Page 25 of Only You

They all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

“Dead?” Connal said. “How? Was she in a wreck?”

Declan shook his head. “She was murdered last night.”

“Oh, damn,” BeeBee said as she sat down beside him. “Do they know who did it? Was it that ex?”

“You knew about that?”

She shrugged. “I heard her and Sandy talking about the guy a week ago. Sounded like a complete jerk.”

“You think all men are jerks,” Emmett said.

“No. Most men are jerks, but this wasn’t just being a jerk. I heard her say that the restraining order from Virginia wasn’t valid here or something like that. So, no, not like guys I have dated, idiot.”

Before they could start fighting as they always did, he said, “I’ll let Eileen know.”

Three sets of eyes settled on him, and there was a long beat of silence.

“What?”

“Why would you let Eileen know?” Connal asked.

“It’s her case. That’s why she was called away yesterday.”

Connal and Emmett shared a look, and BeeBee looked anywhere but at him.

“What now?”

Emmett sighed and looked at Connal. “You should talk to him about his obsession with the detective.”

“I don’t have an obsession. Also, I don’t like being talked about like I’m not here.”

“He’ll never accept that he is obsessed,” Connal said, ignoring his comment. His brothers were jerks.

“That’s because I’m not.”

All three of them just stared at him. BeeBee let one eyebrow rise.

“I’m not. Anyone would find her attractive.”

“True, but on the nights she’s working, you keep your eye on the door,” Connal said.

“I don’t know when she’s working.”

Not really. There is a rhythm to her appearances at his restaurant. If more than three days passed without an appearance, he would often start to worry. That’s all. Just…he needed to see her.

Oh, damn. He might be obsessed.

“See, this is what happens when you get hung up on someone,” Emmett said. “You start to obsess about when they will show up and you even change plans in case this person might want to spend time with you. It’s a sad sight.”

“What would you know about that?” BeeBee asked, irritation threading her voice.

“What?” Emmett asked, utterly oblivious to BeeBee’s moods, especially lately.

“Whatever,” she said, without really answering his brother. She looked at Declan. “Ask her out. She likes you. You like her.”

He rolled his shoulders about to ask her how to do that when she said, “Take her something to eat. You’re good at that. And believe me, women could always do with a home cooked meal, especially when she has the kind of schedule she does.”

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