“Thanks,” Cora said, though it wasn’t like she could lay claim to her mom’s good looks.
Evan nodded toward Cora. “And I adore your jumpsuit.”
Cora glanced down at the black halter-style jumpsuit she’d worn. Ren had bought it for her when he’d heard there’d be a ball, and she’d fallen in love with the outfit. She’d been oddly touched that Ren had known exactly what she’d like. Those guys got her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt prettier or sexier at a party. “Thanks.”
“I wish I would’ve thought of wearing one,” Evan said, smoothing the hem of her dress. “I haven’t been able to sit down in this thing all night without risking Andre’s co-workers knowing far too much about me.”
“Sitting’s overrated,” Andre said, looking down at his wife with a sexy smile.
Evan rolled her eyes. “Boys.”
Andre nodded toward the empty seats at Cora’s table. “So where are your dudes?”
Cora shrugged. “I think they weren’t sure if I was ready to out my relationship to all my co-workers yet, so they told me not to feel obligated to bring them. I could’ve brought one but that feels a little weird, you know?”
“I totally know,” Evan said, peering at the dance floor toward Jace and then back to her. “It’s hard to be in the closet about the whole thing. I remember how tough that was.”
“It is. And to be honest, my mom knows and is . . . dealing. That’s really all that’s important to me. I mean, I’d hope the people in the other precincts I’m working in now wouldn’t judge me, but I’m not all that concerned if they do. I’m over putting on masks for others’ benefit. But I wasn’t sure if the guys would be cool hanging out with a ballroom full of cops. No offense, Medina.”
“None taken. And I don’t blame them. But my guess is they would happily be here for you, especially with you looking so hot, Junior. That really shouldn’t be wasted.”
She groaned. “Please don’t tell me that. It feels like my big brother telling me I’m hot.”
Andre chuckled. “Just calling it like I see it. It’s nice seeing you come out of your shell and doing you. And I’m damn glad they finally hired you full-time. I’m not sure we would’ve solved that Driskoll case near as quickly without all your help.”
“Thanks.” She took a long sip of her drink, letting his words settle in and press those happy buttons inside her. She loved that she’d been able to help.
“Well, I’m about to take this hot woman in the too-short dress out on the dance floor. I’ll catch you on the other side.”
“Have fun.” Cora gave them a little wave and then leaned back in her chair. Her table was empty yet again, but somehow it didn’t feel awkward like it had at that party all those months ago. She was content to sit here and enjoy the goings-on and do some people-watching. She didn’t need someone to sit down and prove she was worthy enough to talk with. She already knew that. Plus, watching cops get tipsy and attempting to dance was more than a little entertaining.
Her phone buzzed in her purse, making the silverware on the table vibrate. She pulled it from her bag.
Dmitry: I’ve been thinking about you all day.
Cora smiled at the screen, at the old, familiar words. Her thumbs moved over the screen.
Lenore: Same here. Long, lonely night.
Dmitry: Such a shame. Don’t your men take care of you?
Lenore: No men tonight. Stuck at a boring work thing.
Dmitry: Boring? Since when is doing high-level hacking work for the police department boring?
Cora glanced around at the crowd, at all of her co-workers, at her mom. This was her world now. A world she hadn’t been sure she wanted but now couldn’t imagine anything else. She’d liked the idea of running her own business, but when her mom had told her she should try to apply with the department again, Cora hadn’t been able to resist. Tracking down Gordon had been terrifying because of who was at stake if she was wrong, but the detective work itself had been like finding a new piece of her internal puzzle. This was what she was meant to do.
It didn’t pay as much as working for a big company and it didn’t pay as much as she could’ve made signing on to be permanent at FoxRen, but this had never been about money. So she’d applied and with her mom’s blessing (and her long lecture about safety and privacy and not putting herself at risk), she’d landed a full-time position helping multiple precincts. She was helping catch bad guys for a living. Nothing had ever felt as rewarding.
Well, almost nothing.
Lenore: No hacking tonight. Just a lot of drinking and watching people dance.
TheRen: Heavy drinking? I knew I should’ve gone.
Lenore: I’m starting to regret not taking you two. I’ve never seen y’all in tuxes. And I *am* looking particularly hot tonight. I had a rookie cop try to flirt with me. I think he may have been a few days over twenty-one and a little drunk, but hey, I’ll take it.
TheRen: Is she trying to make us jealous?