Wait… what?
No. I won’t thank my father for any of that. I’ll just be thankful he liked my cookies.
“Well, if you liked those, you should try my brownies.”
What the hell am I thinking? I want to punch myself in the throat. Pathetic much, Daisy?
“Well, if you’d like anyone to taste test one of your recipes, I volunteer.”
Wow. Wow-wow-wow. “How ’bout dinner?”
“Uh, what?” he stammers.
“I’ll make you dinner.”
“Oh.” He moves back one giant step. The most giant step I’ve ever seen. “I don’t think….”
“Right.” I feel the heat on my cheeks. It’s like fire. “Of course you wouldn’t want that—”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I would. It’s just—” He looks to his left. Toward Kara’s apartment.
“Oh. Okay. I see. The investigation.”
Nodding, he says what I already know. “You’re an eyewitness.”
“Sure. Sure. I get it.” Not really. I mean, I’m not a suspect. Right?
“But after?” Why does he suddenly sound so unsure? Is he just trying to make me feel better?
“No. You don’t need to do that.”
“I want to.” A small smile crosses his lips. “I bet you’re a great cook.”
And there you have it. He’s just hungry.
That fact sucks donkey balls.
“I’m an okay cook.” I’m being modest. The fact is I’m a great cook. My mom taught me. But now’s not the time to brag, especially when I’m lining up a pity date. Yay, me.
“So your dad didn’t like me.”
I’m caught off guard by his comment. “My dad doesn’t like anyone in my apartment.” His apartment.
“I suppose that’s normal. But you’re an adult.”
“That’s what my birth certificate says.” I snort and regret it the minute it happens.
Gage steps closer to me, reversing the mammoth step he just took away from me. “Look, Daisy.” His voice is tentative. I’m not sure I want to hear this. “I’d love to have dinner with you—after this case is solved.”
The blush is back, but this time it’s not because I’m embarrassed. No, this time the heat rising up from my center is for all the right reasons. “Okay.” I can barely hear myself, so hopefully Gage caught my response. I’d better say it again. Clearing my throat, I nod. “That’d be nice.”
“Yeah?” He nods. “Great.”
We stare at each other for way too long. An awkward amount of time. Until he breaks the silence with a question. “Daisy, can I ask you something about that night?”
I know which night. “Sure.”
He pulls out his notebook from his chest pocket and flips the pages around. “You said you saw the redhead when you came upstairs from getting your laundry. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t see her enter Kara’s apartment?”
Shaking my head, I repeat what I said before. “No.”
“And when you went back into your apartment, you didn’t hear anything? No conversations between the redhead and Kara?”
I shake my head again.
“Nothing later?”
“No.”
“How can that be? You knew when Finch and I were in the apartment. You’re very cognizant of what’s happening in the hallway. Why not that night?”
It’s a good question. One I answered, but I’ll repeat it. “I put on my headphones when I got back into my apartment.”
“Those prevent you from hearing anything?”
“They’re noise canceling. I listen to them while I work.”
“While you do research?”
“Yes.”
“How long did you work? With the headphones on?”
I get why he’s asking. I heard them say something about the time of death; it was between the time I saw the redhead and two or three hours after that. “I worked for a few hours. I tend to work late into the night.”
“So did I wake you this morning?” He’s sliding the notebook back into his pocket along with his pen. I guess we’re done with the questioning portion of the morning.
“I was awake.” I say it with a smile. “Barely.”
“Sorry.” I do believe Mr. Golden is blushing. “Since I’ve taken over the investigation—”
“You’re in charge now?” I don’t know why that surprises me. He’s probably the best officer on the Ames police force.
“I am.” More blushing, and it’s adorable.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Clearing his throat, he continues. “I usually work nights, but now that I’m doing this, I’ve got to be in early.”
“I get it.”
“So, my apologies if I woke you.”
If he only knew how much I’d like him to wake me up every morning…. “No worries. My sleep patterns are all over the place.”
“Mine too.” Gage chuckles, and I want to grab him by his collared shirt and drag him to my bed, but I can’t. Not today. I’ve got too much to do.
His eyes move from me to somewhere behind me. “Wow, you’ve really cleared out the place.”
I look back at my relatively sparse living room. “Yeah. I got rid of my mom’s stuff.” Most of it.
“It looks nice, Daisy.”
And there it is again. My name. Holy hotness, my panties just melted.
“Thanks.”
And we’re back to the staring at each other thing. If I didn’t need to be somewhere in less than an hour, I’d keep right on looking at this man with his blond hair and pretty smile. But I can’t. “Well, I need to get going.” I jerk my thumb backward. “I’ve got to shower and get out of here.”
“Right.” Gage runs his fingers through his wavy hair. My fingers itch. I want to do that for him. “I’ll, uh, talk to you soon.”
“Good luck with the investigation.” Because the sooner he solves this thing, the sooner we can eat together.
Wow, did that sound as anticlimactic as I think it did?
“Thanks.” Gage waves, turns, and walks down the hallway.
Shutting the door, I lean my back against it and sigh. “That man is going to be my undoing.”
Chapter Twelve
Gage
“That woman is something else.” When she opened the door in that little tank top, I nearly passed out. Not only that, her hair was down and sort of messy from sleep, and her glasses were long gone. I was right. She’s all curves and softness. “Damn.” She might be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Sliding it out, I see a message from another very
