Page 190 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
The cuff of Regan’s silky blouse brushes against my arm, breaking me away from my thoughts. “Which room is yours?”
Smiling, she points to a door at the end of the hall. “But you don’t want to go in there.” Her nose screwing up like a teacher reprimanded a student for being naughty. “There are things in there that will scare blushers like you.”
As I poke out my tongue, Hugo’s brows shoot up into his hairline. His dilated eyes bounce between Regan and me for a whole two seconds before he bolts for the door Regan pointed to. She’s on his heels in under a nanosecond, demanding he stop immediately. Her dangerously high stilettos assure she’ll never catch him.
He swings open her bedroom door before she’s halfway down the hall. “Damn, Regan, you’re my type of girl.”
Regan tugs on her skirt, raising it high on her thigh before curtsying, pleased by his compliment. “I know how to keep them keen.”
Eager to join the conversation, I join them at the end of the elegant hallway. I pout like a child when Regan closes the door before I can pry into her personal space.Party pooper.
Smirking like she heard my private thought, Regan gives Hugo and me an impromptu tour of her residence. After showing us the remaining sleeping quarters, a den big enough to hold a poker tournament, and three bathrooms, we arrive in her adeptly decorated kitchen. Just like the kitchen in Isaac’s apartment, her fridge is bare. Excluding bottles of water, there’s nothing nutritious inside.
Her pantry is just as scarce of food. Other than numerous tins of vanilla frosting, it’s bare. Her food supplies give credit as to why she smells sugary, but it has my suspicion peaked.
“Is this your fuck pad or your home?”
I spin around to face Regan, who is wiggling her brows. “A little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.” She pads closer to me with her hips swinging like they’ll seduce me as well as they will Hugo. “I only reside in Ravenshoe when Isaac’s cases require a physical presence. Thankfully, that’s not very often. I do most of my work from my home in Texas.”
My eyes bulge. Out of all the states, I would have never guessed she’s a Texan.
Her eye roll is way too sophisticated for my liking. “Don’t act surprised. Haven’t you heard everything is bigger in Texas? I live there to ensure the quote is accurate for all regions below the belt.” A playful wink ends her tease.
Confident she has me right where she wants me, she digs a stack of pamphlets from a drawer under the island. They’re from catering companies that specialize in in-home delivery. “Is there anything particular you feel like eating?” When she peers at me, I shake my head. “Anything you’re allergic to? Or dislike?”
My head shaking is interrupted when Hugo pipes up. “Pumpkin. Izzy hates pumpkin.” My eyes shoot to him so quickly, I become dizzy from their swift movement. “What?” He gives me the same wink Regan just did. “You wasted a perfectly good slice of pumpkin pie in Harlow’s bakery last week.” He salivates at the mouth while rubbing his stomach in a circular motion. “Such a waste of a good pie.”
His hand falls from his tummy when Regan socks him in the arm. “Do we have to put up with him the entire time? Or can he just shadow you once you leave my apartment?”
I can’t tell if she’s being witty or serious, but Hugo doesn’t seem fazed. He has a megawatt smile stretched across his ruggedly handsome face, and his elbows are propped on the granite countertop. He’s tilting so close to Regan, his lips brush the shell of her ear when he murmurs, “You’ll want me here when you’ve got an itch you need scratched, but it’s just out of your reach.” His words are so hot, even I get scorned by them. “You can’t have special guests over when the king of your realm bans them.”
Their lips almost touch when Regan cranks her neck to Hugo. They would have if she didn’t inch back to authenticate the honesty in Hugo’s eyes. “What do you mean banned?”
Hugo braces his back on the kitchen counter before folding his arms in front of his chest. “Come on, Regan, you know Isaac. There’s no way he’d let you entertainguestswhile Izzy is here.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’d demand me to…” Her brow arches higher and higher until it is hidden by her long side bangs. “He knows what I’m like.”
They must have had discussions like this before as I’m lost on what she means, but Hugo has no trouble deciphering her coded statement.
“He knows all right, but that doesn’t lessen the issues he has with her.” Hugo nudges his head to me, his smile the biggest it’s been today. “Until she goes, thatapparatusyou have in your room is a no-go zone.”
Regan scoffs, her face disgusted. “Order whatever you want! I have a case to be dismissed.”
She tosses the pamphlets to my side of the countertop before hot-footing it out of the kitchen.
An hour later, I’m on the verge of a carbohydrate coma. My sloth-like walk to gather my Kindle out of my bag is my punishment for allowing Hugo to choose what we were to consume for lunch. He went the very bachelor route, meaning I gobbled more than my share of pizza, garlic bread, and spicy wings the past half hour. I could feel my ass getting wider with every bite, but it was so good, I couldn’t stop eating.
I pout when I dig out my Kindle from my satchel. Since it hasn’t been used in months, it’s flat dead. After plugging it in, I pad down the long hallway, my strides guided by the numerous sighs and groans bellowing down the elegantly decorated space. Regan is so determined to have my case overturned, she refused Hugo’s multiple requests to join us for lunch.
When I round the corner, I spot Regan’s concerned face. Wrinkles are indenting her forehead, and she’s tapping her index finger on her lips. Her hair has been yanked up into a messy bun, and her jacket is flung over the back of her chair. She’s super casual but also prepped for business if that makes any sense?
“Can I help with anything?”
She peers at me over the report she’s reading for a mere second before she diverts her focus back to the task at hand.
“I’m not the damsel in distress Isaac and Hugo make me out to be. I have at least half a brain.” My comment is surprisingly playful considering how bruised my ego is, and it has the effect I was hoping for.
After gesturing for me to sit in the chair across from her, Regan hands me a stack of photos. “I’ve never worked a murder case before, but that won’t stop me from saying the scientific evidence they have against you is compelling.”
