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“Katelyn called out so I've been here all morning, and I didn’t get much sleep last night. I also haven’t had time to prepare for the conference tomorrow and I’m now in the same kind of predicament you were in last week.”
Caden’s brows furrowed at that. “Come again?”
Hallie readjusted her chair before sitting back into it behind the register. “I just mean that I haven’t come up with a suitable gift for your friends, and not having ever met them, only makes it that much harder.”
Caden smiled. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Otherwise, it’s not too late to sign the card I have from both of us.”
Hallie shook her head. “No. We had a deal and I will honor it. Besides, the least I can do is get them a nice gift after basically crashing their party.”
“Not crashing.” Caden walked around the counter and stood facing her. He took her hand in his and held it so gently it made her feel like she was a cherished piece of silk. “I invited you, and I will make sure you have a good time.”
Hallie looked up at him, noticing the glint in those steel gray eyes she wanted to lose herself in and the soft smile that curved his mouth. “I know you will.” It wasn’t supposed to sound cocky; she just had a feeling he wouldn’t let her down.
“I should get back to the office,” he said, his eyes still gazing into hers.
“And I should do some work instead of reading that new book from Delaney Parker that I can’t seem to put down.”
“Hi Hallie, is this a good time?” Stacy Donovan practically skipped into the store wearing a bright pink pants suit with a large duffel bag draped over one shoulder.
Hallie smiled at Caden, knowing their time had just come to an end. “She’s a vendor,” Hallie whispered, then stood to greet her. “Hey Stacy, now’s a great time. I can’t wait to see what new things your company has this year.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Caden said, excusing himself past Stacy.
“Later.” Hallie watched with a content smile as he exited the store.
“Who was that hunk of gorgeousness?” Stacy asked. The woman was married with three small children, but she still loved talking to Hallie about all the hunks in those superhero movies that her kids loved. So, it didn’t surprise Hallie when Stacy noticed Caden.
Caden was a noticeable kind of guy, and Hallie smiled at the thought of him noticing her. She pulled up a stool for Stacy, then took a long pull of her delicious blended coffee, while Stacy pulled out the five catalogs of gift items and samples she always brought.
After Stacy left, the rest of the day was uneventful except for the recurring glimpse of the shattering glass that kept creeping into Hallie’s tired mind. The worst part was that there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Her mind often felt like a runaway train when it came to her ability. She couldn’t stop seeing it, and the fact that it replayed didn’t make it easier. She kept seeing and feeling the same thing, with no more or less detail. The thundering noise of shattering glass pounded in her head. The large panes of glass coming down at her. Hallie wasn’t sure why her glimpse was framed that way. In all the glimpses she’d seen, nothing had ever been aimed at her.
Later that night, Hallie reheated some leftover pasta for dinner, then sat on the couch looking over all the conference materials, while texting with Caden. He was so funny and sweet, she found it hard to keep a straight face whenever they talked.
The next morning, Hallie woke up with a groan when her alarm clock went off at six. She’d barely fallen asleep after two in the morning and desperately wanted to stay in bed the whole day. Hallie considered skipping the conference, but then remembered how much she’d paid just for the one day, and shot out of bed.
Besides, some of her favorite authors would be there, and she wanted to meet and talk to them. She also hoped it would be the perfect place to find a gift for Caden’s friends. She was seriously running out of time for that and sharing a gift with Caden just wasn’t an option. They weren’t even together...were they?
She smiled. Just over a week ago, the certainty of spending her life alone plagued her on a near daily basis. But now, with each passing day, her mind drifted more and more to the man who’d stuck by her through FBI interrogations and rude shoppers.
Hallie showered, dressed, and was out the door in thirty minutes. She went through a drive-thru for a caramel blended coffee drink, thinking of the one Caden had gotten her, and was on the freeway with time to spare. Seeing that traffic was moving nicely, she sighed with relief. Today would be a good day.
***
Caden hated the way he’d left things with Blake, and seeing Hallie at her store hadn’t made him feel any better. He didn’t sense a dangerous bone in her body and he resented his friend for putting that kind of doubt in his mind about a woman he was really starting to care about. He couldn’t help being drawn to her smile, wanting to hear more of her laughter, and stepping in when she needed a little help. Like those two women at her shop. Hallie was being kind and polite, while the other woman wasn’t having it.
It actually took him flashing his badge to get them to leave. That told Caden everything he needed to know about them. The odds of him meeting them again were small, but if they ever did, those are the kinds of people Caden knew would be the first to call a lawyer and cry big fat tears over something they actually did while denying anything to do with it.
Caden texted Hallie a good morning text as he rode the elevator up to his floor. He didn’t usually come into the office on Saturdays, but after taking most of Friday off, he had a lot of work to catch up on. She replied a few minutes later, telling him she’d just arrived at the conference and may not be able to answer right away the rest of the day. Caden sent her a thumbs up emoji, along with a funny meme he’d saved to his phone. She’d told him how much she liked how he made her laugh all the time, so he made it his mission to make her laugh as often as possible.
Hours later, and a large chunk of the paperwork he’d been putting off finally taken care of, Caden decided he needed a break. He sent Hallie a quick message to check in with her, and went to the kitchen to get a drink. Blake’s words echoed in his mind the entire way there. She could be dangerous. Had to watch his back. Involved with a person of interest.
Caden cringed at that last one. It was the one thing that could get him thrown off the case, or worse. He tagged a bottle of water from the fridge and carried it back to his desk, where he found Avery sitting in his chair. “There you are, Dobbs. I need an update.”
Caden rubbed the back of his neck. Avery being here on a Saturday was never a good thing. “I don’t have one. I’ve been spending time with Hallie Owens, but not so much that she would be suspicious. So far, she hasn’t said or done anything to make me think she had anything to do with Blake’s shooting.”
Avery scratched his temple and stood, making Caden take a step back. “Then how do you explain our techs finding an extensive internet search on Agent O’Connell in the days leading up to his shooting on her computer?”
Caden paled, his knees nearly giving out from under him. Avery could’ve knocked him over with the mere touch of his pinky in that moment. Had Blake been right? Was she in on it or covering for someone?
