4 - Bear #3
I finished the last of the slicing and put down the knife, turning to lean my back against the counter. “For what?”
“Forcing me to join you guys today,” she said. A small smile danced in the corner of her mouth. “I’d be lying if I said I was super enthusiastic right off the bat, but…you were right. I don’t know how you knew it would help me but it did.”
“It’s only fifteen years of the job.” The cold marble of the counter cut into the callouses of my hands.
“There are days when it’s just work and you have to get it done.
And then there are other days when burying yourself in a to-do list actually helps calm your mind.
Especially when it’s physical, it’s like your brain gets to take a little vacation and you just do. ”
Lane tilted her head to the side. “I can see that. I got a taste of that today. It's not completely the same but there are times I do that with my cases, too. Drown myself in paperwork until I run on autopilot.”
“But that wasn’t going to help you this time?” I asked gently, hoping she wouldn’t balk at the question. She didn’t.
“No. I needed a break in routine and this was perfect. I am, however, curious about how you knew something was up,” she said, pausing what she was doing to lean onto the counter and look at me properly. “I like to think I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve.”
I felt like she was studying me, like every time I tried to analyze her and peek beneath the surface, she was doing the exact same thing. “You’re not the only well-studied person in this kitchen.”
“I bet.” She gave me one last lookover before going right back to cutting up the bread as though nothing had just happened. “And maybe one day you’ll tell me why your right leg pulls stiffer on especially cold mornings.”
When my mouth fell open, she just popped a slice of cheese into her own.
“If it’s too personal, you don’t have to tell me. But I did notice,” she added.
I recovered quickly, pushing down my shock. “Just how closely do you watch me?”
“Close enough.”
“Because you find me genuinely interesting or because you want to beat everyone else to the punch when it comes to perceiving you?” I asked.
And for the first time in this whole conversation, Lane was rendered speechless.
Her lips moved as though primed for a response that her brain hadn’t put together yet.
The air between us felt charged, our easy banter guttering out and threatening to grow into something heavier until Sy’s yell from the bathroom shattered it.
I excused myself and ran to see what the commotion was about and heard the gush of pressurized water even before I entered the room. Silas was attempting to pin his palm over the spray, only succeeding in soaking himself and most of the bathroom.
“Temporary Sharkbite cap popped off,” he said in explanation just as Dax entered the scene.
“That’s a quick fix.” I turned to Dax. “Could you get the pipe wrench and a new compression fitting? Sy, just try and keep that spray contained. I’ll shut off the local valve.”
Within minutes we were busy patching everything up. We worked in silence in the beginning beyond a few words here and there to coordinate the fix, right until Dax decided to open his mouth. Again.
“So. She’s actually pretty hot, isn’t she?”
I almost dropped the wrench and Silas clamped his lips shut.
For some reason, his statement didn’t sound like random filler.
It felt more like someone mentioning a very obvious elephant in the room that everyone was pretending wasn’t stampeding straight through it.
Clearing my throat, I retrieved the wrench. “You changed your tune.”
“I never said she wasn’t hot,” Dax pointed out. “I’m not blind.”
“Just dumb as fuck,” I muttered.
“Are you arguing that she’s not gorgeous?” he pressed.
“I’m saying that she’s a client, Miller. Which means you should watch how you talk about her,” I said.
“Boring,” he rolled his eyes. “Sy, you agree, don’t you?”
Silas stayed quiet at first, like he didn’t want to say anything. But eventually, he gave in. “She’s beautiful. And funny too. She can handle Dax’s asshole tendencies just as well as any of us.”
“Hey,” Miller sounded indignant. “Now you’re just being mean.”
“I like that she wants to help out. And that she’s really smart,” Sy added.
“Those legs aren’t too bad either,” Dax said with a grin.
I knew with the next turn that I'd overtightened the wrench. “You know, Miller, sometimes it'd do you a whole lot of good to shut up. She's a person who's paying us to do a job, not some piece of ass for you to ogle."
Silas and Dax both stared at me.
“Boss,” Sy said. “You like her, don't you?”
“Don't be ridiculous,” I snapped, but I felt my ears heat up in panic.
“Nothing ridiculous about it,” Dax said, letting out a low whistle. “Damn. Never thought I'd see the day you got the hots for a client, Bear.”
“If you don't shut –”
“Guys, lunch is ready!” Lane’s voice carried from upstairs. My heart thundered in my chest, but her next words stopped it altogether. “And just for the record, I can hear everything you're saying.”
Shit.