Expert Witness: A Romantic Suspense Novel

by Luckourt, Nicole

  He didn’t say anything for a long time, realizing that he was more at peace with what had happened than he’d ever been. As his eyes met hers, he felt freer. Every step he’d taken since that day, every action, had been influenced by his feelings of guilt and regret. Now, his perspective was different. It had still happened; that would never leave him. But he no longer took sole responsibility for the loss.

  “Thank you, Jordan. I’m not sure how or why I got into this, but it helped.” The words were inadequate, but he didn’t try to elaborate. He knew she’d get it.

  She pulled him into a hug. “I’m glad,” she murmured into his chest. “Client or not, I’m not sure we would ever be able to move forward if you hadn’t let me into this part of your past.”

  Chase savored the feel of holding her in his arms. There was this connection between them that gained strength, not just when things were good, but during times like this, too—when he feared that the bond would diminish instead. And he had no doubts that what she’d said was true.

  “Chase?”

  “Hmmm?” he answered back, still not ready for words.

  “I think we’d better head up now. It looks like the sky is about to open up on us.”

  Noticing the dark skies, he realized the storm must’ve been brewing for a while. The seagulls were lined up in a row along the waterfront, and cool winds blew sand across the small dunes in front of the condo’s main deck. He reluctantly let her go.

  She gave him a quick smile then rushed to gather up their things.

  “You’re right. It’s moving in fast.” The first few large drops of rain hit his shoulders.

  He grabbed the cooler and her bag, but before they made it off the sand, the rain was coming down in sheets. Jordan scrambled up the stairs in front of him, clinging to an inflated lounge float that was aspiring to be a kite. The white cover-up she wore had become transparent, and her hair was plastered to her back. Even now—especially now—she took his breath away.

  With his role as her bodyguard scheduled to end tomorrow, he could hardly wait to show her how much.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  By the time they got to the elevator, there wasn’t a dry spot on either one of them. Jordan looked at him through the beads of water stuck to her eyelashes and stated the obvious. “We’re soaked!” She couldn’t help smiling, even as the rain streamed down her face so heavily that she could taste it on her tongue.

  Chase mashed the elevator button and then relieved her of the water float she’d managed to hold on to. “Gotta love Florida storms,” he said. “We probably should’ve just stayed down there. They’re gone in about the same amount of time it takes them to come in. By the time this elevator makes it to our floor, we’ll probably be walking in to a sunny view from the balcony.”

  Jordan gazed over at him and couldn’t help noticing that while she probably resembled a drowned rat, drenched looked pretty good on him. His hair was a mass of sexy, wet waves, and the shadow around his jawline emphasized his stormy green eyes. Her heart picked up speed as her eyes shifted downward. Droplets of water glistened off his sculpted chest, creating a trail of water that leisurely arched its way toward his chiseled abs.

  The ding of the elevator ripped her from her exploration of his body before she wound up in an impromptu reenactment of her earlier indiscretion. A good thing, too. There was no point in revisiting the same issue again. Hearing his account of what had happened with the governor today had shed light on why he’d put up the barriers he had. She wasn’t sure of how much of their interactions had been impacted by his past, but she was certain they had been. After their talk, she understood why.

  “Oh, well. Maybe the storm was a good thing. I may not have been able to leave that lounge chair otherwise. It’s so relaxing here. I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to reality now that I’ve finally gotten away,” she said, her tone wistful.

  Chase nodded, sending an unruly, wet curl across his forehead. “I know what you mean. No wonder Mike and Karen escape to this place every time they get the chance. You and I both need to learn a thing or two from them.”

  “I think I already have. Well, from this whole thing in general,” she mused. “I love what I do, but this has changed my perspective. I’m going to work much harder at keeping things balanced. If things hadn’t gone the way they did…” She shuddered at the thought of how differently things could’ve turned out.

  “I know.” He placed a reassuring hand on her back. “And you’re right. Sounds like a good new perspective to have.”

  Chase didn’t remove his hand as they walked down the hall, and she marveled at how natural it felt. Somehow, something unexpected and extraordinary had come out of this horrible ordeal. No matter what happened tomorrow, she knew she’d always remember that.

  She and Chase spent a relatively quiet night watching a movie, and then they turned in early. Yet once she was in bed, she didn’t feel tired anymore She tossed and turned throughout the night. Despite trying to tell herself the worst was behind her, she worried that Charles Buckman would be released today. She mulled over possibilities in her head with new ones springing up, just as she finished refuting another. When she awoke to the sun streaming through the glass doors to the balcony, she felt like she’d scarcely fallen asleep.

  She grabbed her robe and wandered out into the kitchen in search of caffeine. Lucky for her, Chase was awake and fresh coffee awaited. “Oh, thank you,” she murmured in appreciation as he handed her a mug. The steam curled into the air and she gingerly sat down at the table.

  “You’re up earlier than normal,” Chase commented.

  “I’m not sure I’m officially awake yet,” she said, her mind still foggy from the lack of sleep. “Slept terribly last night worrying about the news today.” Even in her fatigued state, she observed Chase bristle in response to her remarks. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he said, lifting his own mug to his lips.

  She raised her eyebrow. There was obviously something bothering him.

  After a moment of silence, he set his mug back down and met her eyes. “I mean, nothing you did. It still makes me mad that this creep put you through all of this,” he said, his tone forceful. “The sad part is I’m sure he’s telling himself he’s justified in getting revenge based on the biased report you gave, when his very actions support the conclusions you offered. Irony at its best.”

  Jordan’s heart melted a little at his statement. He was being defensive of her. “I won’t argue with you on that. But it comes with the territory,” she said, her voice soft. “I’ve just never had it happen to this extreme, and hopefully, never will again, though it’s common knowledge that custody cases can be risky for the professionals involved. If you would’ve asked me to speculate when this all first started, a custody case would have been one of my top guesses.”

  “Did you tell that to the detective?” Chase asked.

  “Yes, but the problem remained that it wasn’t a definite—merely a hunch based on statistics. They didn’t want to rule anything out and take a chance on overlooking the real culprit, so they examined all of my cases that were public record. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go any further than that.” She took another sip from the mug in front of her. “So, what time do you think we’ll know something?”

  Chase glanced at the clock. “If the arraignment is scheduled for this morning, it won’t take long for Larson to get back to us, particularly given that they’re on Eastern time, so they’re an hour ahead. But we still have a while, seeing as how we’re both up early.”

  Jordan wondered what had gotten him up. He didn’t seem overly concerned that Buckman would be let out on bail today. So she doubted he’d lost sleep over the arraignment set for today. Could he have been thinking about the potential change in their relationship? Her heart beat rapidly as she considered this. She was more than ready to have that discussion with him. Good or bad, she was tired of ignoring what was right in front of them. At least it would o
nly be a couple of hours longer.

  Chase put his hands on the table and pushed his chair back. “What do you say we go have breakfast somewhere? It’ll pass the time. Not to mention—” he gave her a smirk, “—that I can hear your stomach complaining from here.”

  As if to substantiate his statement, her stomach chose that moment to let out a loud grumble. Her cheeks warmed and she flung a hand over her abdomen in a useless attempt to stifle the sound. “Okay, I think it’s safe to say that my stomach seconds your idea. Let me get dressed and we’ll get going.”

  They found a small coffee shop not far from the condo and joined the line of patrons. The aroma of freshly baked pastries and bacon filled the air, making her mouth water. Within a few minutes, they were escorted to an empty booth and handed menus before the hostess bustled back toward the entrance.

  “Ooooh, listen to this!” Jordan exclaimed, reading the specials from a table card. “Coconut-crusted French toast topped with a caramel and chocolate drizzle and strawberries. Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

  Chase chuckled. “You are easy to please, aren’t you?”

  “Easy to please, huh?” she said, a grin spreading across her face. “I guess you’ve found one of my weaknesses. Give me good food, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “That said, I may have to take you back to Orlando while you’re sleeping then, since you seem to have fallen for all the cuisine we’ve had while we’ve been here.” His mouth was in a straight line, but the curves of his lips rose slightly to betray his amusement. “Lucky for me, I know you sleep like a hibernating bear, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Ugh. He was never going to let her live that one down. “First you tell me I’m easy, and now I’m a bear. Which is it?” She bit her lower lip to hide her own amusement. She was sure if anyone overheard them, they’d sound ridiculous. But Chase made being silly fun and even more oddly, he made her funny, at least to him. While striving to work harder and more efficiently, she hadn’t taken time to be so carefree. And now, it was akin to hearing an old song that made her want to dance—the awesome light-hearted feeling she got always made her wonder why she’d never replayed the song long before.

  “Oh, you’re not being fair now. I said easy to please, and well—” his eyes twinkled, “—the bear reference is actually pretty accurate.”

  “You’re incorrigible,” she said, though the rebuke had no impact as she was unable to stifle the grin forming on her lips. “And besides—” she leaned forward conspiratorially, “—it’s in your own best interest to remember I’m an elephant.”

  A waitress approached, thwarting any witty comeback Chase might have offered, which was a good thing, because leaning in so close to him had made her impish remark backfire, with the heat turned back on her. The man had the sex appeal thing down. She couldn’t get within inches of him without feeling like there was too much distance between them.

  The waitress greeted them with her pen poised, ready to take their orders.

  She struggled to remember what she was going to ask her about. Fortunately, her eyes fell on the picture on the menu in front of her. “How is the coconut-crusted French toast?”

  “It’s very good. One of my favorites. It is a larger portion though—are you two sharing?” she asked, pointing her pen at each of them as she spoke.

  “She doesn’t share her food,” Chase deadpanned. “Storing it away so she can hibernate maybe?”

  Jordan coughed on the sip of ice water she’d swallowed to cool down.

  The waitress looked baffled.

  “Scratch that,” he went on, undeterred. “I’ve been forewarned—” the corners of his mouth twitched, “—that I should remember it’s for the dry season.” He relaxed back in his seat.

  Jordan’s mouth gaped open. In her periphery, she saw the waitress hide a snicker behind her order pad.

  Chase titled his head and gave her an amused expression. “It’s the season of low rainfall.” He raised his eyebrows. “You know, when food is scarce and the matriarch elephant uses her superb memory to guide her herd to water.”

  Good lord. Maybe this is why she never replayed the song. At least not publicly. She turned to the waitress, a flush across her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. He’s just kidding.” She shot Chase a look of reproach from across the table.

  The waitress either found him humorous or needed to get to her next table, because she began to play along. “You keep that up—” she turned to Chase, “—and the dry season might arrive before you know it.”

  Chase met Jordan’s stony stare with a restrained grin. “I think you might be right.”

  “So, before you get in any more trouble, what’ll you be having this morning?” the waitress asked as she removed the laminated menus they’d placed to the side and put them back in her apron.

  “I’ll have a couple of eggs and a side of bacon with wheat toast.”

  “How do you want those eggs cooked?” she asked, staring down as she scribbled out the order.

  “Over easy will be great,” he said, emphasizing the word easy and flashing Jordan a heated grin.

  Her face began warming up again and she kicked him lightly under the table.

  The waitress paused over her pad to look back and forth between the two of them. “I had a feeling it wouldn’t take you long to get into trouble again,” she said with a knowing expression. Before she turned to leave, she leaned over and whispered to Jordan, “He’s clearly trouble, but you two are cute together and the way he looks at you…” She fanned herself with her notepad. “He’s not too hard on the eyes, either.” She winked as she left the table.

  Chase had the gall to look chagrined now. “Hey, what was that all about? Are you two conspiring now?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased him. But inwardly she considered the waitress’s remarks.

  It wasn’t the first time a woman had noticed his good looks. He frequently received appreciative glances when they were out. The attention didn’t bother her. She was sure she’d look twice if she noticed him out somewhere.

  What did cause her pause was that the waitress assumed they were already a couple. Many times, she felt like they were as well. She only hoped things worked out so they genuinely could be after today. Chase had been trying to avoid any romantic entanglements while he was working for her. But though they’d avoided becoming physically intimate, in her heart, she knew they’d connected on a level much deeper than that.

  Thoughts of today reminded her of what she’d been meaning to discuss with him. “I’ve been thinking about staying here through the weekend before heading back…” She fiddled with the fork in front of her as she broached the subject. “Well, as long as everything goes okay at the arraignment today. I know you said you had to head back right away, so I thought I might rent a car for my return trip.”

  Chase stared at her with a blank expression. “You want to stay here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Only through Sunday. I really like it here, and I feel like I need some time after all of this is over to try to regroup. I’m not sure I’m ready to head back to where it happened right away,” she said, her voice soft. “Plus, I know if I go back now, no matter how much I try to avoid it, I’ll end up back at the office playing catch-up. So before I go there, I want to take a few days to process everything.” She tried to gauge his reaction to her announcement, but he didn’t give her any indication one way or the other. “Does that make sense?”

  He stared past her for a moment, then returned his attention to her. “It makes sense. It’ll be hard to leave here without you, but I understand the need to process everything before going back. At least, I do now. Hanging out with you twenty-four-seven may have rubbed off on me a bit.” He grasped her hand, gently rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

  “I’m glad you get it.” She gave him a small smile. “See, hanging out with me has its benefits.” Tilting her head to the side, she added, “But if you start using words like ‘increas
ed insight’ in the right context, I may have to offer you a job.”

  Chase shook his head. “I’ve still got a lot to learn about your world. I won’t quit the day job just yet. At least, not in exchange for another one.” He winked at her, but then he became serious again. “I’ll book you a car. I already have accounts with different rental companies, so it won’t be a problem. I can have it delivered to the condo…” He paused before continuing on. “Again, as long as everything goes as planned today. I won’t leave here until that’s a given.”

  “I appreciate that. And this,” she said, motioning around the room.

  “Food again, huh? Jordan, I promise I’ll never let you starve.”

  “No.” Jordan laughed. She’d probably laughed more on this trip with him than in the entire past year. “I mean this trip. Coming here with me. I know it’s part of your job and you do it a lot, but I want you to know that what you do is awesome.” She searched for the right words to express her gratitude. “You took on all of this risk to make sure I’m safe. I don’t know how to say thank you for that.”

  Chase swallowed. “You just did. Nothing else is needed.” He looked at her with an expression Jordan couldn’t really read. “I’m just glad it was me.”

  When his eyes found hers, she felt like the only person in the restaurant.

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  He squeezed her hand, and her stomach flipped in response. This time, she knew it wasn’t nerves about the upcoming call.

  After breakfast, they headed back to the condo. She looked through a magazine while Chase worked from his computer. The rolling in her stomach got worse as it got later in the morning. The detective would be calling soon. She took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on the moment. Worrying won’t change the outcome, she thought.