Page 46 of Deadly Attraction
Chapter Ten
Emma overslept, then hurried through her morning routine.
So unlike me.
She was doing a lot of things that were unlike her.
How weird that with everything going on, and the fact Chris, Linda, or someone else had been in her bedroom yesterday, she had slept like the dead.
She might havebeendead if not for Mitch.
His presence is why you slept so well, dodo.
Salt and Pepper weren’t in her bed when she woke, nor did she see them now as she left the bathroom, pulling her wet hair into a ponytail. Down the hall, she discreetly looked around the corner to peer into the guest room, prepared to use the dogs as her alibi for snooping, but neither they nor Mitch were in sight.
The bed was made, the shade open to the bright morning sun pouring in.
Had he even slept in there last night?
The sound of a pan knocking against something in the kitchen echoed up the stairs. Emma cocked her head at the top of the stairs and listened.
Whistling, soft and upbeat, met her ears, along with the sounds and smells of frying meat.
Mitch was making breakfast.
How nice.
Nice? It was flippin’ awesome.
What am I doing? Falling for a guy because he makes me breakfast?
There was more to it than that, of course, but Emma knew the signs of transference. Mitch had come into her life during a fragile time of year and had proven to be adept at dealing with everything she, and the world at large, had thrown at him. Add that to the fact he was tall and sexy, damaged and mysterious—what woman in her right mind wouldn’t have a crush on him?
Dangerous waters, doctor.
Calling up her professional persona, she descended the stairs.
The dogs had tag-teamed Mitch, Salt taking up the position by the door, Pepper by the table. Both gave her a cursory glance and a weak tail wag and went back to keeping their laser-locks on the man with the food.
He wore the clothes he’d arrived in, and gave her a tight smile from his station at the stove. “Hungry?”
She’d told herself last night that she had to be mistaken about the jealousy she’d witnessed on his face when she’d told him about Victor helping her through the holidays last year. But the same expression still clouded his eyes and sat heavy in the faint creases around his mouth. “Smells delicious. I’m sorry I overslept. I’d love some breakfast, but I should check on the horses.”
“No big deal about oversleeping.” He flipped a sausage, grease splattering. His attention darted around between the frying pan and another skillet with eggs. “Will and I fed the horses and let them out to pasture. Relax and have some breakfast. We’ve got all day.”
Mitch respected Victor, saw him in an elevated light that Emma knew many others did too. It didn’t seem right to divulge that Victor was a kind man under his badass, FBI director persona. His agents knew he was fair and dedicated, but she wasn’t sure they realized what a softy he truly was. Revealing the fact he’d stayed with her, even though nothing inappropriate had happened, seemed too intimate—for both her and him.
She helped herself to the pot of coffee, watching Mitch from the corner of her eye. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Plenty.”
Somehow she doubted that. “Are we going to the park today?”
“The fire burned north from the ignition site, but it’s still too dangerous to go into the park without proper equipment and clearance from the fire chief.” He scooped up an egg from one pan and slid it onto a plate, then two sausage patties, and handed it to her. “All I want to do is check the trail and see if it was a possible escape route for the arsonist.”
An adventure. She was almost giddy. This one would be far more suited to her than yesterday’s excursion in Mitch’s truck, trying to escape the madness of a stalker and the chaos brought on by the wildfires. Today, it would be sunshine, horses, and Mitch.
Her psyche loved that idea.
