Page 47 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

Dan was half-seriously considering arresting the guy for something when Riley spoke again. “Marjorie looks pleased that Lindsey and the handsome young doctor are getting along so well,” he murmured, his attention wandering to their hostess. “She’s matchmaking again, obviously.”

“Apparently.”

Riley shuddered dramatically. “Have you ever had her turn her matchmaking instincts in your direction? It’s terrifying.”

Remembering Marjorie’s comment that she’d once considered trying to fix him up with Lindsey, Dan shook his head. “She’s never tried with me.”

“You’re lucky. I had to speak very firmly with her to get her to lay off. Every once in a while I still catch that gleam in her eyes.”

Dan was still looking at Lindsey, who was laughing at something Scott had said. What was she doing flirting with another guy only hours after telling Dan she was interested in him?

Of course, he and Lindsey weren’t attending this event as a couple. Trying to avoid drawing public speculation their way, Dan had hardly even spoken to her since they’d arrived. Surely she understood why he was being so circumspect; she knew how gossip flew around this town—especially when it concerned him.

Maybe she did understand, and her apparent interest in Scott was merely a smoke screen.

Or maybe not. He studied the young doctor with an attempt at dispassion. He could see why a woman would be attracted to the guy. Scott was good-looking, in a clean-cut, male-model sort of way. He had a stellar future ahead of him in medicine. He was basically just getting started in life, on the fast track to success.

Damn it, he should be pushing Lindsey into the guy’s arms—for her own good.

Lindsey chose that moment to look his way and send him a smile that made his heart stop—and then resume again at roughly twice the speed. He saw now that it was an entirely different smile than the ones she’d been giving Scott. If this smile was as readable to everyone else as it was to him, all their efforts at discretion had been wasted.

“Excuse me,” he said abruptly to Riley, and made his way across the room to Lindsey’s side.

Lindsey greeted him by catching his left hand and pulling him closer to her—a seemingly casual gesture made more intimate by a warm squeeze of fingers. “Dan, you’ve met Dr. McAdoo, haven’t you?”

“Yes, Marjorie introduced us earlier.” The two men nodded cordially, but Dan sensed that Scott was sizing him up and wondering about his relationship with Lindsey. Apparently Dan wasn’t the only one who had noticed nuances in the smile she’d given him.

The room seemed suddenly too small. Too crowded. The music and laughter were too loud. And too many people seemed to be staring at them.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation,” he said, making an abrupt decision. “I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

“You’re leaving?” Lindsey looked more curious than surprised. “Did you get a call?”

“I, uh, have some things to do.”

She smiled wryly. “In other words, you’ve had all the socializing you can take and you’d rather be working.”

He searched her expression for any sign of mockery or criticism, but found only gentle understanding. But he didn’t know whether to trust his interpretation—or the longevity of her patience.

Dan took his leave of Scott, then turned toward the door, resisting his reluctance to leave Lindsey there with the other guy.

Marjorie caught him before he reached the door. “Surely you aren’t leaving already. Pierce is going to sing for us.”

“I’m sorry to miss that, but I have some calls to make this evening concerning the arson investigation. And I want to follow up on the one slim lead we have in the Eddie Stamps case—his possible sighting in Little Rock. I’ve faxed a photo of him to a friend in the LRPD and he was going to do some checking around for me this evening.”

As he’d expected, Marjorie’s concern for the missing teenager outweighed her desire to keep Dan at her party. “Oh, I hope they find him. Poor Opal is worrying herself sick.”

“We’re doing all we can.”

“I know you are.” She smiled and patted his arm. “Thank you for stopping by, Dan. It’s always good to see you.”

On an impulse, he brushed a kiss across her softly lined cheek. “Good night, Marjorie.”

He glanced over his shoulder as he stepped out into the quiet parking lot—and saw Marjorie watching him with an expression that made him wonder what well-intentioned schemes were forming in her mind now. Remembering Riley’s comments about the dear lady’s matchmaking instincts, Dan sincerely hoped she wasn’t considering him as her next victim. His social life was complicated enough at the moment.

Chapter Eleven

Dan didn’t go to his office when he left the diner. Instead he went home, making calls and doing paperwork from there. Because it was too quiet in his mobile home, he turned on the radio to a classic rock station. Maybe by concentrating on his work and the music, he wouldn’t have a chance to dwell on memories of Lindsey smiling up at handsome Dr. McAdoo.

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