A Perfect Storm
Page 45

“I want to go on the record here.”
“I’m listening.”
Reaching out, he fingered the hem of her short skirt. His knuckles brushed the inside of her right thigh and stilled her pounding heartbeat. “You don’t need this.” He nodded at her top. “Or that. You can wear your jeans and a regular top of some kind, and I swear to you, every straight guy around will go on alert.”
Interesting. “You’re sure of that?”
“Positive.”
“What if he’s a guy like Trace or Jackson—”
“They noticed.” He trailed a fingertip over her knee…and then dropped his hand. “The difference is that they can appreciate how you look without thinking to take advantage of you, or put the make on you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Blowing out an exasperated breath, he looked out the window, studying the area around them. “Arizona…” He worked his jaw before stabbing her with a look of determination. “I’m going to have to insist.”
“You’re doing a lot of that.”
“Sorry, but I’m only a man, and I’m doing my best here.”
She had no idea what he meant.
“I don’t want to push you.”
“And if I’m dressed sexy, you might?”
“When you dress like that, I have a harder time concentrating on what it is I want to do.”
“Like tease me?” Oh, God, now she was putting ideas in his head!
“Exactly.” He smiled with anticipation. “And speaking of that… You cursed.”
Oh, no, she wouldn’t let him get away with that. “But you did first, so we canceled each other out.”
“Doesn’t work that way.” Somehow, without seeming to move, he crowded closer again. “Our bet was that you would curb your language, and pay a price whenever you didn’t.”
Refusing to act uncertain, she lifted her chin. “Fine. I owe ya one.” He started to lean in, and she straight-armed him. “But you’ll have to collect later.”
He immediately stopped.
Nice. Not that she’d expected him to do otherwise. “I’ll pay up, but fair is fair—so you owe me, too.”
He sat back, his left wrist draped over the steering wheel, his right arm along the back of the seat. After a moment of consideration, he shrugged. “What do you want?”
“Details.”
“Not a problem.” He gave her a lazy, indulgent smile. “I was going to tell you all I could about the Green Goose anyway.”
Arizona shook her head. “Not those details.”
“No?” His right eyebrow lifted. “Then what?”
“We’ll cover that later, too.” Satisfied by his frown, she opened the bag of fast food, and fragrant steam wafted out. “Mmm. Let’s eat before the burgers get cold.” She handed him his share of the food, then opened up the fries and set them on the console between them.
Large trees shaded their parking spot, so Spencer rolled down the windows to let in the fresh September air. Birds flitted from tree to tree. Bees buzzed. A breeze teased past.
“It’s such a pretty day after the storms.”
With a sound of agreement, Spencer opened the burger and took a big bite. While she dug in, too, she watched him, amazed at how quickly he consumed his food. She imagined it took a lot of fuel to keep a guy his size going.
While studying his profile, Arizona again noted the permanent damage done to the bridge of his nose. “How did you break your nose?”
His gaze, which had been focused off in the distance, cut to her. He finished chewing another big bite of his burger, then touched the bridge of his nose with two fingertips. “It bothers you?”
Arizona snorted. “No.” Not much could detract from his good looks. He was the whole package, not just a handsome face. “Actually, it makes you look rugged.”
That earned her a crooked smile. “If you say so.” He grabbed a few more fries.
“So what happened? Walk me through it.”
“There’s not much to tell.” He half turned, getting comfortable with his shoulders propped against the door. “I was closing in on this guy, Willy Glassman. A world-class jerk. Domestic abuse, battery, resisting arrest… You name it, and old Willy was probably guilty of it. After he skipped out on his bail, I tracked him for weeks. Finally found him, too, in this old farmhouse sitting out in the middle of nowhere. He and a couple of buddies were on the front porch, going through a case of beer.”
“Buddies?”
“I found out later they were his brother and a cousin. They were all three loud, drunk, and I was figuring out how to grab Willy with the least amount of fuss…” He trailed off, shook his head.
“What?” Rarely had she seen Spencer look so imposing. “Something happened?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, he thought for a second, then grabbed up his milk shake. Arizona gave him time to sort through things. She knew better than most how lousy some memories could be.
“I got sidetracked.”
The way he said that, it almost sounded like… “The guy got away?”
“Yeah.” Putting his head back against the window, Spencer narrowed his eyes and firmed his mouth. “I never did catch him. Someone else eventually brought him in.”
Incredulity took her breath. Because Spencer was a lot like her—determined to succeed—Arizona knew that wouldn’t sit right with him. He was not a person who took failure lightly. Whatever had sidetracked him had to be good. “What happened?”