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“Which one did she pick?”
“Millford Lawrence, of the great state of Kentucky. He’s the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.”
Walking fast, they headed back to the uniform rental shop and Murphy changed again. Thankfully, the clerk didn’t ask a lot of questions. Considering it was New York, he probably saw a lot stranger things than them around here.
“The box wasn’t empty, by the way.” Shayma said as they crossed the street and headed back toward the apartment. “I put a nice holiday card and some chocolates in there. Figured Emma deserved that after all she’s put up with working there for the likes of Kent.”
Murphy chuckled and slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Warm tingles went through her and she couldn’t help smiling. It felt like they were a regular couple, out for a holiday stroll. Times like these with him, she could almost believe it. He was grinning too, as if enjoying himself. Since she’d asked him about his mom earlier, it seemed as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The shadows in his eyes had disappeared and the tension in his shoulders dissipated. Maybe they could have another night together, an extended fling, before they needed to rush back to reality again.
“It’s almost lunch time now. You hungry?” he asked, letting his arm fall away only to take her hand instead. “I know this great little ice cream parlor nearby. Aileen used to love going there when I’d visit. They have sandwiches and stuff too.”
“Sounds perfect.” She snuggled into his side. When he was like this, so open and caring and considerate, she’d follow him to the end of the earth and back. “We need to celebrate anyway.”
“Celebrate what?” he asked, leading her toward a red brick building with a pink and white striped awning outside. Snow had started to fall in big fat flakes and more carolers sang on the street corner ahead.
Shayma walked through the door he held for her and gasped at the cute interior of the shop, all done up in pastel shades with plaster scrollwork on the ceiling. It reminded her of some of the confectionary shops in Paris she’d visited with her parents as a child. “Celebrate getting a new lead on your sister’s case. And to us coming to a truce.”
“A truce, huh?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Yep.” She tugged on his hand and led him over to two empty seats at the dark wood and marble counter. He helped her out of her coat then took off his own before sliding onto the stool beside hers. A waitress brought them waters and menus then left to wait on other customers while they decided. “We work pretty well together.”
He gave her a slow once-over that was so sexy, Shayma was surprised all the ice cream in the shop didn’t melt instantly. “We do a lot of things well together.”
“True,” she managed to squeak out as her cheeks heated and the waitress returned to take their orders—burgers, fries, and chocolate shakes. Once they were alone again, Shayma busied herself with straightening her silverware and folding the paper wrapper her straw had come in. “So, you’ll be glad to get the apartment back to yourself again, huh?”
He frowned and gave her some serious side-eye. “You going somewhere?”
“Mel texted me and said she and Daveed are going back to Heath’s condo tonight. Which means there’s no reason for me to stay with you anymore.” She let her voice trail off, hoping he’d pick up on her hint. When he didn’t, she laid it all out there for him. “Unless you want me to stay with you.”
Murphy paused mid-sip of his shake and stared straight ahead. “Oh, well…”
“I mean, no pressure or anything.” She fumbled her words, feeling like an idiot now for even bringing it up. It had been her, after all, who’d started the whole “fling” thing that morning anyway. For her to turn tail now and all but beg him to ask her to spend the night with him was silly. No matter how badly she wanted him to say it. “In fact, forget I mentioned it. It was stupid of me to—”
“Yeah.”
She rolled her eyes. “Glad we agree on something then.”
He frowned at her. “No, I mean yes. I think you should stay. With me. At the apartment. If you want to.”
Shayma opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Murphy went back to sipping his shake while she fought to keep her grin inside. He wanted more sex with her. That had to be it. He didn’t do relationships. He’d made that clear. She wasn’t looking for that from him anyway. Was she?
Nope. It would be more sex for them. Nothing else. Red-hot, blazingly passionate, toe-curling, heart-thumping, forget-your-mama’s-name-orgasm-inducing sex. And she couldn’t wait.
They devoured their burgers in record time and they were every bit as delicious as Murphy had promised. As she finished the last of her fries, Murphy paid the bill then helped her back into her coat. He kept her hand in his as they walked back outside again, as if he couldn’t stand not to touch her somehow.
At the corner, she bounced on the balls of her feet to dispel some pent-up adrenaline and tried to think of something intelligent to say to get her mind off pressing him up against the nearest light post and dropping to her knees to take him into her mouth. She remembered the salty taste of his skin from the night before and planned to explore every single inch of him as soon as they were back in the apartment. To distract herself, she focused on Aileen’s case. “So, the senator. Guess you’ll be eager to call the guys with that info, right?”
A furrow formed between his dark brows and he tugged her across the street by his side. “Not this time. I want to talk to this guy by myself first.”
“But you’re a team. Just like you and me. You can’t go rogue on this. It’s too important.”
“Going it alone is what I do, darling.” He hurried down the sidewalk, dodging clusters of holiday shoppers and forcing her to keep up. “Must be that rebellious streak you warned me about before.”
Shayma waited until they reached Aileen’s apartment building before pulling her hand free of his. The thought that he’d leave his friends behind so easily to handle things on his own left her suddenly cold. She shivered in the increasing breeze and frowned. “You need to call Heath and Daveed.”
