Page 49 of Out of the Shadows

The Hudson Security crew were an odd bunch. The men were a tighter group than the women. Granted, aside from her, there were only six other women on payroll out of the twenty-odd employees, but still. In her humble opinion, the entire crew were a ragtag bunch of emotionally unavailable people. Well, maybe not Xander. He seemed pretty well-adjusted. And not Alvarez either, since the man was basically married—but he was fairly new to the team, so she wasn’t really sure he counted. However, everyone else was a bit closed off. Whether it was due to their time in the service or whatever alphabet agency they’d been a part of prior to joining the Hudson Security team, it didn’t seem like any of them were in the market for any sort of long-term or meaningful relationship.

Tired of her back-and-forth questioning thoughts, Bean rose from her chair and crossed her office. Opening her storage closet, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of the door. Really looked at herself. Dark-brown hair, blue eyes. Average in both looks and build. At five-three, she was shorter than she’d like, but she made up for it with her shoe collection.

She glanced down again at the beauties Gavin had given her, and her stomach did that fluttering thing again. If she was reading things right—and she was pretty sure she was—Gavin liked her, looked at her as more than just a friend, was attracted to her. It wasn’t quite a fact, more of a theory at this point, but she’d never heard of him gifting anyone else anything. Let alone shoes that cost over twelve hundred dollars. Still, it was only a theory.

However, there was one certain fact she was sure of. She was one thousand percent attracted to Gavin Frazier. He stirred a want in her that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

They were both adults, and it was okay for them to see what happened, right? She didn’t want to jeopardize her position at Hudson Security, but if they went into it with their eyes wide open and with ground rules, everything would be fine. However, she could also be jumping the gun, and her theory could be totally off base.

She glanced again at her shoes, and the corners of her lips ticked up.Doubtful. Highly doubtful.

Mind made up, she fluffed her hair, adjusted her blouse, and smoothed her skirt. Though a slew of nerves remained, she closed the closet door.

First things first. She needed to thank him for the gorgeous shoes. There was nothing wrong with that. Besides, she knew that it was unlikely Gavin would make a move on her. One, he was her boss. Two, he was her friend. Those twofacts alone would most likely keep her in the friend zone forever. Which... would be a damn shame.

It’s not like she was going to try to give him a nudge or anything. Or to see if her theory had any merit. She was simply going to thank the man for his gift. It was the polite and kind thing to do.

She made her way to his office and stood in front of his closed door. As she raised her fist to knock, a smirk grew over her lips.

Right.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Come in,” Gavin called out in response to the knock on his door.

As the door opened, he glanced up, and his chest did that squeezing thing when Bean walked in.

She came to a halt just inside the doorway with her hip cocked like she was at the front of a fashion runway. “Well?” she asked, shutting the door behind her.

All he could do was stare. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to notice, because he noticed every damn thing about her. And every part of her looked amazing.

Her eyebrows rose, and she gestured to her feet.

He jerked. Ah, yes. The shoes. The corners of his lips kicked up. “Very pretty.” He wasn’t lying. Nor was he just talking about her shoes.

He rose, rounded his desk, and leaned back against it, making a swirling motion with his finger.

She rolled her eyes but complied. As she spun, he allowed himself to take her in from head to toe. Yeah. She was so damn gorgeous.

“I take it you like them?” he asked when she faced him again.

“I do. I love them. They’re beautiful and surprisingly comfortable. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, loving how her smile had her eyes twinkling. “Did you try on the hiking boots too?”

“Uh, no.” She chuckled. “These kind of took priority.”

“You’re not going to get any complaints from me, B. They do look amazing on you.” Tilting his head to the side, he eyed her legs appreciatively, not bothering to hide the fact he was doing so. “Though they do look a little higher than the red ones, don’t you think?”

His pulse picked up speed as he straightened and stepped toward her with his hand held out. He had to be closer, was desperate for her touch.

That suspicious smirk lifted her lips, but she placed her hand in his.

Electricity shot through him at her touch, and he didn’t miss how her blue eyes darkened. All his blood rushed south, and his heart thudded hard in his chest. She felt this too.

Pulling her close, he wrapped an arm around her waist and began to sway. There was no music playing, only the quiet hum of his electronics, but it didn’t matter.

“See, I was right,” he said as a blush stole over her cheeks. “These make you a little bit taller than the red ones.”

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