Page 51 of Mine to Share
Her hazel eyes flicked up to me, peering through long dark lashes that weren’t goopy with mascara or as long as her hair with lash extensions. Damnit, Rain was so organically beautiful. If I looked long enough, I could see the faint scattering of freckles along the bridge of her tiny nose that faded along her cheekbones. And those eyes, when they locked on you, it was like a black fucking hole you wanted to dive into and never come up for air again.
“You mean how you gave me a migraine from the emotional whiplash?”
My heart sank. Fuck. I never meant to cause her pain. Damnit, this was just another tally mark under the reasons I couldn’t want more with her.
“Damnit, Rain,” I sighed and scrubbed a hand over my scruff-covered jaw. “I didn’t mean—”
She held up a hand, cutting me off. “Listen, I get it. At first, I was confused, but I’ve thought about it, and I think I know what’s going on.”
“You do,” I huffed. Both arms crossed over my chest, I leaned back and hitched my chin her way. “I’ll bite. Tell me, what’s your theory?”
Wiping her lips, she tossed the dirty napkin onto the empty plate where a burger and two orders of fries once sat. Damn, there was something sexy about a woman who wasn’t afraid to eat. Though I was slightly concerned about her cholesterol levels and possible Type 2 diabetes, considering all the sugar she consumed.
“A new guy comes into town, who I know, and boom, you’re actually treating me like a normal person.”
My brows pulled in tight. That made me sound like an asshole. And I could correct her and say her mentioning the date she went on was the actual trigger for breaking the professional facade I wore, but then that would show my hand more than I did yesterday in her office.
“So, the way I see it is you’re just competitive,” she continued. “I mean, that’s what made you good when you played hockey.”
“Football,” I grunted, but based on her responding grin, she knew that and was just messing with me.
“I don’t appreciate you peeing on me, so to say—”
“Who the fuck says that?”
“People.”
“I think you need to get out more, Dr. Evans.”
A wide smile broke across her gorgeous face, and I released a slow breath, taking in the beautiful woman across from me. This was Rain at her most stunning. All the stress of the day gone and that brilliant grin crinkling the edges of her eyes, making them somehow sparkle.
Oh hell, I was so lost on this woman, and she thought I was just trying to mark my fucking territory. A pang vibrated through my chest at the loss of something I’d never actually had. I pressed a fist to my sternum and rubbed to ease the pressure.
Shit, am I having a heart attack?
At least Rain was a doctor.
And could administer mouth-to-mouth.
Huh. Suddenly my heart stopping and me dying for a few seconds didn’t seem so bad.
“Anyway, like I said, I don’t appreciate it, but it was nice. I liked us acting like friends and not just coworkers. Normally I’m intimidated by you, all nervous because you’re you and I’m me.”What the fuck does that mean?I did not like the sound of that. “But yesterday was different, and it was nice. Really nice. So don’t worry, but I would love for this,” she said, motioning between us, “to keep going even after Jameson is gone. It’s nice having a friend, someone to talk to since everyone else treats me like the plague.”
Ah fuck.
“And I get that too. I’m the strange girl because of what I do. Just sometimes I wish what I enjoyed didn’t isolate me so much.”
And I was officially an asshole. All those cops I’d warned away apparently took my warnings a step further and just avoided her altogether instead of keeping their eyes, hands, and compliments to themselves.
“Rain,” I started, but I didn’t have words after that. Because what was there to say? If I admitted to what I did, she’d want to know why, and I highly doubted that she’d believe I was protecting her.
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. Just, like I said, don’t go back to being a grumpy detective all the time. I think that would hurt worse than that flicker of hope that sparked yesterday that you might actually reciprocate how I feel for you being extinguished with reality.”
Okay, I went to college. I wasn’t a dumb man, but…
What the hell did she just say?
Those were a lot of big words used in a very complex sentence. If it didn’t make me feel like an idiot, I’d ask her to write it on a napkin so I could break it down at my own much slower pace.