Page 164 of Liar's Point

“Yeah, I’d like to meet her. Is this the one with all the cats?”

“That’s Grandma Doris. This is Helen. She’s in a nursing home.” Nicole paused. “You really want to come with me?”

“Sure, why not?”

“There’s not much to do there but bring her lunch and play dominoes.”

He smiled. “I love dominoes.”

“You love dominoes?”

“My granddad taught me when I was a kid. I’m really good.”

She lifted an eyebrow.

“Seriously, I’ll kick your butt.”

“Well. That’s unlikely.” She grinned. “But it would be fun to see you try. All right, if you really want to come with me—”

“I want to.”

“—I was planning to head up there Sunday morning around eight. That work?”

“Sure. Then in the afternoon, we could swing by my parents’ if you’re up for it. I want to go by to look at my dad’s boat.” He watched her reaction. “I’m thinking of buying it.”

Her face brightened. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s looking to get rid of it. It’s really old, but the engine’s still decent, and it’s got some years left.”

“Sounds fun. I love boats.”

“I know that.”

She smiled slightly and eyed him over her sandwich. Her interest in boats was one of the main reasons he wanted to buy his dad’s. Nicole loved being on the water, and he figured it was something they could do together when they had time off work but not enough time to leave town. Their hectic schedules weren’t likely to let up anytime soon. If anything, they were about to get worse.

“And I’d like for us to hang out.” Her expression turned serious. “I’ve missed you these last few weeks. Your schedule’s been crazy.”

“Yeah, I know.” He put their empty plate in the sink, and when he turned back, she was watching him with those bottomless brown eyes that saw everything.

“There’s that look again. I can tell something’s bothering you,” she said.

And she was right. Something was bothering him. For weeks, he’d been battling this relentless anxiety that wouldn’t go away. But he couldn’t talk about it. How could he explain the hot, suffocating feeling he got every time he knew she was heading into some semi-dangerous situation? It was a constant struggle for him to treat her like everyone else. She was always front of mind, especially if she was in any sort of danger. It was distracting as hell.

She had predicted that this thing between them would lead to problems at work, and she’d been right. The whole situation was becoming untenable. He was trying to make some changes, and when he had a solution in place, he’d tell her everything. But not yet.

“Everything’s fine.” He kissed her. “So, it’s a date Sunday? We’ll spend the day together?”

“It’s a date.”

He moved from her mouth to her neck to the sensitive place below her ear. Her skin smelled so good, and he could never get enough of it.

“I know what you’re doing,” she said, tipping her head back. “You’re changing the subject.”

“You don’t like this subject?” He kissed her throat.

“You know I do.”

His pulse gave a kick, and he slid his arms around her, pulling her to the edge of the counter. He kissed her and felt her loosening up, getting into it. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he moved her flush against him. He loved her skin, her taste. He loved everything about her. He slid his T-shirt up and settled his mouth on her breast, and she arched against him and made that low moan that had become his favorite sound.

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