When things turned back to wedding talk, he perked up. This was why they were here. Not so he could obsess over Cady’s personal life—that was dangerous territory. It sounded as if they had a few opportunities to mess things up. Apparently the wedding dress and cake were still sore spots, but he wasn’t sure how that was useful. There was lots of potential with the upcoming bridal shower and the bachelor and bachelorette party. Tonight would be a good time to drill Cady for information—he just needed to stay focused.
By the time Zach and Bianca were saying their goodbyes, his anger had cooled a little. And yet, as soon as they were alone, his thoughts returned to Cady and Charles.
Cady closed the door, looking at him. “Okay, detective, what dark deeds are swirling in that brain of yours? You got awful quiet there at the end.”
“I’ll go with you,” he offered.
Cady frowned. “With me?”
“The office party.”
Her brown eyes went round. “No, Patton... Why would you want to do that?”
She was waiting for his answer. Which frustrated him further. He didn’t know why. He started rinsing the dishes and loading the dishwasher. He should be glad she’d brushed him off. He didn’t need to be spending his energy on this. Cady was more than capable of taking care of herself. But he wanted to go.
“Are you...mad?” Cady asked.
He glanced at her. Standing barefoot, leaning against the counter with her gauzy shirt hanging off one shoulder. Her red bra strap caught his attention. How had this sexy woman gotten in his head? How had he let it happen? And why? “No,” he muttered.
She was trying not to smile. “You’re sure—”
“Yes.” He turned off the water and turned to face her. “I think Bianca has a point. If you’ve never brought a date, people will assume it’s serious. Might help. Might not. But it won’t hurt.” He paused before adding, “If you’ve decided the best thing for your career is to stay home instead of reminding your superiors why you deserve this position, then I’m sure you’ve thought it through.” It was too easy to look at her, to watch the subtle nuances and ticks that revealed her thoughts. She was irritated. He’d irritated her. Good. Now they were both frustrated.
“Dammit, Patton,” she growled. “I’ll go if I want to go. With or without a date—it shouldn’t matter. My work should speak for itself, the minutes, hours, days and months of my life I’ve given to them. I’m the best at what I do—especially within the company. If they can’t see what an asset I am to the firm, maybe I don’t want the promotion.”
“Why don’t I believe that?” he argued. He wanted to touch her. The moment she’d spit out his name, his body jolted awake—hungrily.
She scowled. “Believe what you want. You don’t know me.”
Her words were true, but it still stung. “Maybe not.”
She continued, fuming, “This has nothing to do with Charles as a guy and everything to do with his work performance.” She shrugged. “And the whole date thing? Sounds a little weak to me. But Bianca’s always been more...dramatic than I am.”
“Bianca might be right about Charles, even if you don’t see it,” he bit out. “Maybe seeing you with someone would help. Someone who won’t hesitate to remind him you’re off-limits is a good idea.” His anger bubbled up.
She blinked, her gaze searching his face. She drew in a deep breath, the front of her shirt quivering. He had to find something to occupy himself with, or he was going to reach for her. Because every cell in his body wanted him to reach for her and pull her against him.
“Can this go in the dishwasher?” he asked, pointing at the wok in the large steel sink.
She continued to stare at him, flustered. “Leave it,” she murmured.
He walked to the end of the bar, putting space between them. It wasn’t enough—the air practically sparked with electricity.
“Bianca found the perfect wedding dress today,” she spoke quickly, sliding her phone across the counter to him. “Here, I took pictures. The first is your mom’s dress, the other is—”
“The dress she wants.” He frowned. “Why would she choose my mom’s when it’s obvious which one she really wants?”
“That’s Bibi,” Cady explained. “Putting others first.”
He sighed, nudging the phone back to her.
Cady nodded, studying the picture of Bianca before setting her phone aside.
He reached for the wok and started scrubbing, needing a distraction.
“How’s work?” she asked, wiping off the counter.
“I’m trailing a meth manufacturer. A lab exploded and left one hell of a mess behind.” He didn’t know why he was telling her this.