Page 70 of Avery's Hero

Pulling her hand away and kissing her fingers, I ask, “Why is that so baffling?”

She gives her head a little shake. “Not baffling. Impressive. I’m not sure how you do so much. The more I find out about you, the more I respect you.”

The warmth that’s been simmering in my chest grows. Avery looking at me with her eyes full of respect andunderstanding is such a relief. Hell, most women would be running screaming from the tangled web that’s my life. Rubbing my hand up and down her slender back, I say, “I have a lot on my plate. Adding this thing between us to the mix is going to make things even more interesting. But I’ll make it work.”

She drops another small kiss on my jaw, then pulls away and trots her sexy little body toward the bedroom. When she glances over her shoulder, she has a worried look that I bet she’s trying to conceal. “I hope so, but I’ll admit, I have an ominous feeling. If I lose this job, my life is going to be upside down.”

When I catch up to her, I give her perfect little butt cheek a quick smack. “Let me do all the worrying. Okay?”

She gives me a little frown, as she sheds my shirt and heads for the shower. “You know I like to overthink things.”

I follow after her and tug her to me, letting my hands wander over her curves. “Here, let me kiss the sense out of you one more time. Maybe I’ll slowly turn that brain of yours into romantic blubber.”

She bursts out laughing, pushes me away and steps into the hot water. “Blubber. Is that the best word you could think of?”

My smile is triumphant. Mission accomplished. Distraction achieved. “Let’s hear it, little genius. What are your big-girl words?”

The whole time she dresses, and the entire drive to the station she fills my ear with every word she can pair with ‘romantic.’

Her eyes are dancing as bright as diamonds. Her smile is heart-stealing. I’m one thousand percent bowled over by everything about Avery. Smart. Beautiful. Strong. Compassionate. Sexy…. Did I mention really fucking sexy?

I can’t help it. My body’s on fire for the woman. But I have to give her credit, she’s gonna win every verbal sparring match if the measure of the winner is vocabulary. And I’m just fine with that. Whatever it takes to keep her smiling, I’ll happily endure.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I bet my face looks guilty. It has to. There’s no way I look normal. Not after a whirlwind like I’ve been in. Ducking my head, I avoid Reeves’s eyes.

“Hey, Avery, have you seen the chief?”

My feet suddenly freeze to the floor. Oh crap. Technicalities are a bitch. I have seen him. We’ve all seen him. Some of us more recently than others. “Uh?—”

“He took the day off,” Frank replies, saving me, as he hurries past the two of us, and ducks into the men’s room.

“Hm.” Reeves makes a disbelieving sound. “That’s odd.”

Without looking up at my coworker, Idrop the load of dish towels I found in the laundry onto the work table and start folding them. Forcing my voice casual, I say, “He’s probably spending some time with his son. You know… after the stressful stuff that’s been going on.”

Drats!Reeves decides to sit down at the table. Oh great. Not what I need right now. I’m in serious danger of slipping up and saying something that could end in ruin.

He picks up a towel and folds it, then grabs another. “Did you do the laundry?”

“No. Someone else had already washed them.”

“That would be me!” Frank yells as he passes the kitchen.

I stare after the man. “Frank’s everywhere with all the answers today.”

“Frank’s got eyes in the back of his head,” Reeves says with a laugh.

I keep folding, not looking up. Determined that no one, I mean no one is going to see my face today.

Reeves grabs another towel. “So, what do you think about the chief?”

I shrug, pick up another towel. “He’s busy.”

He chuckles. “He sure seemed very interested in you at lunch the other day.”

The towel in my hand falls to the floor when I fumble. I duck under the table and grab it. “Don’t worry, I’m throwing it back in the dirty laundry.”

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