Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
He grinned. “Arlington is a short street.” He inclined his head toward the plant. “And that’s quite the eye-catcher.”
She suppressed a smile. “You shouldn’t pop out of nowhere in front of someone who carries a weapon,” she advised.
“Even if I pop out carrying pizza?” he asked, holding the box out in front of him with two hands as though presenting a case of jewels.
And frankly, at the moment, to her, it felt just as valuable. She hadn’t eaten all day. The scent of melted cheese and tomato sauce wafted up to her, and Sienna’s stomach growled, completely giving her away.
“Mushroom and olive, right?” Gavin asked.
“You don’t play fair,” she mumbled. “Also, this isn’t really appropriate, you know.” She scooted past him and the smell of the mouthwatering food he was holding.
“Why not?”
Sienna removed her key. “You’re a consultant on my case.”
“So?” he asked as she inserted the key in her lock. “Me being a consultant on your case practically makes us work partners,” he went on. “You don’t catch a meal now and then with coworkers?”
“Also, you showed up uninvited. At my home.”
“With pizza,” he repeated. “You sounded hungry on the phone.”
She let out a short laugh and rolled her eyes. “It was a one-line text.”
He shrugged. “I’m good at reading between the lines.”
“Ha.” She opened the door and then turned toward him, glancing at the pizza again. “Fine. Come in. But only because you’re carrying food and I am actually starving.”
Gavin grinned triumphantly, and that damn grin simultaneously made her heart do a weird flip-flop and made her grit her teeth in annoyance. She turned away from it, from him, and he entered the condo behind her as she flicked on the hall light and the overhead chandelier in the front room. Their feet echoed as they walked, Gavin following Sienna down the hall and into the kitchen, located at the back of the condo. The overhead lights flooded the space with a warm glow, and he stood in the doorway for a moment, glancing around. “I see you haven’t unpacked yet,” he said, nodding to the few boxes on the floor near the back door.
She shrugged, placing her briefcase on the end of the counter. “I was sort of thrown straight into the thick of things the moment I arrived,” she said. And though she’d meant workwise, she realized that what she’d said probably covered the fact that Gavin Decker was standing in her condo too.
He set the pizza on the counter near where he was standing. “Plates? And would you have it any other way?”
Sienna opened a cabinet and pulled two paper plates from a stack, then grabbed the roll of paper towels near the sink. “Being thrown straight into the thick of things?” She shrugged, her lips tilting as she handed him the plates. “I guess not. I’m good at it,” she said. “Unraveling clues.”
“I know you are,” he said, putting a large slice of pizza on a plate before handing it back. “You’re right where you’re supposed to be.” He looked at her meaningfully, but she chose not to address that because frankly, though she did love being in the thick of things workwise, in every other way she still felt only half on solid ground. If she were right where she were meant to be, then surely she wouldn’t feel so unsettled. She lifted the pizza and took a big bite, closing her eyes as she chewed. “Oh, thank you, Jesus, for pizza,” she said, and he chuckled.
“I don’t have a lot in the way of drinks,” she said, setting the plate down and then opening the refrigerator. Inside were several bottles of water, a carton of OJ, a box of baking soda, and nothing else. She’d bought the baking soda when she’d picked up the drinks, in an effort to freshen the rental fridge. She’d planned on a full shopping trip later, but later hadn’t yet arrived. “Water or orange juice?”
“A water would be great,” he answered, and she handed him a bottle and took one for herself.
Sienna gestured back toward the front room. “There are a couple of boxes in there. It’s the best seat I can offer.” She walked past him, and he followed again, lifting a box from the stack by the window before setting it near the one she’d already sat down on, the plate of pizza in her lap. “Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “I already ate. I just used that to get my foot in the door.” He shot her the same smile he’d always used when Mirabelle had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar, and she resisted an eye roll, instead taking another bite of pizza. His bribe had worked, and she was grateful for the food, and so she let it go.