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I’m not a jealous man, but there’s something about Wren Caputo that makes me want to stake my claim over her. To take her and make her mine.
And that’s precisely why she needs to remain safely out of arm’s reach. Away from me.
“I can ask if you like.”
Jules’s words pull me from my musings, and I snort as I shake my head. “I’mfairlyconfident that it’s just food coloring. Nothing a day or two of scrubbing won’t fix.”
My cell chimes with a text as I dismiss Jules.
BARBARA
I’m short a volunteer tomorrow night. Are you available?
ME
Perfect.
I could use the distraction.
I’m about to pocket my cell and return to the task at hand as my thumb hovers over the gallery icon. I expel a deep sigh before tapping it, giving in to the need for a fix of her in the privacy of my office.
I unerringly find the hidden folder and press play on the Poppers prank for the millionth time. Her cry of displeasure, followed by my own deep chuckle, fills my ears, making me grin as I recall her sheer indignation. Her absolute sense of worth. Her ability to hold her own, regardless of my power and stature.
None of that matters to her. She speaks to a part of me I didn’t know existed, but I think it’s always been there. Waiting to be uncovered.
Waiting forher.
A sharp rap on the door sees me locking my cell and almost guiltily dropping it to the desk as Ford saunters into my office.
“Full background check on all the Porters, and there’s absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about any of them.” He takes a seat as I frown. “The eldest son has gone off-grid since his father married his ex-girlfriend—”
He stops at my wince before nodding. “Downright cruel, if you ask me.”
“Nothing on the good Dr. Porter, then?”
Ford shakes his head. “Nope. His yacht is currently sailing off the coast of the Dominican Republic, and all paperwork is in order, too. The whole thing is pristine. Squeaky clean. And entirely too wholesome for my liking.”
I nod in agreement. “I agree. Try a new angle. Look into extended family, neighbors, friends – whatever you can think of. Something stinks here.”
“I didn’t want to be crude, Burton, but itdoes! Did you open your fucking lunchbox?”
His face contorts in comical disgust that makes me throw my head back in laughter as I reach for the can of fart spray in my drawer. When I drop it down between us, he snorts. “She’s consistent; I’ll give her that.”
As I sober, I reach back into the desk drawer, fishing out the three letters for Wren I’d gotten from Fratelli, and slide them across to Ford. “Would you mind passing these along? I’d…um…It’s best if I continue to give her a wide berth.”
Ford takes them with a grin. “I’m just about to bring her for a walk in the park, so I’ll pass them along now.”
Jealousy stabs at my gut as he walks out quietly, leaving me to my mountain of applications.
I’ve just gotten through one more before there’s yet another knock.
“Come the fuck in, if you must!”
A wide-eyed Kendra Cameron pokes her head around the door. “If it’s a bad time…”
My shoulders sag as I gesture that she may enter. “How can I help you today, Miss Cameron?”
She fidgets ever so slightly as she settles in the seat Ford just vacated. “Well…umm…I’m hoping you might consider a proposal.”
