“Good, thank you for asking,” he says as Colton walks toward me from the back of the bar. “I wanted to let you know that Chad should be in contact with you sometime this afternoon to give you instructions on how to go about entering your home and retrieving your belongings.”
“That’s great news,” I say, feeling relieved I will finally be able to get some of Grandma’s stuff for her.
“I really appreciate you cooperating with us. If you have any questions about what’s going on with the case, you can call this number.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks again, Detective. Have a good day.”
“You as well, Miss Caro.” He ends the call and I shove my phone back into my pocket, feeling relief but still uneasy.
“What did he say?” Colton asks, crossing his arms over his chest as I pick up the cleaning rag and start to scrub the table again.
“He said Chad should be calling me this afternoon with instructions on how to go about getting stuff out of the house.”
“That’s good news,” he says, studying me.
“It is good news,” I agree, finishing wiping down that table and moving on to the next one.
“So if it’s good news, why don’t you seem happy about it?”
“He didn’t tell me that my name is cleared,” I admit.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You passed the polygraph test. Pretty sure all that adds up to your name being cleared, Dimples.”
“That all might be true, but he didn’t say it, so I don’t know if it is or not.”
“Call him back.”
“What?” I stop what I’m doing to look at him.
“If you’re that worried about it, call him back and ask him if your name is in the clear.”
“I can’t do that.” I shake my head and walk to the next table, spraying it down and cleaning it.
“Why can’t you?” he questions, seeming puzzled, and I let out an annoyed huff.
“Because then I will look suspicious.”
“How on earth will you look suspicious if you ask him if your name is cleared?”
“Have you never read a book or watched a movie? The person who is normally guilty is the person who is always trying to pretend like they are innocent.”
“Babe, you are fucking innocent,” he growls.
“I know that,” I growl back. “Which is why I can’t just ask him. I need to wait until they tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s eleven,” he tells me out of the blue, and I feel my brows snap together.
“And?” I ask, wondering what that is supposed to mean.
“You told me I can’t kiss you while we’re working.”
“You can’t,” I confirm, moving around the table so it’s between us. “Absolutely no kissing at work.” I made that rule yesterday morning when we pulled up to the bar. There isn’t much I can do about his parents knowing about whatever this thing is happening between us, but I can still shield them from having to witness it firsthand.
“You being crazy and cute is making me want to kiss you.”
“Colton,” I warn when he starts to come around the table toward me.
“What about if I take you outside?”
“You can’t do that either. I need to work, and so do you.”
“I can’t believe I agreed to this crazy rule,” he mutters, looking as annoyed as he sounds, and I smile at him. “Don’t smile at me like that.”
“I’ll stop,” I lie through my smile, and his eyes drop to my mouth.
“Christ.” He turns around and walks off saying, without looking at me, “I got shit to do. I’ll be in the back.”
“I’ll be here,” I yell at his back, still smiling as he shakes his head and disappears into the office. Going back to cleaning the tables, I still have a grin on my face.
Finished with the cleaning over two hours later, I drop my cleaning stuff in the office then look at the clock on the wall and see it’s already after two. Colton left about twenty minutes ago to go to the storage unit to pick up a few supplies, and also to grab us lunch from some sandwich place he said is good. I’m not hungry, since I had two bowls of cereal this morning for breakfast, but that didn’t stop him from insisting I eat something. And knowing when to pick my battles, I didn’t fight him on it.
Standing behind the bar, I pour myself a Diet Coke and take a sip. I lift my head when the door opens, expecting to see Colton, and my spine goes straight when it’s not him. Instead, it’s Lisa wearing slacks and a yellow silk blouse, with a blazer that matches her pants. Taking my eyes off her I notice the two other women with her. One is a blonde with the same cut and style as Lisa, wearing a vest over a denim shirt with dark blue jeans and boots. And the other, a brunette with a short bob wearing an army-green colored jacket with jeans and black flats.