Page 53 of Matthew
If there had been a camera anywhere near that table, there was no way in hell he ever would’ve let what happened…happen.
Not with her. No way.
Matthew backed out of the feed and slid his phone into his pocket as he stood off to her side.
They had a potential threat to track. A delivery to intercept. And somewhere between the heat, the rain, and her smile, he’d stopped thinking like a man on assignment and started feeling like a man with something to lose.
It wasn’t smart. Wasn’t planned.
But it was real.
And that made it dangerous.
Callie logged out, shut the laptop, then stood and looked around the office as if mentally walking through a checklist. “I need to lock up and head home. You should, too.”
He nodded. “After I walk with you.”
She didn’t argue, just flicked off the light and nudged the office door shut behind them. They moved in companionable silence through the dim main building, checking locks, flipping switches. When she reached the front entrance, she bent down and gave Sammy a gentle scratch.
“Lead the way, bud,” she murmured.
The dog trotted ahead into the dusk, his tail up, already halfway down the gravel path by the time they stepped outside. The storm had cooled things slightly, leaving the air dense but no longer oppressive. Gravel crunched under their feet. Crickets chirped lazily from the brush. And as they walked through the wet grass in companionable silence, an unexpected calm washed over him.
When they reached her porch, Callie paused, hand on the rail. She glanced at him, her expression unreadable in the shifting light.
Matthew stepped closer, brushing his knuckles against hers.
“I’m not coming in,” he said quietly. “So no pressure.”
Her mouth twitched, and she appeared unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed. “Okay.”
“But I am doing this.”
He leaned in and kissed her, unhurriedly, deliberately, savoring the connection. Not the kind of kiss that asked for more, instead, it was to convey to her thatI’m here. I see you. And I’m not going anywhere.
When he pulled back, her fingers lingered at the hem of his shirt. She did that a lot. He liked it a lot, too.
“Be safe,” she said softly.
“You too.”
Sammy gave a soft whine, already sitting in front of the door, waiting for the humans to get their act together.
Matthew smiled and waited until Callie and her dog were safely inside, the porch light flickering on as the door clicked shut behind her. He lingered a second longer than necessary, then turned and made his way back across the field to his SUV at the nursery lot.
Once inside, he shut the door and exhaled hard, knuckles tapping once against the steering wheel.
Hell of a night.
He could still feel her. Taste her. The imprint of her hands, her voice, her laugh—it had worked under his skin. Something had shifted between them, something he wasn’t ready to name but wasn’t willing to walk away from either.
It sucked there wasn’t time to sit with it.
Not with that vendor. That box. That tiny, out-of-place item that had no business showing up on her delivery.
Something was off.
And if tomorrow’s shipment went sideways, whoever was behind it thought they could use Callie or her land as cover?
