Page 39 of Rafael

“Helping you, was he?” Shelby muttered something beneath her breath that sounded like, “Or helping himself to you?”

“Yes, he was,” Gisele smiled brightly. “He’sinstalling temporary alarms on all the doors and windows until I can have a security system installed.”

Shelby’s eyes remained narrow as she studied Rafael. Then she turned to Gisele. “I came by to see if you would join me at the Crawdad Hole for dinner. Remy is still at the office, gearing up for a gig in the city. Junior and I could use the company.” The deputy patted her barely showing pregnant belly.

Gisele opened her mouth to decline the invitation. Before she could, Rafael spoke up.

“You should go with your friend,” Rafael said. “No need for you to stick around. I’ll finish here and lock up when I’m done. Just leave me a key to the front door.”

“But—” she started to remind him that he’d offered her taco soup. Shewantedtaco soup.

“No buts,” he said. “I insist. You’ve had a busy day; you need a chance to unwind.” He gave her a tight smile. “Girl time.”

“That’s right. Girl time. Besides, I worked through lunch, and I’m starving.” Shelby motioned toward the counter. “Grab your purse. Let’s go.”

After Gisele grudgingly gave Rafael the spare front door key and grabbed her purse, Shelby hustled Gisele through the shop and out the back door. As Shelby passed Rafael, her gaze dropped to his...package. “Your barn door is open. You might want to zip it.”

Rafael’s hand rose automatically to the offending zipper.

Heat burned all the way up Gisele’s neck into her cheeks. She shot an apologetic glance over her shoulder at Rafael.

Shelby hooked her arm and half-dragged her around to the front of the shop and into her SUV.

As she slid behind the wheel, Shelby said, “I have to make a quick stop at my house to change. It won’t take me two shakes and we can be at the Crawdad Hole in no time.”

Gisele sat silently as Shelby drove to her place and parked. She remained in her seat as Shelby got out.

Her friend bent and peered across the cab. “Don’t you want to come in?”

Gisele gave her a weak smile. “If you’re not going to be long and don’t need help, I’ll just wait here.”

Shelby shrugged. “I won’t even be five minutes. I’m just going to get out of my uniform and into something more comfortable.”

“I’ll be here,” Gisele said.

Shelby shut the door and hurried into her cottage.

Gisele sat in the passenger seat, going over the last few minutes she’d spent with Rafael. They’d been hot and heavy, well on their way to getting naked on the floor of the shop in broad daylight! He’d been just as turned on by her as she’d been by him.

Then he’d gone cold and had practically pushed her out the door with Shelby.

And why had Shelby given him the stink-eye? She’d never seen her friend act so unfriendly toward one of her husband’s teammates.

Gisele hadn’t wanted to go with Shelby and had half a mind to fake a headache and ask her to take her back to the shop. At least then she could corner Rafael and get to the bottom of why he kept going from hot to cold, back to hot and then cold again.

He was giving her whiplash.

True to her word, Shelby was back in less than five minutes. She’d changed from her uniform into jeans, a tank top and a white button-down shirt that hung loosely around her hips. At five months along, she barely looked pregnant. She’d pulled the elastic band out of her long blond hair and brushed it smooth to hang down around her shoulders, making her appear more feminine. She was still the kickass deputy but with softer edges.

They’d been friends growing up, but they’d been so busy with their respective careers they hadn’t spent much time together lately. And it was even harder to get together since Remy had come home to Bayou Mambaloa.

Shelby grinned as she climbed into the SUV. “It’s been too long since we went out together,” she said, echoing Gisele’s thoughts. “I’m glad Remy’s occupied tonight. We needed this time to catch up. Once the baby’s born, all bets are off. We won’t have a second to ourselves.”

As much as she wanted Shelby to take her back to the shop and Rafael, Gisele couldn’t disappoint her friend by ditching her now.

“You’ve been busy with your job. I’ve been working non-stop to get my business up and running and profitable.” Gisele gave her friend an apologetic grimace. “Who has time for anything else?”

“Thing is, we need tomaketime for the people we care about.” Shelby gave her a crooked smile. “I’m sorry if I’ve neglected our friendship. I promise to do better.”

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