Chapter 13
Zoe stared at it for a long moment. Began to reach for it, then laced her fingers together behind her back. She knew better than to touch the charm.
Spence had rendered her mindless last night. Apparently, some of the effects had lingered.
“Was this one of your original charms?” he asked, sweeping his index finger down the center of her palm. A sweet gesture? Or a warning for her not to touch it? She’d bet it was a warning. Spence didn’t seem like the type to be demonstrative on the job. And he was most definitely on the job, even if there wasn’t anyone else in the room.
“It was,” Zoe said, staring at it. She could see the little nicks in the metal around the hole, where she’d tried to insert the lock key.
Zoe couldn’t remember the stories behind some of the charms, but she remembered this one vividly. She’d forgotten her keys one day in eighth grade and had sat on the porch for three hours before her mom had gotten home. She’d complained loudly to her mother, who’d told her that maybe now she’d remember to take her keys when she left for school in the morning. Her mom had given her both the lock and the key a few days later.
“You look like you’re far away,” Spence said after a long moment.
She lifted her head. Smiled at him. “Remembering why my mom gave me the lock and key charms.”
“Forgot your keys, right?”
“How’d you guess?”
He shrugged. “Kids forget their keys. I forgot mine so often that my parents hid a key beneath the porch. If I wanted to get into the house, I had to crawl through the mud beneath the porch. Wash my muddy clothes myself.” He smiled. “Knowing that focused me on remembering them. I hated doing laundry. Still not my favorite chore.”
“Really?” She lifted her gaze from the charm to study him. “I love doing laundry. It’s easy and orderly. And the clothes smell so good when they come out of the dryer.” If she was sure he wouldn’t take it the wrong way, she’d offer to do his laundry with hers.
But she kept her mouth shut, because she was certain the offer would be dangerously close to emotional ties. And it would freak him out.
“You want me to call Officer Woods?” Spence said.
“Thank you,” she said, taking another look at the lock. “I’ll get some gloves and replace it in the packaging.”
“No, let me do that,” he said, grabbing her hands. “I’d like to take a closer look at it.”
For a moment, she savored the sensation of his hands holding hers. Then she tugged them away. “Fine,” she said, shrugging.
Spence pulled on a new pair of the vinyl gloves and picked up the charm. Studied it for a long time, then replaced the lock in the packaging. When it was securely wrapped up, he pulled out his phone and dialed Lindsay Woods. Moments later, he said, “Spence Flynn here, Officer. Zoe received another charm today. I’m leaving it with Bob, the building’s security guard.”
He listened for a moment, then said, “Thanks,” and hung up.
“She’ll be by soon. I’ll take it down to Bob.” He stood with the package in his hand and studied her for a long moment. “You didn’t have much of a reaction to seeing the charm today. How come?”
Zoe shrugged one shoulder. “I was expecting it, for one thing.” She smiled at him and murmured, “And things are different now.”
“Not that different,” he said equally quietly. “We’re at your office. We both have to behave exactly the same way we behaved yesterday. Unless you want everyone to know what’s going on between us.”
No, she didn’t want anyone to figure out what they’d been up to last night. She didn’t want the knowing looks. The smirks. The ‘what happened’ questions when Spence returned to Montana.
No. She just wanted to enjoy having Spence in her bed every night. She’d enjoy the hell out of him, and make sure he had a good time, too. Until he walked away when Ethan was caught.
All her affairs had an expiration date, and this one did, too. Knowing that their time was limited would make the nights they spent together hotter. Sexier. More memorable.
And the fact that he’d made her body sing like no other man had ever done before? He’d still walk away, and she’d miss him like hell when he did.
Holding the small package in his hand, he headed for the door. “I’ll be right back after I drop this off with Bob.”
She nodded, and he slipped out the door, closing it softly behind himself. She stared at the door for a long moment, thinking about all they’d done last night, until she shook her head to clear her thoughts. If she sat here mooning about Spence, Janet would pick up on it immediately. So she pulled the stack of mail over and began to sort through it.
By the time she’d opened all the envelopes and sorted them into two piles -- have Janet respond and one she needed to deal with herself, Spence walked back into her office. “Lindsay was there when I got downstairs. She didn’t get anything from yesterday’s charm, but she wants you to keep calling her. Maybe Davies will get careless.”
“Maybe,” Zoe said. “But I doubt it. Ethan was always smart. He was almost as good at coding as I was.” She shook her head. “If he hadn’t… gone off the rails, he’d be making a good living in the computer industry.”