“That this is fun but going nowhere?”
She nodded slowly. He looked into her green eyes, seeing uncertainty, as if she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted him to say. He suspected part of her wanted him to agree. That would be the easy way out. Neither of them would have to think about it, or examine it, they could just keep doing what they were doing, and hopefully nobody would get hurt. That was the Lindsay who still hadn’t lowered some of those walls, who still needed to control everything, including relationships that could end up hurting her.
Another part, though...well, he wasn’t so sure.
“It is what it is,” he finally said with a shrug that feigned a disinterest he didn’t feel. Such a cop-out of an answer, but it was the best he could do right now.
She glanced away, her mouth tightening. He watched her, reading her reaction, knowing she was feeling a disappointment she hadn’t expected to feel. Interesting.
“Very well,” she said. “We’ll just go on as we have been?”
He didn’t push it, as she had to leave for work in a minute. “Sure.” Wagging his brows, he added, “We still have half a box to get through. Wasn’t that little porpoise thing next?”
She sucked in a shocked breath, not meeting his eye. Color rose in her cheeks.
A blush? From Lindsey? How freakin’ adorable.
How on earth the woman could possibly be embarrassed around him he had no idea. It had to be because it was so early in the morning and she didn’t have her armor completely in place.
Before either of them could say anything else, the front door opened with a ring of the bell. Lindsey jerked back in her chair. A group of students walked in, and she immediately reached for her purse and stood up. “I’ve got to go.”
He didn’t try to argue, understanding. Thinking about the sex toys one minute and having a bunch of her students walk in the next had to be a little jarring.
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”
She started to walk away, but paused before she’d gone three steps. The teens were at the counter, walking like zombies, not filled with chatter and excitement the way they would be after school. That was probably why Lindsey didn’t just walk out. Instead, she dropped a hand on his shoulder and murmured, “I imagine you’ll be waiting for me in my bed when I get home at four? With the porpoise?”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am, I think I will.”
She winked at him then walked out, speaking to her students as she exited. They replied easily. No heads came together whispering about who she’d been sitting with. He’d bet they hadn’t even noticed.
The kids seemed to like her. Not surprising—she was smart, young and new. He wondered what on earth they’d think if they found out how famous she really was, and he prayed none of her students ever had reason to do a thorough internet search on her.
Intending to go home and sleep for a few hours in preparation for what he hoped would be a hell of a sensual night, Mike got up to leave. Unfortunately, he hadn’t even reached the door when someone else came in. Someone who he also prayed never had reason to do research on Lindsey.
“Chief, there you are! I stopped by the station and was told you’d gone off duty and that I might be able to find you here.”
He nodded, wondering how early the president of the town council had to get up in the morning to put that much shellac in her hair and that much makeup on her face by 6:30 a.m. “Morning, Mrs. Franklin.”
The woman cast a stern, disapproving glance at the students. They put their heads together, whispering and giggling, and her frown grew so deep her eyes almost disappeared under her brows. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” she asked querulously.
The teens clutched their coffees and headed for the door. One of them snapped off a salute before exiting, and Mike bit the inside of his cheek to prevent a laugh.
“In my day, children that age wouldn’t be allowed to drink coffee,” she said, aiming the comment at Alice, the shop owner. “Do you require proof of age before you sell it to them?”
Alice snorted. “I’m not selling cigarettes here, Ida. If you’re worried about that, why don’t you take a look at the sales of your store?”
Flustered, the older woman harrumphed, then leaned in to Mike. “I want an update on the progress you’ve made on the case.”
“Case?” he said, playing dumb, though he knew exactly what she meant. She’d come in to talk to him about that stupid book four times in the past ten days. The fact that she hadn’t been able to stir up anybody else into an outraged posse seemed to have made her even more determined to go it alone.