Page 73 of Begin Again
Elena likes Beau. I’m not surprised. I suppose her fondness for him is par for the course considering how often he’s been around the past year.
I like Beau too, but…it’s a little more complicated.
Elena continues to skip through the bullpen until she comes to Beau’s office and bolts through the door without knocking. A squeal of delight echoes from inside, which means Beau already has her in his grasp.
I lean against the frame, and a real smile tugs at my lips. Beau kneels in front of my daughter, talking in hushed tones as he offers her a blue raspberry-flavored sucker.
Elena nods her head and greedily takes it, rushing over to me. “Momma! Look what Uncle Beau gave me!”
“I see. Did you say thank you?”
She turns over her shoulder. “Thank you, Uncle Beau!”
“You’re welcome, Shortie.” Beau chuckles, pulling himself up from the ground, and wipes his palms on the thighs of his jeans.
“Momma, can I get some juice and watch cartoons?” She turns back to me and gives me her best doe-eyed expression, lip pout included. Beau keeps a secret stash of juice for her in the fridge—and everyone knows it—in case I have to bring her along when we meet at the station. He even taught her how to work the tiny television on the counter to keep herself entertained after she called our conversations boring once.
“Sure, Shortie. You know where it is.” Beau answers for me, and Elena doesn’t wait for my confirmation, dashing out of his office. “Don’t look at me like that,” he says when I give him a questioning glance.
“What if I was going to say no?”
“You weren’t.” He sits on the edge of his desk, arms crossed over his broad chest, which strains against the fabric of his khaki-colored button-up. I quickly avert my gaze from his arms. “I was wondering if I’d see you today.”
I shrug, lifting the paper bag and tray with two coffees in the air. “I wanted a coffee, and Shortie wanted a hot chocolate, so we went to Vintage House for breakfast. Picked you up something.” Walking around the back of his desk, I drop the items on top of the paperwork and fall back into his chair. “I needed a break from the chaos inside my house.”
“You have everyone there?” he asks without turning around completely, and I nod while allowing myself a moment to take in his side profile.
A small dip in his forehead from the crease in his brow that I know too well. An almost perfect, Grecian nose. Full lips. A strong, defined jawline that could cut fucking glass. His warm, beige skin was peppered with dark stubble from a few days without shaving. I prefer it that way.
He sucks in a breath, turning away from me. “Damn, that’s a lot of people.”
“You’re telling me.” My head falls back against the headrest of the leather chair with my feet planted on the floor, twisting from left to right. I keep my gaze locked on the ceiling tiles above, but I can feel the heat of his stare, sending a wave of fire across my skin. He’s moved to the back side of his desk now and if he came even an inch closer, our legs would touch. Actually, with each twist, my jeans swipe against his.
“How’s it going?” Beau asks and I shrug, still staring up at the ceiling. “That good, huh?”
“You know how it’s going,” I say, finally looking at him. “Everyone walks on eggshells. No one quite knows how to be. I mean, how could they? And then—” I scoff. “Then Alex and I got into a fight yesterday.”
“About?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure, it does, Sweetheart.”
I sigh. “He said some shit and…I let it get to me.”
“Like?”
“None of your business.” My tone earns an eye roll from Beau before he stares down at me from his desk, patiently waiting for me to continue. “He thinks I don’t care that Nick is gone.” With every word, I can see his jaw clench a little tighter. “And then he broughtyouup.”
“Me?”
I nod, biting down on my bottom lip. “Yeah, he thinks we’re sleeping together. Thinks we’vebeensleeping together.”
“And why would he think that?” Beau tries to hide his shock at the accusation. “Do they know about—”
“No,” I say quickly. “I didn’t tell them, but I’ve never hidden that you’ve been helping me, even after the case went cold. They all know, but now…I can’t help but wonder if they all think it.”
“That’s something I can’t answer for ya, Nin. You gotta talk to them, and I would…Talk to them, I mean. If you’re that worried about them thinking you and I are together—”
