Page 32 of Cross-Checked

His expression goes hard again as he bites the inside of his cheek. “Let’s not forget that I already said I was sorry, before?—”

“Let’s skip right over that to the conversation weshouldhave had. The one we were supposed to have after that stunt you pulled last night.” I pace back and forth behind my desk, bouncing Abby in my arms. She’s not heavy, but I can tell my arms would easily tire from holding her like this for too long. My eyes flick to McCabe’s muscular biceps, the lines of which I can see even while his arms remain motionless.

“I know I was in the wrong,” he says, his voice placating. “I shouldn’t have said exactly the opposite of what you asked me to.”

“Why did you?” The question feels loaded as it comes out of my mouth. As if we’re not just talking about this specific instance with the press, but the way he constantly tries to piss me off.

His eyes trail down, focusing on Abby, like he can’t possibly look me in the eye. For a moment, he looks like he might open up and give me a real reason. And then he says, “I don’t know.”

“But we cleared the air about what happened when I traded you, right?” I push down the guilt I feel now that I know about his grandma.

“Cleared the air? I’m pretty sure you just told me what I already knew, adding in, ‘but I didn’t have a choice.’”

“McCabe, I hadno ideaabout your grandma, and I’m really sorry for the role I played in that. You didn’t deserve to get traded, especially because you were standing up for me. But it wasn’t a punishment. I didn’t do it because I was mad that you beat the shit out of my husband. I did it because my hands were tied. Now I’m hoping we can at least work together in a less hostile way.”

He gives a small shrug of his shoulder and looks at me with a smirk. “Yeah, maybe.”

My stomach flips. “But maybe not?”

“I don’t know, AJ. I think a lot of things that happened as part of that conversation...changed things. But it’s not something I can talk to you about while you’re holding my daughter in your arms.”

My chest shakes with silent laughter, and Abby kicks her feet harder, like she thinks we’re playing a game. “You know she can’t understand whatever it is you want to say, right?”

“Okay,” he says, huffing a laugh, “maybe I don’twantto talk about it while you’re holding my daughter.”

“And why not?” I press, unable to stop myself from taunting him a bit.

That smirk is back already as he comes around my desk, leans in, and plants one hand on the bookcase behind me. His eyes focus on mine, his pupils dilating until there’s only a sliver of green surrounding them.

Ohhh. He still wants me.

My heart pounds against my ribcage so powerfully I’m sure he can feel the vibrations from half a foot away. Why does my body have this reaction to his?

“Because the feelings I’m having about what just happened aren’t something I can explore with her in the room.”

“Like I said before,” I steel my voice even while my body wants to press forward into his. “That can’t ever happen again.”

He pushes off the bookcase, giving me some room to breathe. “If you say so.” His gaze is still locked onto me, like he’s challenging me to prove him wrong.

Done. Because if there’s one thing I excel at, it’s compartmentalizing my feelings and prioritizing work over everything else. And that’s what this relationship is—work. He’s the captain of the team I manage, and there is no situation in which it would be okay for me to have anything other than a purely professional relationship with him. No matter how tempting it is, it wouldn’t be worth the fallout.

“I do say so.”

Chapter Fourteen

McCabe

The knock on my door startles me, even though I was expecting it. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me—I’m so damn jumpy today. It’s like the thought of seeing AJ outside of work has me on edge.

“Let’s go meet the guy who might be your new manny,” I say to Abby, kissing her on top of her head as I pick her up from where we were playing with some big plastic cars on the floor of the living room.

I don’t know for sure whether Nicholas is going to be the right choice, but we have a game tonight and I still don’t know what I’m doing with Abby during it. The agency I used to find my past nannies said it was unlikely they’d be able to find someone for at least a few weeks, so he’s my only option for the short term.

The minute the door opens, Abby reaches her arms out toward AJ, who gives her a sweet smile as she takes my daughter from me without a second of hesitation. Maybe it’s the way her dark hair is back in a ponytail with some tendrils left down framing her face, or that she’s in leggings and a tank top, but the woman standing in front of me is not the same woman I workfor. She’s...casual, and far softer and more feminine than I’m used to seeing her.

“You must be Nicholas,” I say, extending my hand toward the young man standing next to her. Unlike AJ, he’s got light hair and sun-bronzed skin. But their big brown eyes are the same, and he’s got the same wide mouth as her. That’s where the resemblance ends, though.

“Yes, nice to meet you, Mr. McCabe.”

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