, a big smile on his face. “I’m supposed to be at work. I couldn’t violate you if I was at work, so what’s about to happen is your dad’s fault.”
“Uhm, I’m actually at work, guys,” she pointed out. “I’m in uniform and everything. I’m not sure my new boss would like to think his deputies drop everything for a nooner.”
He and Van both laughed at that thought. She hadn’t been here long enough to know Nate Wright’s reputation.
“The only thing the sheriff loves more than fishing is sneaking his wife into his office for sex,” Van explained. “And sometimes Zane’s in there, too, and there’s complaining about how small the office is, and then Gemma complains about how thin the office walls are, and there are a lot of conversations about who has to clean what.”
“Besides, it’s your lunch hour.” He wasn’t sure she had a lunch hour, but if she didn’t, Hale was going to tell Nell Flanders and he would join that protest. “And you’re waiting on security, so it’s not like you can leave. I’ve got the big suite for three hours. That’s when Lucy told me the housekeeping staff would be in for the weekly cleaning. It’s actually the owner’s suite, so it’s not in use unless they’re here.”
