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“Morning.”
She was standing there, a nervous smile on her face, looking fresh and pretty in a light blue top and another tight skirt that had him remembering what it felt like to hold the curves of those hips, the softness of her thighs, the…
Redirect, Reynolds. You’re losing it.
“You doing okay?” he asked, his voice strained.
She hesitated at the door before deciding to come in. “Yeah. I’m fine. I know it’s early, but I wanted to see if you’d heard anything about Spencer.”
“Only that they arrived in Colorado this morning and he’s hired a new attorney. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll accept any plea deal that comes his way and avoid a trial.”
That possibility seemed to lift her spirits. No trial meant less publicity on him and everyone else in his life—her included.
“Have you seen any of the news coverage today?” he asked tentatively.
She shook her head and shrugged. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the last few months, the media is not kind, and sometimes it is better not to know what is being said.”
“It’s not all bad. You’ve been credited with capturing Spencer, and that’s changed the narrative. In a good way.”
“I suppose I should care, but it all seems so far away from me and my life now.” She paused, looking down at her hands. “You know, my father called this morning. He saw what happened in Key West and had some questions. I-I told him. About all of it. How you’re a PI who was just pretending to be my boyfriend to help get inside Spencer’s inner circle as part of the job that I hired you for.”
He was playing a role for the job she hired him for. Nothing more. It was as if she’d wanted to reassure her father that she had not gone off her rocker and started dating down or anything. It had all been for a job.
“I bet that was a relief for him,” he said, barely looking up from this computer screen.
“Yeah,” she said, appearing surprised he’d guessed it. “It was. I had been sure he was going to be angry that I’d lied to him. Anyway, he’s having a party in two weeks, and he wants us to both be there.”
“He’s throwing a party to celebrate Spencer’s arrest?”
She smiled. “Nothing as gauche as that. As he would put it, it’s just a tasteful and elegant party to reaffirm the Abbotts’ position in society. Let people know we’re still here and we rose above the scandal.”
He leveled a look at her. “Yeah…I’ll pass.”
The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of where Waverley came from and where she likely belonged.
She seemed disappointed. “Yeah. I understand. I’ll have to be there, though, and I would have liked your company.”
“You realize you don’t have to be anywhere, right?” he asked a little more sharply than he’d intended. “If you don’t want to go, you shouldn’t feel obligated. You don’t have to appease your father or anyone.”
“This isn’t about appeasing him,” she said, her disappointment quickly turning to anger. “This is about letting people know that I’m not some sad, pathetic, jilted wife. It’s me letting them know that I survived and I’m doing better than before.”
“Sure, of course,” he said, not wanting to argue with her.
If she couldn’t see it for herself, then it was unlikely he could show her that she was already starting to slide into old habits. It was like getting that little tidbit of approval from her father had unleashed that adolescent need for his approval.
“I have a couple of appointments this morning, one a phone consult. Oh, and the line was ringing off the hook this morning, so I have the answering service taking all calls for now. If you want, just let them all roll to the service for the next few days, until things settle.”
“I’m perfectly capable of handling the calls. It’s what you’re paying me for, isn’t it?”
“It is.” At least for now. Until she picked up and returned to Denver.
The coffeemaker beeped from the other room. “Can I get you a cup?” she asked.
“Maybe later. Thanks.”
She hesitated before nodding and slipping out the door.
Okay, so he’d been abrupt. Painfully so. But that was who he was. And he didn’t know if he could risk being any other way with her again. Not after a weekend of handholding, long, simmering glances, and being able to just reach out and kiss her whenever he wanted.
