"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
They shared a grin, then he said, "Jim Malone Realty. He's a bigwig, right? His signs are all over Houston."
"I'm very fortunate to have been hired by his agency."
"He's fortunate to get you."
She accepted the compliment with a humble nod. "His company is very well established. I'm a newcomer. I've got a lot to learn."
"Is that why you pulled this detail?"
"I volunteered."
"You've got ambition, Ms. King."
"I don't want to go back to the tax assessor's office."
"Can't say I blame you for that." He smiled again and glanced down at the brochures on the table. "Have you had many people come by?"
"You're the third in nearly three hours."
"You've had to sit here for all that time by yourself?"
"Well, there's the cat, but he hissed at the first couple who came in, so I locked him in the pantry."
"Can you stick it out for"--he consulted his watch--"twenty-two more minutes?"
"I've been counting them down and trying to stay awake."
They exchanged another smile, then neither said anything, and the silence of the house pressed in around them. This man made her uneasy, and she couldn't account for it. Even when she was interviewed by Jim Malone himself, persuading him that she would be an asset to his agency despite her inexperience, she hadn't been as nervous as she was now. Around Dodge Hanley she became self-conscious, unsure, and at a loss for what to say and where to look.
Maybe it was a natural reaction to being in the company of a police officer. Drivers automatically tapped their brakes when they spotted a radar trap even when they weren't speeding. Perhaps it was Dodge's implied authority that intimidated her.
Or maybe she was still embarrassed over how he'd first seen her, with the effects of Roger's slap evident--the mark on her cheek fresh, the emotional impact of it equally raw. She'd been unable to hide her mortification then, and she couldn't now.
Perhaps her discomfiture had something to do not with her but with him. His strong features, tough bearing, and unmitigated masculinity hinted at the latent violent streak that she knew could be ferocious. After all, she'd seen the result of it. Roger had been hospitalized for ten days following the beating he took.
She didn't fear for her own safety, however. Dodge Hanley posed no threat to her, even by implication. In fact, his demeanor was protective, almost quaintly chivalrous. She felt a gravitational pull toward it that was entirely feminine.
It was that instinctual response to him that gave her butterflies. Being near him made her feel as if she was balancing on tiptoe at the end of a high diving board. By turns, it was exhilarating and terrifying.
All the time these thoughts were going through her mind, they'd been staring at each other. Needing to fill the dense silence, she asked, "Are you still on the task force?"
"They haven't kicked me off yet."
"So the crime remains unsolved?"
"We're working on it."
"Is it dangerous work?"
"Piece o' cake."
"I doubt that." Another silence descended while she stared at the cobweb in the corner just beyond his head, and he stared at her face. She could practically feel his eyes as they touched on each separate feature. "How's your partner?"