Page 30 of Look My Way
“Oh look, your recipe box is still where you left it and hasn’t moved an inch.” He smiles, squeezing my shoulder on his way to the laundry room.
What did he say? There’s a sharp clawing at my throat when I try to swallow. When I face the window, my eyes bulge and my stomach flips. It’s back on the windowsill. It shouldn’t be there at all, but there it is in its rightful place after I’d shoved it under the sink.
I don’t bother asking him if he put it there, because I already know what the answer will be. He’ll know as much about it as he does his missing watch and badge. Downing the rest of my tea, I do as he asked and look in my room. There’s no badge on the floor, near the dresser, on bathroom sink, or on the bed. I check under it too, with no luck. When it’s time to look outside, I go out there with careful and slow steps.
No watch on either side of the glass sliding door or anywhere on the back patio. Nothing in the grass along the fence or in the center of the yard. I look on the table last, glancing into the pots without meaning to at first. No badge. But why would it be there? It wouldn’t, but a note could be.
Lowering myself to the ground, I run my fingers over the grass and dirt there too. My reflection in the glass table has me looking up, and it’s hard to turn away from the small smudge. My headslams against the glass as I try to get up, and I rub at the throbbing area as I crawl backwards.
With all the pent-up sexual frustration I’ve been carrying around every day, there should be way more than just a smudge. It was dumb of me to leave the mess to begin with, but I figured I could scrub the table down while checking on my plants while Daniel was in the shower. The hard surface is dry, lacking any kind of stickiness and it looks like . . . someone wiped it for me. The smudge is from fingerprints, not my release. It’s been completely cleaned off the glass.
I nearly trip on my own feet as I step backward, and I land against a hard body. Large hands grab onto my shoulders and warm breath cascades over my ear. Relief floods through me at my body’s reaction to melt against my fiancé. I knew I could get it back. I knew I wasn’t imagining that feeling ever being there to begin with.
All those thoughts are shut down when the voice speaking doesn’t match Daniel’s.
“Easy, carino.”
Unable to speak, I jump forward and look back at the smiling handsome face behind me. Man is he handsome too, in this non-conventional way, with intense eyes, hard distinctive lines on his face, and that fucking grin. That grin has my heart racing in my chest the longer I look at it, and I almost lose myself, but I stop myself from feeling it with my own mouth just in time as I pause inches away from his face.
“Everything okay?” His eyes slant and his smile fades.
“Yeah . . . I . . . what are you doing here?”
Stretching out his neck, he’s grinning again. “I told you I’d be coming to drop off supplies the day before, or am I remembering wrong?”
Wooden boards are stacked where the boxes are supposed to go, and I shuffle in place, looking apologetic. “Right. You did. Sorry. Guess you just took me by surprise is all.”
“Yeah, the back gate was open, so I just let myself in. Hope that’s okay? I didn’t want to bother you in case you were sleeping.”
“No. It’s fine.”
“Alright.” He rests his hands behind his back. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair. Have a good rest of your day, and feel free to still let me know if you’re feeling up to a sub delivery later.” Lowering his face to mine, he smirks. “Oh, and that’s sandwiches by the way.”
My face heats and I scrub a hand over it. My mouth slowly opens as I think of the best way to respond, but I’m cut off before I can by a door creaking beside us.
“Did you fi—” Daniel stops talking the moment his eyes land on me and Zavier. “Oh, hi there. Did we get the days mixed up or something? Thought you were starting Monday.”
Rocking forward, Zavier clears his throat and smiles. “No, no, Monday is correct. I was just dropping off supplies. It’s something I do the day before a job to make things easier. I told your fiancé the other day but he must have forgotten. Sorry for the confusion.”
“Ah, I see.” Daniel’s tone changes to something lighter. “No harm done. And it is very much like him to forget something like that.”
I bite the inside of my cheeks and force out a quick laugh. “Yeah, very much like me.”
“Eh, we all forget every now and again. It’s my fault for not calling ahead to remind him.”
“That certainly would help. You have his number too, don’t you? Just in case I get wrapped up in something and can’t answer.”
“Yeah. I do. I’m going to head out now. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Let me walk you out,” Daniel promptly offers. I can tell Zavier is fighting the urge to look at me one last time before following him into the house. The door shuts behind them minutes later and I sag against one of the chairs.
Tires screech against the pavement and the back door squeaks open again. “I’m guessing the badge wasn’t out here either?” Daniel’s voice is strained.
“Nope,” I say, quickly standing out of my seat. “You need me to help you look inside again?”
His nose flares and he shakes his head. “No. I’m thinking if it’s not here or in my car, it must be at the station somewhere.”
“Want to stop by there on the way to the farmer’s market?”
