Falling for the P.I.

by Victoria James

  “Oh, so you haven’t heard what happened to him?”

  Kate’s heart stopped for a moment. “Something happened? Is he okay?”

  Sabrina waved a hand. “Oh yeah, he’ll be fine. He hurt his bad leg so he hasn’t been to work in two days which is, like, a record for him.”

  “What happened?”

  She shrugged, but her eyes didn’t leave Kate’s face. “I dunno. It never fully got better after he was shot, but I think he might have hurt it over the weekend.”

  The image of him wincing in the Ferris wheel and then limping after the race with Janie popped into her head. She felt awful. He hadn’t let on that it was that bad, but that had to be it, which would explain why he hadn’t called her for Pumpkinfest.

  “Thanks for telling me. I’ll give him a call to see if I can do anything.”

  “Just don’t tell him I told you or he’ll be pissed. Oh, and don’t act like you’re all concerned or he’ll totally pretend like there’s nothing wrong,” she said, backing away from Kate’s desk, but not before smiling a little.

  “Thanks for the tip,” she said, rising from her chair and gathering her things. Sabrina left the room and Kate knew she’d have to go see him. She just needed to get through the meeting, then she would acquire caffeine for the drive, and then…go see Matt.

  …

  Matt swore out loud and then slammed his laptop lid shut. He hated feeling useless. Tomorrow he was going back to work even if it meant hobbling in there like an old man. He could have gone in and sat behind his desk for the past two days, but then that would have involved everyone asking why he was in his office all day. He hated calling attention to his old injury, and he’d been great at managing it, but this was a reminder that he wasn’t back to his old self and he never would be. But there was a new case and a guy flying in from Vancouver just to meet with him. He wouldn’t miss that tomorrow. Apparently, this man had fathered a child he hadn’t known about and needed Matt’s help tracking the kid down.

  He limped out of his home office on the main floor and made his way to the kitchen. Rain streamed down the windows outside and pounded the deck ferociously, suiting his mood. He swung open the fridge and glowered in disgust. Beer, apples, milk. He wasn’t eating cereal again.

  The doorbell sounded and he made his way to the front door slowly. He wasn’t expecting anyone, though there was one person he’d love to see on the other side.

  He opened it—not her. Derek was standing on the covered porch, holding a six-pack of beer and an umbrella.

  “Thought you could use some company,” he said, walking in.

  “Thanks, man, come on in.” Derek handed him the beer while he shrugged out of his rain gear. Even though the guy was well into his sixties, he kept himself in great shape.

  “So, how’s the leg? Really.”

  Matt shrugged and started walking to the great room, Derek following. “Hurts like a sonofabitch, if you wanna know the truth.” He didn’t have to pretend. The man had seen him at his worst and he knew what these kinds of injuries were like. He sat opposite Derek and propped his bad leg up on the coffee table.

  Derek leaned over, opened a beer, and handed it to him before grabbing another for himself. “How’d you hurt it?”

  He looked down at the beer in his hand. He knew the exact moment—the race with little Janie. The kid had unknowingly put so much pressure on it, pulling it during the race, that it had triggered the muscle strain. And then he’d been too proud to tell Kate that the Ferris wheel had continued to kill it. “I was hanging out at the fair this weekend and did something stupid.”

  Derek gave a short laugh. “I can’t picture you at a fair.”

  “Yeah, well, I went for the company.” A part of him wanted to tell Derek about Kate. If it weren’t for that comment he had made at the office Matt would have talked about her.

  “Ah, a woman?” Derek asked, leaning back in the sofa.

  Matt took a drink of the cold beer and studied his friend carefully. “Kate.”

  A tiny vein in Derek’s temple strained slightly. “So, you’re still involved with her?”

  Matt shifted, eyes still trained on his friend. “Yeah.”

  Derek took a swig of beer. “I see what I told you had no impact.”

  Matt forced his muscles to relax, hating that this rift was forming. He had never doubted Derek once in all the years he’d known him, but he was defensive. “You didn’t really tell me much of anything.”

  “Did you ask her about me?”

  “No.”

  Derek shrugged and gave him a tight smile. “Well, let’s stop talking about this anyway. I should get going.”

  “Do you want me to ask her about you?”

  Derek stared at him, an expression in his eyes Matt couldn’t quite make out. “Nah. No point. It was all a long time ago. I made too big of a deal about it, anyway. It’s nothing. I wish her the best.”

  “I’m not sure I buy that. You told me to watch out.”

  “I’m just looking out for you. You’re like the kid I never had.”

  Matt tried to relax his posture, to not be so defensive. “So seriously, everything’s good? There’s no issue?”

  “Don’t get serious. Get what you want and then move on.”

  Matt blinked. “It’s not like that. She’s not that kind of person. And she has a kid.”

  “What?”

  Matt nodded. “She adopted a little girl with Down’s syndrome.”

  He could have sworn Derek’s face paled. “You really want to get involved in something like that?”

  Ah, hell. “We should probably stop talking about this, unless you want to tell me what it is you’ve got against this woman.”

  “I know how Michelle hurt you. She kept secrets, she was dishonest.”

  “She cheated on me. She was nothing like Kate.”

  “You so sure about that? She’s completely honest with you? You don’t think she’s hiding shit from you? Don’t let yourself get distracted by a nice piece of ass.”

  “Watch it.” Matt stood abruptly and swore as the fast movement caused pain to ricochet through his leg. “I think we’re done with this conversation. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but right now you’re sounding like a prick and nothing like the man I know.”

  Derek stood abruptly, waving. “You’re right. Maybe I’m just a jealous old man,” he said with a laugh that sounded fake as hell. “We still on for Thanksgiving? Nothing like Barb’s cooking. The only home-cooked meals I get.”

  Matt ran his hands down his face. What the hell was going on here? Liam’s offer to run a background check on Kate drifted through his mind, even though he hated the idea of going behind her back. He hated what his friend was implying, but couldn’t ignore his warnings either.

  “Your mother makes the best stuffing and cranberry sauce,” Derek said with a grin. Matt cringed. There was no way they’d all be spending Thanksgiving together this year. He took in Derek’s gray hair, the deep lines etched in a weathered face. “I, uh, I have plans for the holiday.”

  He stood and they walked in silence to the front door. Awkward silence. Hell, men didn’t do awkward silence. Things had never been like this with Derek, but it was there, this damn rift. Because of Kate. None of this added up. Derek had never been anything other than a great guy.

  “So, I’ll see you tomorrow at the office?”

  Matt gave him a pat on the shoulder once his jacket was back on. “You bet. Thanks for the beer.”

  “You’re just like my own kid, Matt. Remember I’m just looking out for you.” Derek gave him a long look before opening the door and heading out into the rain.

  Matt shut it and cursed. What the hell was that all about? Since when was his life this complicated? It was getting harder and harder to ignore this supposed history Derek had with Kate.

  He walked back to the kitchen. He needed food. He reached for his phone on the counter and dialed the pizza place number from memory. It was that kin
d of night. Maybe he’d eat in front of his laptop and get some paperwork done. There were cases that needed reviewing. Then maybe he could stop thinking about Kate. Describing Kate as “hard to get” was putting it mildly, but he knew she wasn’t playing games. She was seriously trying to take things slow.

  He pushed himself off the counter, satisfied that food would be arriving in under an hour, and grabbed a beer. He looked out into the almost dark ravine behind his house. This was a place he was grateful for every day and it was a site he never got tired of. He had made all of this himself and for a long time he’d been certain he wanted to share his life with someone, start a family. But then shit had happened, his career had consumed him, changed him, until finally when the accident had happened, his relationship with Michelle had been destroyed. It was only after months of blaming himself that he realized she hadn’t been the right woman for him.

  He had always wanted a chance to build the family life he would have loved to have as a child. Michelle had just been the wrong woman. He had held so much back from her. He never talked or shared anything about himself. He hadn’t been compelled to, not the way he was with Kate. He wanted to know everything about her, and he didn’t mind talking about himself. He also liked being silent with her, as cheesy as it sounded, and it wasn’t anything he’d ever admit out loud. He just liked being with her.

  But there was something off, and it was so damned tempting to take Liam up on his offer to do some digging on her. On Derek. What was this connection they had? Hell, he’d just blown off the man he thought of as a father because of Kate. What was that saying? Did he doubt Derek? Or did he want to believe Kate at all costs? Was his judgment already being clouded?

  He braced his hands on the counter and stretched his bad leg, exhaling raggedly at the stab of pain. The doorbell sounded. It was too early for the pizza. He forced himself to swallow the pain and walked to the entry.

  He opened the door to find Kate standing there under a red umbrella, holding a cardboard tray with two Starbucks cups, and a hesitant, but gorgeous smile on her face. “You’re the nicest view I’ve seen all day,” he said. He’d missed her. He took the tray from her hands so she could close her umbrella and held the door for her to walk in.

  “I heard you weren’t at work.”

  “My sister,” he said, taking her coat and hanging it up on a hook on the closet door.

  She nodded.

  “I thought you couldn’t deal with seeing me until Thanksgiving,” he said, taking a step closer to her, catching the scent of citrus and coffee.

  She smiled up at him. “You and the turkey were battling for first in my mind.” He was laughing as he bent his head to kiss her. He loved that she met him halfway. He backed Kate up against the closet, all the while keeping their lips together. He had missed her more than he realized. She wrapped her arms around him, and he placed his hands on her hips and stood between her legs. Kate kissed him back, like she missed him just as much. The doorbell rang.

  “Who’s that?” she mumbled against him. He liked the fact that she hadn’t let go of him.

  “Dinner,” he said, pushing himself away. He fumbled around in his pocket for some cash and then answered the door. “Hey, Pete,” he said, handing him the right change.

  “Hi, Matt. Got your usual. Have a good night.”

  “You too, buddy.”

  He shut the door and turned to look at Kate. For some reason she was smiling, a little smugly. “That looks like feeling-sorry-for-yourself food.”

  “I never feel sorry for myself.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said with a cute little smirk. She picked up the box of tiramisu and raised an eyebrow. “I know an emotional binge when I see one.”

  “I like dessert, and this looks like a woman who’s hungry, but doesn’t want to admit that she wants to inhale half this food right along with me,” he said, smacking a kiss on her open mouth and walking into the family room. He was trying his damnedest not to limp or cringe as he stepped down into the sunken room. He heard her picking up the coffee and walking after him, laughing. He flicked on the gas fireplace switch and turned to her.

  “So, you’re staying for dinner?”

  “I can’t let you gorge yourself in this pitiful state.”

  He grinned as he set the food on the coffee table. “You’re just hungry and using me for dinner, not that I’m complaining.” They divvied up some pizza slices and settled onto the couch. When most of the pizza was inhaled, she leaned over and handed him a coffee.

  “That was really great bad pizza,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Giusseppe’s has provided many a meal for me,” he said. “So where’s Janie tonight?”

  “She’s at home. I called her on the way over. Cara is working with them on a family tree project due next week.” She toyed with the lid of her coffee cup.

  He took a sip of the semi-warm coffee. “Do you, uh, have much history to go on for that?”

  She shook her head, meeting his gaze. “Not really, so we decided we’d make it fun and mention all of us and focus on the different types of families there are out there. None of us are actually related, Matt.”

  He didn’t move for a moment, holding her stare. His conversation with Derek came back to him and he had the urge to ask her, except she had come here of her own volition, and he knew that was a big deal for her. He’d be risking her walking right out if he pushed. He kept his features relaxed, his voice casual. “So Cara and Alex aren’t your biological sisters?”

  She shook her head, tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, and took a sip of coffee. He cleared his throat after a minute. She finally glanced up at him. “We met at a foster home.”

  He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Where was your family?”

  She opened her mouth and he read the insecurity in her expression, in the way her gaze darted from his. She swallowed a few times and he knew the rapid beating of his heart was because he was anticipating the truth, whatever it was, would not be easy to hear, but would reveal a hell of a lot about her. “My mom died when I was fifteen.”

  “I’m sorry.” He didn’t move, waiting for her to say something else.

  She rubbed her hands on the front of her jeans and he reached over, placing his hand on the nape of her neck. He couldn’t sit here and not touch her when he’d never witnessed a woman so desperately in need of being held. He forgot the warnings from Derek. He forgot everything except the feeling in his gut that made him want to give her whatever she needed. She raised her eyes to meet his stare. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Where was your father?”

  “He died when I was two.”

  Her words were without emotion; the only hint he had that this was terrifying for her was the rapid rise and fall of her chest, like she was running. “You didn’t have any other family you could have lived with?”

  She shook her head and stood abruptly. His hand fell, letting her leave. “So, now you know,” she said with a shrug.

  He’d lost her. He stood abruptly and then cursed under his breath as pain radiated through every inch of his leg and then ricocheted through his body. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

  “Are you okay? Let me get you something.”

  He kept his teeth clenched together and tried to focus as the pain lessened to a dull throb. “I’m okay,” he whispered hoarsely. He hated this. They weren’t supposed to be talking about him right now. “I want to finish our conversation.”

  “It is finished. And then I lived happily ever after.”

  He forced a smile. He knew when to stop pushing. “Cute.”

  Her eyes were filled with concern and she put her coffee down. “You aren’t taking anything for pain, are you? You need some ibuprofen at least.”

  “Not much of a fan.”

  “That’s ridiculous. At least take something to take the edge off.”

  “You could help me take the edge off,” he said, unable to hide his grin as
her eyes narrowed on him, hands on her nicely-shaped hips. He liked the jeans, and the woman in the jeans.

  “See, the first was ridiculous. The second is just wishful thinking,” she said with an adorable smirk as she left the room. This woman was killing him. She was here because she obviously cared about him, but she was still at arm’s length. She had opened up, though, even if it wasn’t much. It meant she trusted him. Derek’s warning played back and he shrugged it off. Whatever was between them, he’d find out from Kate. He’d earn her trust and she’d let him in.

  She walked back in a moment later and he told himself to keep his eyes on her. He let his gaze wander over her. She tossed her purse on the couch before grabbing her ringing phone from the inside. “I have Advil somewhere in there,” she whispered as she answered the call.

  “I don’t rifle through women’s purses looking for period medication.”

  She chucked it onto his lap. “Don’t be a pubescent Neanderthal,” she whispered. “Huh, no, sorry, Cara I wasn’t speaking to you. Yup…”

  He tuned out of her conversation and grudgingly looked for the bottle of Advil. He decided he’d rather pop a pill for a chance at a somewhat decent evening than stay in pain and risk her leaving. His hands circled around a small pill bottle and he pulled it out. Not Advil. It was a prescription drug for anxiety. He knew because his mother had the exact same prescription.

  He looked up at Kate just as she ended the call. Her eyes locked onto his. Her skin turned a shade of white that he hadn’t seen before. He didn’t say a thing, waiting.

  She quickly reached out and he opened his hand for her, letting her grab the bottle. “That’s nothing,” she whispered and his stomach clenched as the sound of humiliation strangled the lighthearted mood.

  He struggled to find the right words, the ones that would make her want to explain. “You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

  She grabbed her purse, swung it over her shoulder, and stood. “I’m not.”

  He stood and cursed, his stupid leg feeling like it was filled with shards of glass. He was able to grab her wrist before she totally walked out of his life. “Don’t be mad at me.”