Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“No problem,” I said, gesturing to the laptop. “I’ve been working nonstop all day. It’s time for a break.”
“Um, I wanted to apologize for last night. I completely ignored you, and that was wrong of me.” She was holding something in her hands, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. “I just… misinterpreted something, and it wasn’t your fault, so…” She held out a gift card with a tense smile.
“Thank you,” I took it, turning it over to look at the name. Bucks Hardware.
“It’s downtown,” she said quickly. “Between the hair salon and the police station.”
“I know it,” I said. “I’ve passed by it a couple times. Thank you.” I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.
The hug was half-awkward, half-blissful. She felt right against my chest, and yet, our energy was off. That unspoken passion we had shared two days ago was gone, and in its place was a tentative friendship. I bowed my head and kissed her without thinking. Her lips were lush and inviting, and I momentarily forgot myself in their sweetness. She returned the favor, opening her mouth just wide enough to brush my bottom lip with her tongue. Then we both remembered that we were supposed to be roommates, and we stepped back apologetically.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“No, I’m…” she muttered, looking around at the desk, the window, anything but me. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine,” she cut me off. “I’m gonna go take a shower.” Without pausing to reestablish eye contact, she fled from the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
I stood still for a long moment, feeling confused and angry with myself. Why couldn’t I keep it in my pants? Lindsey was a nice girl who didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of. She had gone to all the trouble of getting me a gift, and in return I had undone all the progress we had made since that night. Oh, that night. I could still feel her body underneath mine, her passage gripping onto my rod. I could still see her splayed out on the bed, legs wide open, inviting me. Living with her was going to be harder than I had ever imagined, but I was determined to make it work. If we couldn’t find a way to coexist, one of us was going to end up homeless. The further I got into the relationship, the more I realized it would be me, and not her, who ended up sleeping in the car.
I was done with my work. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t sit down and focus. I stepped out into the living room to wait. As soon as she came out, I pounced on her, creating an awkward showdown in the hallway.
“Lindsey,” I said, as if there were others in the cabin.
Her hair was wet and her face free from makeup. She was obviously on her way to bed, wearing the same soft pajama bottoms I had seen on her in the driveway. I had an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to press her up against the wall again and rip off that tiny T-shirt. She looked at me expectantly, and I forced myself to think about football players or my grandmother, anything to kill the hard-on that was interfering with our lives.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s fine,” she said automatically.
“For kissing you,” I explained.
She smiled. “I kissed you back.”
“Okay,” I stammered. Could I make this any more uncomfortable? “Good night.”
“You said you were working on the case.” Lindsey hijacked the conversation in a new direction.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“I just thought of something in the shower.”
All I could think about was her naked body slick with water. I put on my best professional face and nodded for her to continue.
“You asked… well, Ryan asked about shipments.” She moved closer, puzzling it out in her head.
“Yeah?”
“Once a week, every Wednesday, a big truck comes, and they load cash into the back of it. I always thought it was from the cash transactions—you know, customers who don’t want to pay with credit cards—but now…”
I held my breath. This was potentially the breakthrough I had been looking for. “Now?” I asked.
“There aren’t that many customers that pay with cash,” she said. “Not enough to justify an entire truck every week. I wouldn’t have said anything, but you guys said you were looking for regular deliveries. It’s not a delivery, but…”
“It’s perfect.” I fought the urge to close the distance between us, to reach a hand behind her head and pull her into another kiss. Instead, I lunged back into my office to reopen the case file. If Lindsey was right, this could confirm my suspicions of money laundering, and we could set up a sting next Wednesday to catch the culprits in the act. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled.