“My recorder.” Bree held it up to show her.
“Um... I didn’t. I’ve been right here since we last spoke.”
“Oh.” Bree turned the recorder over in her hand, studying it carefully. It was definitely hers. “I wonder who found it? Did you hear anyone go into my office?”
Kasey shook her head. “Maybe it was there all the time, and you just overlooked it?”
Bree knew that wasn’t the case. Yes, today had been an early start after a late night, and the caffeine had still been working its way through her system when she first reached for the recorder. But she had searched her office thoroughly. The device had not been there when she left and went to the promotions office to talk to Rylan. Which meant someone had found it and put it on her desk while she was gone.
“You could ask David to check the security cameras and see if anyone went into your office,” Kasey suggested.
Was it worth that sort of effort? Bree had her recorder back, which was the important thing, and she was too busy to take any more time out of her schedule. Besides, David Swanson, the security guard and handyman, was always running here, there and everywhere as he tried to meet the competing demands of his various employers.
Ignoring a tiny lingering doubt, Bree shrugged. “Too much to do.” She tried to make her next words sound casual. “And I don’t want to work late tonight.”
Chapter 2
Bree looked down at her empty plate with a contented sigh. After a three-course meal that would have graced the menu of the most elegant restaurants she’d visited, she regarded Rylan with newfound respect. “You are the only person I’ve met who has a signature dish that deserves the name. Where did you learn to cook?”
“I taught myself. I figured, as a single guy, I could live on takeout and microwave meals, or I could enjoy my food.”
As a single guy. The matter-of-fact statement intrigued her, made her want to ask him more questions. Why was he single? Why did he sound so sure he would stay that way?
Instead, she tilted her wine glass toward him. “The meal was a charming gesture. Thank you.”
A corner of his mouth turned upward. “I have a confession to make.”
Her heart began to beat a little faster. “You do?”
The smile deepened, quickly becoming irresistible. “I hoped you’d be charmed.”
This was where she should smile seductively. Maybe twirl her hair and bat her lashes. Even trail a finger down his bicep. The problem was, Bree didn’t do flirting. The only times she had attempted it she’d either knocked things over or came across about as sexy as a lost puppy. Since she really liked Rylan, she wasn’t going to scare him off by trying.
“Do you live in Roaring Springs?” She almost groaned out loud. Just because she didn’t flirt, did she have to turn the conversation around and make it sound like a job interview?
Rylan didn’t appear to notice. Leaning back in his chair, he stretched his long legs in front of him. Although he had drunk one glass of wine at the start of the meal, he’d switched to water because he was driving. He took a sip before he spoke. “Not quite. I was born near Denver, but I joined the army when I was eighteen. When I got out, I went into business and traveled around a lot. But I always planned to settle down in Colorado, and—” He broke off abruptly, making her wonder what he’d been about to say. “I had an army buddy who talked about his home here in Roaring Springs. When I sold the business, I found a ranch a few miles west of here.”
“You’re a rancher in your spare time?” She raised her brows at him.
He laughed. “I’m a lot of things in my spare time.”
“I can see that.” She started to count on her fingers. “Soldier. Chef. Rancher. Art promoter.”
She wasn’t sure she could pinpoint exactly what it was that changed about his manner. It was as if her words made him watchful. “I’m new to the art world. As you can probably tell.”
Bree frowned, sensing that he was closing down a line of conversation that made him uncomfortable. Since she didn’t know him well enough to prod further, she was forced to let it go. However, the knowledge that he could be hiding something nagged at her. What bothered her even more was the idea that, after knowing him for less than a week, she cared that this man might be keeping secrets.