Page 23 of The Jade Stone Sleuth

He somehow got through dinner, making small talk and drawing Rachel out about her latest part as she kept sneakingglances at Beau and Bermuda. He feared she’d run over there and bow to them if given half a hint that they noticed her.

Finally, he’d paid the bill and they were in the elevator. He couldn’t wait to escape that restaurant, this city, and even Rachel. He wanted to be back in Jade Valley. He wantedreal.

He wanted Clara.

And he had no idea how to make anything work with her. Still, he couldn’t casually date someone like Rachel again. Rachel was only dating him for the clout and arm candy, and he’d been the same. She didn’t inspire him or light a fire in him like Clara did. He was a desperate mess.

“Rachel.” He pivoted toward her. “I need more.”

“More of what?” She narrowed her eyes at him, those lashes so thick it was hard to see her eyes fully.

“More depth, more value, more substance.” He gestured to her and then up to the restaurant they’d just left. “I don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on dinner to prove anything to anybody. Beau Alexander and Bermuda Gray seem like incredible people, but I don’t care to fawn over them. I’m going to focus on my career with Aiden and not worry about the social climbing in San Diego anymore.”

He could hardly believe those words had left his mouth, and obviously Rachel couldn’t either. Her jaw dropped and fire filled her blue eyes. “Are you saying we’re through dating?”

“Yes.”

“Your social life will be shot without me. ‘Social climbing’.” She harrumphed. “You have no idea that you’ve just ruined your future.”

Brex smiled. “That’s the interesting thing. I feel like my future has just been given wings.”

“Ah!” she cried out.

The elevator door opened, and she stormed out. She didn’t look back, and he didn’t mind.

Rachel was right. He was making a disaster of his life and his future. Yet a future of social climbing felt empty. A future with Rachel felt stifling and barren.

Anything without Clara felt desolate, and he barely knew her.

The world wasn’t rosy enough for him to prove Clara was innocent and have her fall in love with him and not hate him when she figured out he was here on assignment for her—he knew that. But he had to try to solve this case and figure out a way to spend more time with Clara. Maybe he’d never be the right man for her, but she’d inspired him to see a new world. He wanted more of it.

A couple entered the elevator, staring oddly at him as he hadn’t moved. The man was in a Brioni suit, the woman a swanky Dior dress. He nodded to them and strode out. Their eyes cut to the makeup smears on his shirt collar.

He chuckled to himself as he headed for the front doors and the valet. He couldn’t care less about his shirt being dirty, but the makeup smears represented how fake his life had become.

Was it possible for a selfish former social climber to change his path?

He hoped so.

Chapter

Eight

It was earlyin the morning, a month after Brex had first met Clara and three days after he’d watched Rachel storm away in Vegas.

He’d felt so empty that night, and he knew he needed to be close to Clara. She was the one who had decimated his shallow existence and changed his life goals. He was stalled in his investigation, and he had to do something.

So Brex hatched a plan. He would use himself as bait. He would figure out why Clara was so irresistible and, if possible, get her simple life out of his system and get things back on track with a million bucks.

He was shadowing Clara through a red canyon that was getting narrower by the foot. She knew he was there, had probably known it every morning. Was she doing this hike to ditch him? He didn’t think he was claustrophobic, but as the slot canyon narrowed and he was brushing his shoulders on each side, he decided maybe he’d wait right here for her. She’d have to turn around and come back down. Google Maps showed there was no other outlet, she had no climbing gear, and he’d never seen her scale hundred-foot walls.

Would it rip at his heart to talk to her? What would he say? He had to ingratiate himself into her life again. He was doing a miserable job of getting close to her like the Hendrys had asked him to. Could he get close to her and not kiss her or fall for her? Maybe he wasn’t cut out to be undercover. If he got through this assignment without losing his job, he’d ask Nick for an easy one like infiltrating a trafficking ring or tracking down the Taliban.

He heard her footsteps coming back down the slot canyon. This was it. He had to find a way to pretend to be her boyfriend and get the murderer to attack. Taking action would be a huge relief. Being close to Clara sounded even better, a soothing balm he needed in his life.

What if he fell in love and ruined the job? What if there was no murderer or Clara was the murderer?

No matter what, he had to change his mode of operation. Not being close to Clara was killing him, and he’d told the Hendrys he would get close to her. It was a win-win to get back into her good graces.

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