by Marie Force
Looking away from him as her face burned with embarrassment, she grabbed a napkin. “What are . . . I mean . . . why are you here?” She hated the stammer that infected her voice as she tried to spit out the sentence. How did he manage to turn her into a stammering fool just by walking into the room? It was so unfair!
“I was wondering if I could borrow some dental floss.”
Chapter 7
Tess looked from one of them to the other. “Dental floss? I don’t get it.”
Georgie burned with mortification.
Nathan turned to Tess. “You must be Tess.” He extended his hand. “Nathan Caldwell. Nice to meet you.”
Flustered, Tess shook his hand. “Oh, well.”
Georgie rolled her eyes. Apparently, he had that effect on all women, not just her, which was yet another reason to keep her distance.
“Georgie and I were just having dinner,” Tess said. “Why don’t you join us?”
“I’d love to.”
“But—” Georgie said.
“Georgie, serve the salad.” With another pointed look, Tess handed her three bowls.
Flashing Georgie a satisfied grin that told her he knew exactly how uncomfortable he was making her, Nathan plopped down in the chair next to hers. “Oh, is that corn on the cob? I’ll really need floss after that.”
“Okay,” Tess said as she brought another plate and silverware to the table, “what’s with the floss? Or do I not want to know?”
“Nothing kinky,” Nathan said with a chuckle that earned him a glare from Georgie. “I have this temperamental toilet in my house, and apparently it gave Georgie some trouble this morning, because when I got home, I discovered she’d used half a box of floss to tie the ball cock to the light.”
Georgie, who had been attempting to chew a bite of chicken, choked at the casual way he tossed the word cock out there, like she hadn’t spent hours riding his the night before.
Tess laughed. “You get an A for ingenuity, Georgie.”
“After the hissy fit he had over Styrofoam yesterday, I figured he’d flip out if I let the water run all day,” Georgie mumbled.
“You figured right,” Nathan said as he dug into his salad with gusto. “You did a good job. But if that happens again, you can just shut off the water by turning the valve underneath the toilet.”
Refusing to even glance at him, she said, “It won’t happen again.”
“You never know.”
Suddenly, they were no longer talking about toilets. “Yes, I do.”
“Do you want something to drink?” Tess jumped up. “I can’t believe I didn’t offer you anything.”
It took everything Georgie had not to groan at the way Tess was fawning over him, like he was a celebrity in their midst instead of her one-night stand. One night. Do you hear that, Nathan Caldwell?
“Have you got a beer?”
“Sure do.” Tess opened one of Cat’s Budweisers and brought it to him.
“Thank you,” he said with a warm smile that made Tess sigh.
Really, this was the most disgusting display of foolishness Georgie had ever witnessed.
“So, Tess, Georgie tells me you’re not from around here.”
“That’s right,” Tess said, getting busy with her food.
“Where are you from?”
“Western Connecticut.”
“What brought you to Newport?”
“I was ready for a change of scenery. I’m a nurse, and they had an opening at Newport Hospital in the ER, which is my specialty, so I snapped it up. End of story.”
The way she said it told Georgie there was more to the story—much more—and she wasn’t a detective. She wondered if Nathan had sensed it, too. Who cares what he senses? Just get through dinner so you can get rid of him.
“I’ll bet you’ve seen just about everything as an ER nurse,” he said.
“You know it. What do you do?”
“I’m a detective with the NPD.”
When Tess’s eyes flipped up to gauge whether he was serious, there was no mistaking the flash of panic. “Oh,” she said on a long exhale.
After an awkward pause in the conversation, they all got busy finishing their dinner.
“That was the best home-cooked meal I’ve had in a long time, ladies. Thank you.”
“It was all Tess,” Georgie said, unnerved by her friend’s odd behavior. Was she running from the law? It certainly seemed like she was hiding something. Would Nathan think so, too? “I’ll clean up.”
“I don’t mind,” Tess said.
“That’s not fair. You cooked. Besides, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do with a rare night off than cooking and cleaning for me.”
“I do have some bills to pay.” She got up, rinsed her plate, and put it in the dishwasher. “It was nice to meet you, Nathan,” she said on her way out of the room.
“You, too.” When they were alone, he glanced at Georgie. “What just happened here?”
“I have no idea.”
“How do you know her?”
“She answered an ad I placed for roommates.”
“Why were you looking for roommates if you’re only here temporarily?”
Cornered, Georgie stood up and started to clear the table.
He came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders.
She froze. “Don’t.”
Turning her around to face him, he said, “Tell me what’s going on here, Georgie. Nothing you’ve told me adds up, and you’ve got a roommate who’s clearly running from the law or something else. I’m a cop, for Christ’s sake. How do you expect me to just pretend that didn’t happen?”
Rattled by his touch, she shrugged his hands off her shoulders. “That’s exactly what I expect you to do. Whatever’s going on with her is none of your concern.”
“What if she’s in some kind of trouble?”
“That’s her business. She’s been nothing but a good friend to me since the day I met her.”
Stymied, he tried a different line of questioning. “Why are you taking in roommates and working at the senior center if your life is in Atlanta?”
“That’s my business.”
He shook his head. “You’re not going to give me a break, are you?”
“I told you.” She forced herself to look up at him and tried not to notice the way his soft gray T-shirt fit snugly against his chest or the golden stubble that sprinkled his jaw. The memory of him thrusting into her picked that moment to show up—again. She swallowed and said, “One night.”
He stared down at her with intense blue eyes. “We had a connection, Georgie. I know you felt it, too. Aren’t you at all curious about that?”
“It was just sex. Don’t make it into more than it was.”
“I’ve had ‘just sex,’ and I’ll bet you have, too.” He ran his hands up and down her arms as he spoke. “This was more than that, and you know it.”
Horrified when her nipples responded to his touch, she pushed him away. “It wasn’t more.”
A flash of hurt darted across his handsome face.
“Don’t do that!”
His eyebrows knitted with confusion. “Do what?”
“Give me that hurt face. That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid. I’m going back to Atlanta in two weeks. I don’t have time for this.”
“You won’t make time, you mean.”
“What’s the point?” she asked, furious at the hitch in her voice. “It can’t go anywhere.”
Apparently encouraged by her emotional response, he reached for her and brought her in close to him. “You don’t know that. You can’t know if you don’t take the chance and find out.”
Once again she worked herself free of his embrace. “I’m not interested. I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings, because that’s not my intention. I had a wonderful time last night, but there’s no room in my life right now for this kind of thing. I’m sorry.”
He reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts to retriev
e her earrings. Taking her hand, he dropped them into her palm and curled her fingers around them. “Thanks for dinner.” He held her hand for a long moment before he released it, tipped her chin up, and brushed a light kiss across her lips. “See you around, Georgie Quinn.”
Watching him leave, Georgie wanted to chase after him. “Wait!” she would say. “I didn’t mean it! Don’t go!” But she couldn’t seem to make herself move. Engulfed in sadness, she heard the front door close behind him. It would’ve been nice.
Not interested. Not interested? Oh, she was interested, all right. He could see it in the way her eyes had widened in the instant before he kissed her. He could see it in the way she’d had trouble swallowing her food with him sitting as close to her as he dared to get without actually touching her. Yes, she was interested. Maybe she just didn’t realize it yet.
Nathan made his way down Dean Avenue and hooked a right to head home. On an impulse, he decided to stop for a beer at O’Brien’s and was surprised to find Ian sitting at the bar.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked his brother. “Where’s Rosie?”
“At a sleepover at Caroline’s,” Ian said, referring to his three-year-old daughter’s best friend. He gestured to his cell phone on the bar. “I’m waiting to get the call that she’s ready to come home.”
Nathan smiled.
“She doesn’t get that the over part means overnight.”
“Soon enough she will, and then you’ll never see her.”
“I know.” Ian’s hair was darker than Nathan’s and laced with some gray, but he had the same blue eyes the six Caldwell brothers had gotten from their father. “What brings you out tonight? I thought you were bushed.”
“I was. I am. Just having a quick one.” He signaled the bartender, who brought them two draught beers.
“No sign of Ben?” Ian asked.
“Not when I was home earlier. I’m hoping he’ll be there when I get back.”
Nathan’s cell phone rang. With a signal to Ian, he took the call when he saw it was his partner. “Hey, Andy,” he said on his way outside to the sidewalk. “What’s up?”
“Sorry to wake you.”
“Haven’t been to bed yet.”
“Oh good. So, listen, I talked to the missing girl’s parents. I’m leaning toward believing she didn’t run away.”
“Yeah?”
“She’s really made an effort in the last year to clean up her act, like the parents said.”
“What do you want to do?”
“The parents said she spends a lot of time online. They let me take her computer, and I’ve already got our guys working it up.”
“I think I know where you’re going with this.”
“Exactly. McKee and Jones are talking to her friends as we speak, trying to find out if she had mentioned going off with someone she met online or anything like that.”
“Amber Alert?”
“I’m going to hold off until we see what the computer yields.”
“Probably a smart move.” Law enforcement officials saved the missing child notification system for the most dire of circumstances so it wouldn’t lose its impact by becoming routine. Since Nathan trusted the two detectives on second shift, he didn’t feel the need to rush in. “Keep me posted. I’ll come in if you need me to.”
“I’m heading home for now. McKee knows to call me if they get anywhere with the friends. If I hear from him, I’ll call you.”
“Cool. Thanks for the update.” Nathan returned his phone to his pocket and went back inside.
“Everything all right?” Ian asked.
Sliding onto the barstool, Nathan reached for his beer. “That was Andy about a case.”
“You look like shit, man.” Ian took a closer look at his brother. “Did you work last night?”
“Nope.”
“Something’s up.”
Nathan shrugged and trailed his fingers through the condensation on his glass. “If I tell you, do you promise not to be well . . . you?”
Hooting with laughter, Ian said, “I’ll do my best.”
“There’s this girl.”
Ian let out a low whistle and raised his glass in toast to his brother. “Well, thank you, Jesus. It’s about freakin’ time.”
“Is that you doing your best?”
Ian sobered. “My apologies. Please continue.”
Despite himself, Nathan smiled. Ian, who was three years older than him, was his favorite brother and the one he felt closest to. There was no one he’d rather discuss this with, and Ian knew it. “There’s not much to say. I like her, I know she likes me, we had one great night together, but she doesn’t want it to go any further. Frustrating, you know?”
“What’s the hang up?”
“She lives in Atlanta, and she’s only here for a couple more weeks. But tell me if this sounds weird to you—she says she’s here temporarily, but I know for a fact she recently advertised for roommates.”
“That is kind of odd. You don’t know what her deal is?”
“Nope. She flat out told me it was none of my business.”
Ian chuckled. “Sounds like she’s got spunk.”
“She does, but I know there’s something going on. I get all these strange vibes when I’m with her, and you know how I am about my vibes.”
Ian rolled his eyes. “You’ve built an entire career around them.”
“Exactly.”
“I hate to point out the obvious, but you are a detective, bro. Why don’t you do some digging around? Won’t take long in this town to get her story.”
“The thought’s occurred to me, but I don’t want it that way. I want her to tell me. I want her to want to tell me.”
“You like this chick, huh?”
“Yeah. There’s something about her.” Nathan chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought about Georgie.
“What’s she look like?”
“Blonde, kind of petite but not tiny. She has these great, big expressive eyes that are sometimes green and sometimes gold. And dimples. Really, really cute dimples.” Nathan smiled when he remembered that Georgie hated to be called cute.
“Hmm,” Ian said, sizing up his brother with knowing eyes.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Knock it off. What were you going to say?”
“I was told I can’t be me, so I’m refraining from comment.”
“Ian!”
Laughing, Ian said, “Fine, if you must know, I think you’re falling for this girl who wants nothing to do with you.”
“No, I’m not. It’s not like that.”
Ian’s raised eyebrow begged the question.
“I just want to get to know her. That’s all.”
“I’ve never known you to give up easily.”
“She was pretty adamant.”
“So?”
Nathan glanced at his brother in time to see a big lazy grin stretch across his face. “Are you suggesting I make a nuisance of myself?”
After taking a chug of his beer, Ian said, “At the very least. That’s what we Caldwells do best.”
“True.” Nathan studied his glass for a long moment before he turned to his brother again. “I really lost it with her the other day. Big time. She was jamming Styrofoam into a Dumpster, and I totally flipped out.”
Ian winced. “Uh-oh.”
“My reaction was way over the top. Hasn’t happened in a while.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to worry about that being an issue again. Something made you mad, so you reacted. Nothing wrong with that.”
“I can’t go back there. It took me so long to get to the point where I didn’t let my temper rule my life.”
Ian put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “You had a very good reason for letting your anger get the best of you, but that was a long time ago. It’s okay to get pissed off once in a while as long as you don’t let it go too far.”
Nathan nodded in agreement even if he didn’t entirely
agree. He’d made it his mission in life not to allow himself to get pissed about anything. That was how he kept the demons at bay.
Ian’s cell phone rang.
He picked up the phone, checked the caller ID, and smiled. “Right on schedule. Hi, Cheryl, is she ready to come home?” He laughed, paused for a moment, and said, “I’m walking so I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Closing the phone, he said to Nathan, “Another aborted sleepover.”
“Poor baby. Give her a kiss from Uncle Nate.”
“Will do.”
“I need to spend some time with her soon. It’s been too long.”
“She’d love that.” Ian finished his beer in one long swallow. “If your vibes are telling you this girl likes you, Nate, don’t give up. She’ll come around.”
Wishing he could be as optimistic, Nathan shook his brother’s hand. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Let me know if you hear from Ben.”
“You got it.”
Nathan arrived home thirty minutes later and was relieved to find Ben slapping together a sandwich at the table they were using while the kitchen was under construction. The tallest of the Caldwell brothers, Ben’s dark hair was now shot through with silver, and his once-athletic build had been diminished by his injury. He’d been pulling frequent disappearing acts since being released from the facility where he rehabilitated his shattered leg.
“How was Block Island?” Nathan asked.
“Fine.”
“Who’d you go with?”
“Some guys I met at Brick Alley,” he said, referring to a pub in town.
“Anyone I know?”
“Jeez! What is this, Nate? An interrogation?”
“No.” If anyone tested Nathan’s hair-trigger temper these days, it was Ben. “I’m just interested in who you’re hanging out with.”
“I could say the same thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ben’s face twisted into the hard smile that was new since Iraq. “Who’ve you been getting it on with?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Five condoms? I wouldn’t have guessed you had it in you.”
Nathan cursed under his breath. He should’ve emptied the trash before he left. Used to living alone, it hadn’t occurred to him.