Page 57 of Merrick

“What did you say to that?”

“I just told him he was crazy, and that we have only just met.”

“Christ!” Brad was trying to figure out how he felt about that. “And?”

“Nothing. We parted ways this morning and he said he had to go out of town. He did not tell me he would be in touch or anything like that. It felt like goodbye.”

“How do you feel about that?”

She shrugged and took another sip of water. “Relieved.” She caught his skeptical expression and took a breath. “Miserable. But it is for the best. My instinct is telling me that he is going to run me.”

“I am surprised he hasn’t already. Your cover, that of being a novelist sounded a little thin and shaky. You could not come up with anything else?”

“It was on the fly and why is it shaky?” She demanded.

He snorted and scooped up some chicken. “You’re not romantic.”

That stung, a little. “I can be.”

“You’re not. You are a little crude and over the top rude. You dress like you’re going hiking, and your body language says a hell of a lot.

And I doubt you ever read a romance novel in your life. I once forced you to watch a Romcom with me and you laughed at the love scenes and called the main actress weak willed and always begging for attention.”

“She was.”

“My point exactly.”

“And for your information, I have read a romance novel. At my aunt’s when I spent the night.”

“Did you finish it?”

“No. It was boring as hell. The female kept crying at the drop of a hat and wanted to ‘be taken’ by the guy. It was humiliating. I wanted to shoot myself.”

He grinned at her pained expression. “Now you’re that person.”

“What?” Her head jerked up.

He studied her face for a minute and could feel regret churning inside him. She was fresh from a bath and the scent surrounded her. Her hair was twisted and piled on top of her head and her skin was flawless. She looked like a woman twenty years younger.

“When are you going to admit that you are in love with Pendergast?”

“I am not! I,…” She subsided and closed her eyes briefly. “Is it that obvious?”

“To me.” He felt the regret twisting him inside out. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I am going to close the goddamned case and prove his innocence. He is not involved. And that is not my hormones talking. I am a damn good cop, and I know when a person is guilty.

Merrick is not. I have no idea why a man of his smarts has not figured out what is going on in his company, but I have a feeling it’s because the key player is family. And Jason Pendergast has covered his tracks.”

He continued eating, his head down as he handled the chopsticks and picked up the meal.

“What?”

“It’s strange to know that you are normal after all.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

He finished the last of the meal and placed his elbows on the table, blue eyes studying her irritated expression. “It means Sullivan that for years I have tried to get you to notice me as more than a partner, but you never did. I have to admit that I am more than a little jealous of the man who was able to accomplish the impossible.”

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