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“Nice speech, LT,” Frank told him a few minutes later as Nico was grabbing a printout from the copy machine.
Nico’s shrug was noncommittal. “I hate public speaking.”
“Then why’d you bother?”
“Someone had to.”
“You’re right,” Frank said. “Troops need a strong leader. And ours is”—he glanced casually toward West’s office—“not so much.”
For the sake of professionalism, Nico didn’t enter into it. Frank strolled back to his desk without another word while Nico took his phone from his pocket. No messages. Maybe he should stop trying? He didn’t want to seem desperate or clingy. Worse still, he didn’t want to come off as aggressive and scare her off. On the other hand, no matter how hard he tried not to think about her, he couldn’t get Lexie out of his head. It both excited and scared the shit out of him. It also made him realize how long it had been since he’d slept with a woman, and how much he’d like to remedy that before too long, so abandoning his efforts wasn’t an option either.
Pocketing his phone again, he thought about hitting up Rusty’s for an early lunch to see if she was there, then caught sight of Frank’s inquiring frown and realized he’d been staring at the wall, lost in his thoughts for god-only-knew how long.
“What’s going on with you?” Frank asked.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, my ass.” He lifted his mug to his lips. “That’s the fifteenth time I’ve seen you check your phone today.”
“I think you’re exaggerating.”
“I think you’re avoiding the question.”
Nico ignored him.
“So, who’s got you on the hook?”
“No one. Don’t you get tired of poking your nose into other people’s business?”
“Not when their business is so much more interesting than mine.”
“Please,” Nico scoffed. “You have three ex-wives.”
“Yeah, and they’re all ancient history. You, however, are fresh meat.” Frank’s eyes narrowed, then his face morphed into a blend of shock and delight. “Wait—it’s her, isn’t it?”
“Who?” Seth asked from his desk and Nico realized they had the attention of the room.
“You couldn’t help yourself,” Frank taunted.
“What’s going on now?” Zoe chimed in.
“Jesus Christ.” Nico threw his head back and stared at the ceiling.
“Seems the lieutenant here has got himself into a love triangle,” Frank announced, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Whoa.” Nico gawked. “What?”
“With who?” Zoe asked, smiling.
“I’ll give you a hint,” Frank replied. “She’s blond. She’s pretty. And she’s married to Kyle Garrett.”
Nico watched the shock wave move through the room. Seth’s eyes widened and Zoe’s jaw dropped. Even Cora’s ears appeared to be flapping in their direction.
“No way,” Zoe whispered. “Lexie?”
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Frank asked.
“Okay, enough,” Nico said, filling his voice with authority. “You’re all acting like a bunch of schoolgirls.”
