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Grady crossed his arms over his chest. “Stop treating me like some underwear-hoarding perv.”
“What? Some guys like to sniff them. I’m not judging. But I need to go home and shower.”
“This is fucking ridiculous.” He put his hands on his head, walked another lap around the island and then checked the kitchen sink. “They were in your pants when I took them off last night? Are you sure they’re not stuck in the leg or something?”
“I checked.”
He sighed heavily.
“You really didn’t take them?” I asked.
“I’d never take anyone’s underwear,” he said, his voice agitated.
“Well, there’s no one here but you and me.”
Something dawned in his expression. “I know who did it.”
He walked down the hallway and I followed him past the doorway to his bedroom and through the doorway of another one. It was his home office, with a big wood desk, a laptop, and a couple of bookcases along the walls. One wall was nearly covered with photos, news clippings, a map of the woods surrounding Sven’s Beard, and other papers.
“What’s that?” I asked, referring to the papers on his desk.
He glanced over, distracted. “A cold case from a long time ago. I work on it at home sometimes.”
Bending down, he scooped Radar out of a stuffed cat bed and then picked something up that he’d been lying on.
“The case of the missing undies has been solved,” he said, holding them out on the tip of his finger. “Radar likes underwear. Sorry about that.”
I laughed as I took my gray undies back, which were now covered in black cat hair.
“Okay, I feel silly for accusing you,” I said.
He set Radar back on the ground. “Lucky for you, it’s Christmas, so I can’t be mad.”
I walked over to him and put my arms around his neck. “I had the best time last night slash this morning.”
“Me too.” He put his arms around my waist. “Sure you don’t want to blow off our family things and get back in bed?”
“It’s tempting, but I need to go to my aunt and uncle’s.”
He kissed me. “Okay. I’m working from three to ten tonight, otherwise I’d ask if I can call you.”
“You’re working on Christmas?”
“I’m covering for a lieutenant whose wife just got home from a military deployment. I want him to be able to spend the holiday with her and their kids.”
I kissed him. “That’s nice of you. I wish I didn’t have to go.”
“We’ll see each other again soon,” he said.
“Is that a threat or a promise?” I cracked.
He winked at me. “Little bit of both.”
After another long kiss, I said, “Merry Christmas, Grady.”
“Merry Christmas, Avon.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Avon
A knock on the apartment door made my heart flutter. I raced to the bathroom to check my teeth again, also doing a last-minute pit sniff.
Teeth clear. Pits powder scented. I was safe to open the door.
“Hey,” I said casually when I saw Grady standing there, a brown paper Taco Train carryout bag in hand.
“Hey.”
A warm light danced in his eyes as he gave me a lazy grin. That grin made me forget anyone else existed. A world of people surrounding us? Nope. When he looked at me like that, it was just us.
He set the bag on the floor and cupped my face in his hands, kissing me gently. I put my palms on his chest, my body heating from the light scent of his cologne, which I’d woken up smelling like on Christmas morning after sleeping in his bed.
It had been a couple of days since then, and I hadn’t heard from him much. We exchanged a few texts a day and had both been busy at work. When he texted me earlier today to ask if he could drop by my place with dinner, I paused, remembering my dating rule—no texting back in less than ten minutes for the first three weeks. Random and pointless? Yes, but I did it so I wouldn’t seem desperate.
That was a San Diego rule, though. In the Beard, with Grady, I wasn’t worried about nonsense like that. He was amazing, I had limited time here, and I wanted to see him. So I immediately said yes.
“Damn,” he muttered, taking a step back from me. “I have to put a little distance between us so I can tell you about what I found.”
He picked up the bag and carried it over to the kitchen counter, unpacking its contents.
“You said you liked the chicken tacos you got when we went there, so I got you four of those with rice and beans and extra guac. Plus a bunch of chips and salsa and more guac.”
“Sounds amazing. I’m famished. Dandy brought in some soup he made for lunch and it wasn’t my thing.” I opened the apartment fridge and frowned. “I hope you like water because that’s all I have.”
“Water’s great.”
