“I’d appreciate your help,” she said. “Thanks.”
He breathed an internal sigh of relief, but he gave nothing away on his face. The role reversal between them was ironic. Here he was, a former Navy SEAL, begging her to let him come along for the ride while she investigated. He’d follow her lead and have her back—with the definite bonus of being with her more.
“Where do we start?” he asked.
“The police won’t tell me anything more about the robber, so I need to follow another lead. Drew Castle at Castle Jewels has been after Mom and me to sell. He’s the only person I can think of who could be behind this. It makes sense, right? He wants to buy us out, so he tried to damage the business’s reputation and get it cheaper—with the added bonus of putting us in the position to want to sell.”
“You and your mom aren’t interested in selling?”
“Not at all.” She dismissed the suggestion. “And we’ve told him that repeatedly.”
Drew Castle quickly became a viable suspect in Zach’s mind. Jewelry stores were often in competition with each other, and he might make the error of thinking that the Evert women were easy marks.
“We’ll go there tomorrow,” Zach said. “I’ll act as your bodyguard.”
“That won’t work.” She chuckled. “Drew’ll think it ridiculous that I need protection. Not the right approach.”
Saying he was a friend seemed weak. He had another idea, but she might not like it. What the hell. He was going to suggest it anyway.
“How about we say I’m your fiancé, which gives me an interest in your business and a reason to be with you.”
“I…” She stopped herself, her face going pale.
He kept his gaze steady on hers. Neither one of them had brought up their engagement until then. The air thickened with unsaid words and the memories of their last conversation…when he’d slung his duffel over his shoulder and left the apartment they’d shared, her ultimatum still hanging between them.
“I guess that could work,” she said slowly.
“Good.” He controlled his urge to smile. “Let me help you clean up.” Their empty plates sat on the table, ignored while they made plans.
“I’ll take care of it.” She got to her feet and stacked plates.
He didn’t bother to argue with her. That was pointless. Actions worked better. He picked up the dishes and headed for the sink.
“Wash or dry?” he asked, turning on the water and filling the sink.
“Dishwasher,” she said, bumping her hip against the appliance, which had the effect of drawing his attention to her body again. “Just rinse.”
“Got it.” They took care of the dishes and wiped the counters in comfortable silence interrupted only by a gurgle coming from the baby monitor.
“Will he wake up?” Zach glanced at the machine in concern.
“Probably not.” She paused and listened. After a minute, all was peaceful. “He’s a sound sleeper once he’s out. He really is a great kid.”
“I can see that.” The kid was awesome, fun and happy. “It’s probably because he has you for a mom.”
She laughed. “You had something to do with his DNA, too.”
He shrugged off her compliment, not convinced that his genetic makeup was worth that much. He and his brothers were improving the family stock, but they were starting from a pretty low standard to begin with.
“I better go so you can get some sleep.” Her house was lights out by ten, he’d noted, but Austin’s bedroom light came back on by six in the morning.
“Thanks for having dinner with me,” she said as she walked him to the door. “It was nice.”
“It was.” He had his hand on the doorknob, the metal cool under his fingers. Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her like he used to when they were wild about each other and when he’d thought nothing could ever change that. He didn’t think she’d go for a passionate kiss, but she was lingering at the door with him. Maybe…
He leaned toward her, brushing his lips against hers in a soft kiss, giving them both a taste of what could be. “Good night,” he said and left before he was tempted to yank her to him and kiss her the way he yearned to. Something still simmered between them, but he’d wait until she was as ready as he to act on it.
He pulled away from the curb in front of her house, circled the block, and took up the position he’d held for the past nights to watch over her and Austin.
6
Castle Jewels did look classy. Its interior, once dominated by shades of brown, had been updated to an elegant green-and-gold scheme. As they walked in the door late the next afternoon, Carolyn nervously twisted the engagement ring she’d taken from her home safe. The pear-shaped diamond was beautiful in its platinum setting. She’d loved it the second Zach had slipped it on her finger during his proposal. Having it on brought back a slew of memories, many of them good…but not good enough to outweigh the fears she’d felt whenever Zach left on a mission.
Zach took her hand, lacing their fingers together. He’d noticed the ring. She’d seen his eyes go to it when he picked her up, but he’d said nothing. As their hands joined, she felt him finger the ring, almost as if to prove to himself it was real. He shot her a smile, the kind that made his blue eyes warm and playful. She thought of their kiss the evening before and how tempted she’d been to continue it. But she couldn’t be distracted by that. She had to focus on their reason for being there.
“Welcome to Castle Jewels.” A saleswoman approached them, assuming they were a couple and this was a good potential sale. “How may I help you today?”
“I’d like to see Mr. Castle, please.” She’d wanted to call ahead and make an appointment, but Zach had convinced her that surprise was a better method of gleaning the truth from people.
“I’m sure I can help you.” The woman glanced to a closed door at the rear of the store, making it clear that Drew Castle was in.
“I’m not shopping. I need to speak with him about business matters. Please tell him that Carolyn Evert would like to speak with him.”
A flicker of recognition crossed the woman’s face. She knew the name. “I’ll be right back.”
When they were alone, Carolyn looked in the nearest display case. The merchandise was lovely, very sophisticated, not altogether different from what her store offered. The stores were on par with each other in quality and taste, making them true competitors, which explained why Drew was trying to buy All That Sparkles.
“Carolyn.” Drew came to greet her. “Step into my office so we can talk.” He turned his attention to Zach, offering his hand. “Drew Castle. I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Zach Vale. I’m Carolyn’s fiancé.”
“Congratulations, then. I don’t suppose you’re shopping for a ring with us?” His eyes dropped to Carolyn’s hand, where the diamond sparkled. “I see you’ve taken care of that.”
“That’s not why we’re here,” Zach said. “If we could speak in private?”