The smell hits me before recognition of the voices does. I would have known where I am even without identifying two of the three people talking.
“Linc? Elle?” I groan at the bright lights of what turns out to be the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that you’re an asshole,” the third speaker snarls at me. He’s a tall man with skin the color of chocolate and eyes to match, dark curls framing his masculine features. It takes me only a second before I recognize him from the photos Elle showed Carmine. It’s the sculptor, Connor.
“I don’t…” I start, justifying that I have no idea what he’s talking about, only to frown when fuzzy memories start surfacing. One such hazy occurrence is the line of epically dickish proportions I dropped on Elle. “Shit. Eloise, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry I slammed the door on your face,” Elle answers in a croaky voice, and I notice her eyes are puffy and red as well, tears welling in them as she speaks.
“Are you kidding? I’m surprised you didn’t leave me lying in the corridor, or call the police,” I hurry to try and assure her.
“I am the police, you creatine,” Lincoln snaps, his ice-blond strands shaking about with the motion of his head. “I’m sorry, Elle, this is my fault. I should have made sure the dumbass actually got into the house.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, detective.” Connor places a hand on Lincoln’s muscular arm as he fawns over him. “We will, however, understand if you’re in the market for new friends.”
“Stop hitting on him, Connor. He isn’t gay.” Elle rolls her eyes fondly. “I caught those baby-blues staring my ass at least three times.”
“Don’t stop, Con.” Lincoln winks with a chuckle. “I’m not gay, that much is true, but I’m confident enough in my sexuality to take a compliment for what it is, especially from a good-looking man like yourself.”
“Oh my.” Connor fans himself excessively. “Elle, I’m in love.”
“And I’m still here,” I remind them, starting to get pissed off about this conversation, the part about Linc checking out Elle’s ass being the most significant irritation factor thus far. He’s a good-looking guy and has that naughty boy vibe that comes complete with a signature up-to-no-good grin. The last thing I want is Linc throwing his irresistible charms Elle’s direction.
“I’d like to have a word with Elle, privately,” I announce.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Declan,” Elle whispers, wringing the end of her sleeves. “We need to keep working together, and I don’t want to risk making things worse by dwelling on a stupid drunken mistake.”
“Okay,” I concede, because, frankly, I’m not sure what I want to say to her. “I, uh...” I sigh and rub a hand over my jaw. “Sorry seems a bit of a cop-out.”
Lincoln seems to feel sorry for me, his brows drawn together as he looks me over. “Come on, Dec. I’ll take you home.” He turns back to Eloise and Connor. “It was a pleasure meeting both of you, I hope we can do this again under better circumstances.”
“Thank you for coming over at such an hour, Linc.” Elle circles the table and throws her arms around Linc’s neck in a tight hug.
“Anytime, gorgeous.” Lincoln winks with a wide grin, the one that tends to scramble a girl’s brain. Though the only one in the room who seems to be affected is Connor.
“Detective, you tuck those pearly whites away, or you will have death by overdose of charm on your hands.”
“I like him,” Linc directs at Elle, who is laughing uncontrollably and shaking her head, the sound relieving some of the tension in the air.
“I’ll see you in the office?” I ask Elle, and she nods with a small smile.
Once we’re in the car, Lincoln turns to me with a mix of anger and bewilderment. “Holy fuck, Dec. What in the world possessed you to knock on that poor girl’s door at 11 PM on a Tuesday?”
“About five fingers of bourbon.”
“Elle called me from your phone, which means she has your password, and we are totally going to talk about that once I’m done chewing you out.” Linc gives me a pointed look and starts the engine. “She was sobbing like crazy; I thought you were dead. Thank God Connor was there. I’m not equipped to handle this crap, you asshole, so you better get your shit together, or next time I’m going to arrest you.”
“Noted,” I clip, rubbing my aching forehead.
“What did you say to her that made her crack your skull open, anyway?”
“The details are a bit fuzzy, and I’d rather not repeat what I do remember.”
Linc drives in silence until we stop at a red light, then turns to look at me. “You have it bad, Dec. And Elle really likes you, too, God knows why. I’d give a kidney for something like that, and all you’re risking is a stupid job.”
“My job isn’t stupid,” I grumble. “And it’s Elle’s job too.”
“You understand what I’m saying, asshole,” Linc huffs in frustration. “And get your damn jealousy under control, Dec.”
Jealousy. So that’s what the weird annoyance toward everyone who dared look at Elle was.
“I’ll fix it,” I promise, more to myself than to anyone else. “Whatever it takes.”
8
Eloise
There’s something eerie about being in the office alone at 8 PM. But I don’t have a choice. Our deadline is fast approaching, and since I’ve been leaving earlier than usual to avoid being alone with Declan, I’m totally backlogged.
“Elle?” Declan’s voice from the door of my office makes me jump with a shriek. “Sorry, I’m sorry!” he hurries to apologize.
“What are you doing here?” My heart is still racing like crazy as I attempt to calm my breathing. “I thought you took off early for a doctor’s appointment.”
“I did. I forgot my laptop,” he explains, showing me the computer in his hand. “I saw the lights on in your office, and I thought you’d forgotten to turn them off.”
“No. Just catching up on my workload for the Bleeker account.”
“A workload created because of me?” Declan asks ruefully, and I respond by pursing my lips and looking away. “I’ve been trying to give you your space, at least until I figure out how to fix this.”
“I know, right?” I huff in annoyance. “We worked so well together before… It’s so stupid to toss that away because of one stupid drunken mistake.”
“Work?” He frowns. “Screw work, Eloise. I’m talking about fixing us.”
“What us, Declan?” I start losing my cool, my voice raising an octave, and I throw my hands up in exasperation. “There is no us. We kissed. Once. That’s it.”
“Yes, Elle, that was it,” Declan agrees, taking a step toward me with blazing eyes and tossing his computer on one of the armchairs. “That was the biggest it moment I have ever had because despite the crooked way I chose to say it, everything I said that night was true. You’ve been plaguing my thoughts since I met you. I’ve been wanting to kiss you that way all year, Elle. Christ, can’t you see how head over heels I am for you?”