the low sound made her stomach do a funny flip.
She sat up straight. “You didn’t say why you’re calling. I mean, I’m going to see you tonight, right? Unless you’ve changed you mind.” Oh, hell, that didn’t come out right. It sounded like she’d be disappointed if he canceled. “Not that I’d mind. If you’ve changed your mind, I mean. I don’t know what you could possibly learn from hanging out with me anyway, and—”
“Oh, I’m still coming over. I was just calling to ask where I could buy a good veggie pizza since I don’t know the local pizza joints.”
“Oh, of course!” She planted her face in her palm for a second.
“Left to my own devices, I’d just grab a pizza at the first place I spotted,” he said, “but something tells me you might be a little more discriminating.”
“Good call.” Keeping her tone light, she gave him the name of the local mom-and-pop pizzeria she and Josh usually patronized. “Get the thin crust multigrain. It’ll make a believer out of you.”
“I expect it’ll make me believe it would be really good with some Italian sausage.”
She laughed. “We’ll see.” She checked her watch. “Whoops, gotta go. I have to get back to the ER.”
“See you tonight.”
His low-voiced words sent a thrill forking through her.
Before she could stutter out something stupid, she said, “ ’Kay, bye,” and hung up.
Oh, man. She must be more tired than she thought. She resolved then and there to grab a nap after work. To face Boyd McBride at less than full strength would not be smart. The more she saw of him, the more her body hummed with sexual awareness. Which was totally weird. The guy was an exact duplicate, genetically speaking, of Josh, her best friend, a brother figure. While she’d have to be blind not to have seen that Josh was a great-looking guy, she’d never once reacted to him like she did to his brother, not even when he’d kissed her that time.
She’d been ignoring her reaction to Boyd, suppressing it. But denial was not her style. Well, not in recent years. She’d tried that once and had promised herself never again. Much better to acknowledge the problem.
Then she could go back to ignoring it consciously, in full self-awareness.
Yeah, she was definitely going to need that nap.
CHAPTER 7
Boyd was a few minutes early for his two thirty appointment with Dave Bradley, which was just as well. His appearance at reception caused a bit of a stir among the ladies behind the counter, to the obvious puzzlement of a young man who was trying to place his classified ad. Of course, the guy couldn’t know that the ladies were looking at the spitting image of their dead coworker.
“I’m so sorry about your brother,” the receptionist said when he’d introduced himself. “He was very popular here. The departments don’t mix much, but he always had a cheerful word for us.”
Boyd smiled. “That sounds like Josh.” He glanced around. “Where would I find Dave Bradley? I’m a few minutes early, but he should be expecting me.”
She gestured to the glass-walled cubicles to the left, where people worked in plain view of everyone else. “There. Far side, front end.”
“Tan shirt and glasses, on the phone?”
“That’s him.”
“Thank you.” He pushed away from the counter and strode purposefully toward the cubicles. The closer he got, the louder the voices got, as individuals tried to make themselves heard over other conversations and the pervasive background racket of some type of machine.
Bradley looked up and spotted him. He concluded his phone conversation and met Boyd just outside the entrance to his cubicle.
“Dave Bradley,” he said, extending his hand. “And you, Detective McBride, don’t need an introduction. Not in this building.”
Boyd shook the man’s hand, sizing him up. His grip was firm, but his hands were soft, as the rest of him appeared to be. Not overweight, but not gym material either. Curly dark hair, worn in
She sat up straight. “You didn’t say why you’re calling. I mean, I’m going to see you tonight, right? Unless you’ve changed you mind.” Oh, hell, that didn’t come out right. It sounded like she’d be disappointed if he canceled. “Not that I’d mind. If you’ve changed your mind, I mean. I don’t know what you could possibly learn from hanging out with me anyway, and—”
“Oh, I’m still coming over. I was just calling to ask where I could buy a good veggie pizza since I don’t know the local pizza joints.”
“Oh, of course!” She planted her face in her palm for a second.
“Left to my own devices, I’d just grab a pizza at the first place I spotted,” he said, “but something tells me you might be a little more discriminating.”
“Good call.” Keeping her tone light, she gave him the name of the local mom-and-pop pizzeria she and Josh usually patronized. “Get the thin crust multigrain. It’ll make a believer out of you.”
“I expect it’ll make me believe it would be really good with some Italian sausage.”
She laughed. “We’ll see.” She checked her watch. “Whoops, gotta go. I have to get back to the ER.”
“See you tonight.”
His low-voiced words sent a thrill forking through her.
Before she could stutter out something stupid, she said, “ ’Kay, bye,” and hung up.
Oh, man. She must be more tired than she thought. She resolved then and there to grab a nap after work. To face Boyd McBride at less than full strength would not be smart. The more she saw of him, the more her body hummed with sexual awareness. Which was totally weird. The guy was an exact duplicate, genetically speaking, of Josh, her best friend, a brother figure. While she’d have to be blind not to have seen that Josh was a great-looking guy, she’d never once reacted to him like she did to his brother, not even when he’d kissed her that time.
She’d been ignoring her reaction to Boyd, suppressing it. But denial was not her style. Well, not in recent years. She’d tried that once and had promised herself never again. Much better to acknowledge the problem.
Then she could go back to ignoring it consciously, in full self-awareness.
Yeah, she was definitely going to need that nap.
CHAPTER 7
Boyd was a few minutes early for his two thirty appointment with Dave Bradley, which was just as well. His appearance at reception caused a bit of a stir among the ladies behind the counter, to the obvious puzzlement of a young man who was trying to place his classified ad. Of course, the guy couldn’t know that the ladies were looking at the spitting image of their dead coworker.
“I’m so sorry about your brother,” the receptionist said when he’d introduced himself. “He was very popular here. The departments don’t mix much, but he always had a cheerful word for us.”
Boyd smiled. “That sounds like Josh.” He glanced around. “Where would I find Dave Bradley? I’m a few minutes early, but he should be expecting me.”
She gestured to the glass-walled cubicles to the left, where people worked in plain view of everyone else. “There. Far side, front end.”
“Tan shirt and glasses, on the phone?”
“That’s him.”
“Thank you.” He pushed away from the counter and strode purposefully toward the cubicles. The closer he got, the louder the voices got, as individuals tried to make themselves heard over other conversations and the pervasive background racket of some type of machine.
Bradley looked up and spotted him. He concluded his phone conversation and met Boyd just outside the entrance to his cubicle.
“Dave Bradley,” he said, extending his hand. “And you, Detective McBride, don’t need an introduction. Not in this building.”
Boyd shook the man’s hand, sizing him up. His grip was firm, but his hands were soft, as the rest of him appeared to be. Not overweight, but not gym material either. Curly dark hair, worn in
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