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“Shush.” He looked around them fast, though his expression was comical. “Don’t want those paparazzi to turn up again and spoil our lovely time.”
She laughed. “It is lovely, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
They finished their hot chocolate and nibbled on a few cookies before heading back upstairs again. Daveed kept her hand in his as they walked round Rockefeller Center and enjoyed the tree and the other decorations. Between the trumpeting angels and the enchanted gardens set up around them, Melody finally felt some of the melancholy she’d been carrying around since returning from Tahiti lifting.
Her spirits remained buoyant all the way back to the condo and even after. In fact, she laid awake in bed until well after midnight, reliving the wonderful kiss she and Daveed had shared earlier. And yes, maybe it had happened as a ruse to fool the press. It had still felt real and exciting and she couldn’t wait to try it again with him, if he was open to it. Memories of the first night she’d spent at the condo returned as well. They’d sat up half the night just talking and laughing and getting to know each other a bit better. Restless, she tossed aside her covers and sat up. If she was having trouble sleeping again, then maybe so was Daveed.
Anticipation bubbling inside her, she got up and tiptoed over to the door, pressing her ear against it to listen for any sounds of someone else being up, but heard nothing. Undeterred, she silently opened her door and snuck out into the hall. Pitch blackness greeted her. Tiptoeing down to the living room she peeked around the corner, but spotted only empty furniture and lightly falling snow outside the windows. So much for another romantic interlude with Daveed.
As she crept back to her room, Melody couldn’t help stopping outside his closed door and pressing her hand against the wood. He was in there, sleeping most likely, and she was an idiot to think a guy as great as him would want anything to do with a loser like her. She had no job, no money, no prospects for the future. But maybe, just maybe, she could change all that.
And starting tomorrow, she would.
* * *
Daveed laid wide awake that night until the moon sank below the horizon in the pre-dawn gloom, despite feeling exhausted. Truth was, battling his growing attraction to Melody was getting to be much harder than he’d anticipated. He’d sworn not to let her in, not to fall for the impulsive, warm-hearted, disorganized woman Heath had warned him about, but then he’d kissed her.
Cursing under his breath, he rolled over, punching his pillow harder than necessary before flopping down atop it again. He’d only done it to help her avoid another tabloid storm like the one she’d experienced after her break-up with Heath. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep, but no such luck. With nothing but blackness surrounding him, all he could picture was her wide-eyed look of surprise in the pub when he’d pulled her close and captured her lips with his. The way those pretty blue eyes of hers had slid closed as her body relaxed into his. The sweet, spicy taste of her that he could still catch a trace of in his mouth. Damn. He groaned and covered his face with his arm. What the hell had he been thinking?
He hadn’t been. That was the problem.
Frustrated and restless, he finally gave up any hope of slumber and headed to the bathroom for a shower. It was way early still. Only four-thirty, per the digital clock by his bedside, but he needed to burn off his excess energy or else he’d end up charging across the hall and picking up with Melody right where they’d left off at the pub.
As he soaped up and rinsed, memories of their time after the pub at the ice rink resurfaced. Of course, it didn’t help that she’d opened up more to him, showing him one of the places she’d loved as a child. Sharing such experiences with her only made him yearn to know more about her, which was ridiculous. He jammed off the shower, wrapped a towel around his hips, then shaved and brushed his teeth. The last thing he should be thinking about right now was getting involved with Heath’s ex. Not when Murph’s sister was still missing.
Finding Aileen should be his top priority. End of story.
After pulling on clean clothes and running a comb through his damp hair, he headed out early to start his work for the day, lingering only long enough to fix himself a travel mug of coffee to drink on his way to see the guys. Melody was still asleep, thankfully, and he was careful to leave quietly so as not to disturb her.
Two blocks and one subway ride later, he was standing outside the Brooklyn brownstone Murphy rented. Despite the early hour, lights blazed brightly from the front windows. None of the guys slept late these days. Too much time in the military and too little incentive to stay in bed had them rising early and ready to work. His traitorous mind briefly reminded him that he could have a reason to sleep in back at Heath’s condo, if he’d just knocked on Melody’s door, but Daveed pushed those thoughts away. He’d made his decision. He’d stay away from her.
He charged up the front stoop of the red brick brownstone and knocked on the door. Murph answered and let him inside, grinning. “You dog.”
“What?” Daveed frowned.
Heath was sitting at the dining room table with a newspaper in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. “Dumbass. I warned you and here you go and kiss her anyway.”
His heart dropped to his toes as he moved in beside Heath at the table. Those bastard paparazzi didn’t waste any time splashing those photos all over the front pages, did they? He gave Heath a side glance then raked a hand through his still damp hair. “I was trying to get her out of a sticky situation.”
“Yeah?” Heath raised a blond brow at him. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
“Shit.” Daveed took his now-empty travel mug over to the kitchen counter and refilled it from the fresh pot of coffee Murphy had made. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It’s just all those cameramen were swarming around and you’d bailed and so I acted on impulse. I seriously don’t know how you deal with that crap every day.”
“Now you know why I keep a low profile and stay busy.” He scratched his beard. “Changing my looks doesn’t hurt either.”
Murphy snorted. “And here I thought you just liked the Grizzly Adams persona.”
“Actually, it’s starting to itch and I’d love nothing more than to shave the damned thing off, but not until after we find Aileen.”
At the mention of his sister, good-natured Murph’s smile fell. “Man, I’m really starting to get worried about her. It’s not like her to disappear with no trace. I wish we could find some concrete evidence of what was going on with her before all this happened.”
Daveed set his mug down on the table and took a seat across from Heath. “I might be able to help there.”
“Yeah?” Heath set his paper aside. “What’ve you got?”
“I think we deciphered some clues from those garbled notes Aileen left behind.”
