they wanted to or not. Fortunately, the Greene family was interested in getting help any way they could. Their daughter had been missing for well over a year; any additional offer of assistance not only was welcomed but revived hope in what had become a hopeless situation.
Tomorrow they would interview the Bradfords, who weren’t going to be as cooperative. Yes, they loved their daughter and wanted her back home. However, Anna’s parents were in the middle of a bitter divorce, and talking with Honor and Seth was apparently one more thing they couldn’t agree on.
She would be meeting with Anna’s mother. Seth would go to the next town over and talk with the young woman’s father.
After those interviews, it would be on to the colleges the girls had attended.
Opting not to wash her hair, since blowing it dry would take too long, she finished her shower and was ready to dress in minutes. She stood at the closet and barely paused for thought before selecting a light blue pantsuit. Seth used to tease her about her pantsuits, telling her she must have a closet full of them. The first time he’d spent the night with her, he had discovered how right he’d been in his assessment of her wardrobe. She still remembered the morning he’d walked buck naked into her closet, thinking it was the bathroom. He’d turned on the light and burst out laughing. Seth had a great laugh.
Her eyes rolling at where her thoughts had once again headed, she dressed quickly. Makeup was a light foundation, mascara to darken her lashes, and a colorless lip gloss. Pulling her hair back into a low ponytail, she stepped back to access her appearance. Unimaginative and much too bland, but also coolly professional—an image that would inspire confidence in others. Not only that—seeing Seth again had put her emotions into a tail-spin. Dressing in this manner gave her a much-needed feeling of normalcy.
She fastened a side holster at her waist, slid her SIG Sauer inside the pocket, and snapped the buckle. Shrugging into her jacket, she stepped back once more and gave a final nod of approval. Attractive, competent, and businesslike. In no way did she reveal that her insides were experiencing a mild earthquake at the thought that, in a few minutes, she would see Seth again.
Get a grip, Stone . Satisfied with the mini-chastisement, she turned away.
She had deliberately not listened when Seth had checked in, not wanting to know where he would be sleeping. When she opened her hotel room door, she froze. A lot of good that had done; Seth was coming out of his room right across from her.
As if he had known her thoughts moments before, his eyes swept up and down in a hot, thorough glance. “Nice pantsuit. New one?”
The glare Honor shot him could’ve melted his gun. Now, what the hell had he done to set her off?
Mentally shrugging at the intricacies and intriguing layers of the beautiful woman glaring daggers at him, he headed to the elevator. “You want to grab dinner after we talk to the Greenes?”
Honor entered the elevator first. The instant the doors closed, she said, “I think we need to do more than just have dinner.”
Seth went hard instantly. Did she mean …? He snuck a glance at her face. Of course she didn’t. Her beautiful face held an expression he’d seen more than once when they were dating. She had questions and wanted answers. And hell, if anyone deserved answers, wasn’t it this woman?
He nodded. “You’re right.”
She released a long sigh, as if she’d been holding her breath. Had she thought he would refuse? Probably. Their last time together hadn’t exactly been pleasant. He’d said things he never expected forgiveness for.
Despite how he’d hurt her, he knew it couldn’t have ended any other way. Not only would Honor’s career have been permanently tarnished if they’d stayed together, but Clemmons would have gladly used her to manipulate Seth. And if the man had tried that, the game would have been up. No
C. J. Cherryh
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