Page 29 of The Ghost of You

I seeNoah heading to the front door, so I end my conversation quickly before rushing to the front door to meet him.

“Hey Detective,” I shout.

He turns around with a smirk and the sight of his blue eyes nearly makes my knees weak. “Still a cop, Anna.”

“I’m just trying to put positive vibes into the universe.”

“Let’s hope it works.”

Once again an awkward silence overcomes us. I don’t know how it always happens. I want to talk to him, get to know him, but it’s like the second he stands in front of me with that handsome face, that strong jawline, that slightly crooked nose, all my words just disappear.

“Did you need something?” he asks.

I brush my loose waves behind my ears. “Umm, did you want to walk me to my car? Men on the prowl and all.”

He smiles and I look for something to grab on to because I think I just melted into a puddle. “You listened.”

I nod. “My mama always said to trust a cop when he gives advice.”

“Did she?”

I laugh. “No. But I figured it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Smart choice.”

He pushes the door open for me, and I duck under his arm to walk through it. We start to walk a few feet and he stops at an SUV. “Not walking?”

“You look cold. I’ll drive you.”

“It’s two blocks.”

He unlocks the car with a key fob and opens my door. “Do me the favor of not making me walk back alone.”

“Okay,” I say as I climb into his SUV.

He crosses in front of the car and gets in. He starts the car and presses a few buttons to turn on my seat warmer.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Where is your car?”

I tell him where it is and he pulls out onto the road. Our typical awkward silence hits again and I don’t even know how to break it. I think of all the things I could say but none seem to be very conversational.

“Your brother’s recording studio is nice.”

He looks over at me when we hit a stoplight. “It is. He worked hard this week to make it look like him.”

“He invited me to hang out on Monday.”

He turns back to face the road. “You should go.”

“You don’t think it will be awkward? I don’t really know him.”

He shrugs. “I’m sure you two have a lot in common. Besides, it can’t be any more awkward than when we saw each other naked.”

I put my hands over my face. “I told you not to talk about that.”

“I know.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “But my brother is amazing at music. I don’t think you need to talk much if you two just start jamming together.”

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