Page 49 of Dark Memories
He just grinned. “When do I get to meet this guy whose name makes your voice go soft?”
She wrote on a sticky pad, then handed it to him. “Here’s his address. Have at it.”
“Oh no. I want you to introduce him to me. I need to see how he looks at you, how he treats you before I give my approval.”
More than anything she wanted Gabe to like him. Her partner was her best friend, the person she trusted most in the world, even more than her family, the ones who’d left her without a backward glance.
Even so, she said, “I don’t need your blessing because there’s nothing to bless. Okay?”
“Mm-mmm.”
“And seriously, stop grinning like an idiot.”
“Was it love at first sight? You know, the kind right out of a romance novel. He looked at you, you looked at him, and the world faded away kind of thing? I mean, you’ve only had a week to get to know him, so it must have been.”
And this was what she had been dreading. Even her best friend hadn’t known she’d once loved a man. As far as he and her fellow detectives knew, she had no love life or a history of having one. But there was no escaping it now. She needed to tell him, and strangely, she wanted to. Maybe another man would know and be able to tell her why Zach had stopped kissing her.
“Let’s grab some lunch, and I’ll tell you a story.” Where other ears weren’t listening.
* * *
“So that’s it,” Harry said. She pushed her empty chili bowl to the side. Gabe was a good listener, and she’d ended up telling him everything, from the day she’d first met Zach up to the past weekend.
“Damn, Harry. That’s quite a story. Not at all what I expected to hear.”
“Yeah, well, I never thought I’d be telling you.” She wanted to ask him why he thought Zach hadn’t kissed her again, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Now I really need to meet this guy. Make sure he’s good enough for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not in high school bringing a boy home, and you’re not my father, needing to approve him.”
They paid their checks, and as they headed back to the car, her phone buzzed. Seeing Zach’s name on the screen, her heart fluttered. “Hey,” she said on answering, getting a raised brow from Gabe. Was he right? Did her voice soften when she spoke of Zach or to him?
She listened, her gaze darting to her partner. “We’ll be right there.”
“So I get to meet him now?” Gabe said.
“What makes you think that was him?”
“Give it up, Harry. Your eyes just glazed over.”
If that was true, she was going to have to figure out how to stop. “He thinks Davidson approached one of his employees.”
“That’s not good. Let’s go.”
* * *
“Detectives Harrison and Calder are here to see you, Mr. Jamison,” the receptionist said from the doorway, then turned worried eyes to Jackie, who was sitting in the chair across from his desk, her arms wrapped around herself.
Zach frowned. Was Delaney turning the case over to another detective? If she thought he’d let that happen, she was going to be in for a surprise. “Show them in.”
He glanced at Jackie, glad to see some color had returned to her face. He was in the chair next to her, wishing he was in a room with Garth Davidson instead. The man needed to be taught a lesson. To think Kali’s kidnapper had dared to come near his assistant made him want to break something, namely Davidson’s face.
Delaney entered, followed by a man who, when they stopped, stood too close to her, as if protecting her. From whom? Him? He stood, exchanging stares with the detective, getting a smirk. Zach understood he was being sized up and wondered if he’d been found lacking. But Jackie was the important thing right now, so he shoved aside his annoyance.
“This is my partner, Gabe Calder. Gabe, Zach Jamison and his assistant, Jackie. I’m sorry, I don’t know your last name,” Delaney said.
Zach put his hand on Jackie’s shoulder. “Howard. Jackie Howard. My right hand and one I couldn’t do without.” Delaney hadn’t spared him a glance since she’d walked into his office. Because of her partner? Was he supposed to pretend they didn’t have a relationship… of sorts?
