Page 37 of Trick of Light
“I didn’t dislike you.” She hesitated, then added, “You just seemed very arrogant. I don’t like arrogance, especially if it’s aimed at me, like you thought you were better than me.”
Truly shocked, down to his bones, he stared down at her. “Never. I never thought that. I admired you the first moment I saw you. Then we argued and I respected you even more.”
A lilac branch brushed his face and he realized that in his agitation, he’d stepped closer to her, into her personal space. He tried to step back, but he’d gotten too entangled in the thicket of the lilac bush. She reached for him, and suddenly they were holding hands and warmth was coursing through his body.
More than warmth. Heat. Desire.
Shit.
He snatched his hand away and took a big stride backwards, never mind the overgrown shrubbery scratching at him. “I…need to get back inside for the interview. Tamara wants me there with her.”
“Okay.”
He couldn’t read her expression. Had he hurt her feelings? That wouldn’t do. “But I’ll be back. Right back.”
“Dude, I’m not waiting here in the lilac bushes for you.”
“Right.” God, this was mortifying. Why was he behaving like a kid with a crush? He was a grown man who’d had relationships with women on almost every continent. Why should Gabby’s steady amused gaze be sending him into such a tailspin? “I just want to explain…” Explain what? That his reaction to her had thrown him on a mental tilt-a-whirl? “We need to talk,” he finally said.
“Well, you know where to find me.” She gave him a sassy wink. Damn her, she must know what effect that would have on him. Was she just toying with him now?
“Yeah, about that…”
They both heard the arrival of Luke’s truck, no doubt carrying the officers who were about to interrogate Tamara.
“You’d better go,” she said softly. “Tamara needs her champion.”
“Ha.” He snorted. “She told you that?”
“She told me a lot of things. It’s amazing what you can find out when you spend the night in jail with someone.”
He would have given anything to stay longer and grill her about what Tamara had said. But he didn’t trust those officers to wait if he wasn’t there. “Just be careful with her things. Obviously Tamara trusts you, but everything in that house is incredibly precious to her.”
“I understand.”
He strode off, brushing lilac branches away from his face, knowing he’d look a mess when he got into that interview room. Also knowing that it might take a few minutes for his raging erection to die down. Now there would be an awkward moment—sorry I was late, I had a hard-on.
16
If Tamara’s night in jail was supposed to break her will, it hadn’t worked. Or maybe some of Gabby’s spirit had rubbed off overnight. At any rate, she seemed refreshed and ready to face her questioners.
Barnaby sat at her elbow, ready to tell her not to answer when a question seemed like a trap. Those were his instructions from the defense lawyer he’d hired, but who couldn’t make it to the island until later in the week.
Officer Chen went first. “What were you treating Amelia for?”
“Isn’t that private?”
“Privacy privilege dies with the patient.”
Tamara glanced at Barnaby, who nodded for her to go ahead. “I was helping with her anxiety and depression. I have a custom herbal mix that’s quite effective.”
“Does it interact with pharmaceuticals?”
Barnaby shook his head “no” on that one, and she didn’t answer.
“How about this. Do you know why she was anxious and depressed?” Hooper asked.
“Isn’t that thirdhand information?” Barnaby protested.
