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“You know what I want.”
She wanted to ask, “Me?” Because that was what she wanted. She wanted him to want her—desperately.
Of course, she couldn’t blurt that out.
She walked around the counter toward the dining room that connected with the living room. She took a few steps near Jaxson, tossing him the beer.
He caught it with ease. His mouth started to open as if he wanted to ask why she was throwing it at him when he noticed Dane standing behind her.
“I didn’t hear the knock on the door. Who’s your friend?” Jaxson asked, casually, although he eyed Dane like a suspect in a lineup.
“I was wondering the same thing. What does ‘partner’ mean, exactly?” Dane’s eyebrows burrowed further into a frown.
Gabby shifted so she could see them both. “Partners. You know, as in work partners.”
“Work? What do you really do, besides take a job under false pretenses?” Dane asked with a strained breath. His jaw clenched, then unclenched.
She wanted so badly to walk up to him and smooth her hand across his scruffy jaw, relax the tension in his features. Erase the pain she put in his eyes.
Jaxson stood up. “Oh, shit, is this him?”
“If by him, you mean, Dane Holloway, then yes,” Gabby replied, her heart breaking. She honestly had no idea what to say or do anymore. The situation was becoming more awkward as each minute passed.
And, for the first time, she didn’t do awkward so well. Where was her usual spouting out whatever came to the tip of her tongue? Her loose lips. Her sarcasm. Her finesse with words in any situation.
“Interesting,” Jaxson said with a sleek smile.
She responded with a glare.
Jaxson could rankle her nerves without even speaking. His sly smile inched up a notch as he looked at Dane. “We work for the NYPD, in the homicide division. We’re partners.”
“You’re a detective?” The shock coated Dane’s features from his eyes to the aching frown to the subtle way he jerked back.
“Clearly not a very good one.” She couldn’t hold in the ridiculous laughter. Nothing was funny, but it slipped out.
She raised one of the beer bottles to her head to cool herself down and the raging headache she could feel coming on.
“Hey, Gabs, why don’t I step outside on the balcony. You two can talk.” Jaxson walked around the couch to the sliding glass doors, then turned toward Dane. “Let her speak before you judge. You can be pissed, that’s your right. But Gabs doesn’t do anything unless it’s important to her.”
Gabby waited until Jaxson stepped outside, then walked around Dane with a wide birth, careful not to touch him, and stepped back into the kitchen. Because if she touched him, she might crumble to pieces, and that was the last thing she wanted. She refused to let him see her in a moment of weakness.
She put the two beers back in the fridge and turned around, wondering if Dane followed her.
Of course, he had. She wasn’t sure why she thought he might leave. His expression still wasn’t inviting. He looked like he wanted to punch something.
“Maybe I wanted a beer.”
She scoffed. “Then you should have grabbed it when I offered.” Her face morphed into sadness. “I’m sorry, okay? You have every right to be mad at me. What did your brother say? That’s why you’re here, right? He told you.”
He leaned against the counter, folding his arms and legs like he used to do in his office when they had their little spats.
God, it felt like a lifetime ago. Had they only known each other for a short week?
“My brother is a known liar. He lies more than he tells the truth. I wanted to hear it from your lips. I told myself it didn’t matter. That you didn’t matter. But it does matter.”
She folded her arms as well but didn’t lean against the fridge where she stood. “My best friend, Mia, was dating your brother. She came to me last week, saying she thought he was cheating. I told her to dump his ass if that was the case. No man who does that is worth the time. She wanted proof. She begged me to apply for his temp secretary position and find out the truth. She wanted solid proof before she accused him of anything. I’ve never been able to say no to her.”
“Why? Why can’t you say no to her?”
