Page 59 of Lost Lake
“Want some help?”
Did she? She’d already spent way too much time with him today, and if he came to her place, the setting would be far more intimate. She would meet with him at the office, but Mina wouldn’t be happy about El not taking her advice to go home.
“Please,” he said, the desperation in his tone cutting into her. “I won’t be able to sleep tonight anyway, and two heads are better than one.”
She still wasn’t ready to say yes.
“Besides,” he continued, “won’t you want to see Hayden’s report on Mason?”
No fair. He knew she did. “Can’t you email it to me?”
“I could, but I think it would be better if we reviewed it together.” His words were a suggestion, but his tone was firm as concrete.
No way she’d convince him that working together wasn’t a good idea, and there was no point in arguing. “Give me an hour then come over.”
She ended the call, instantly regretting giving in. She would have to be more on guard than ever, because finding Lucy was far more important than thinking about a potential relationship with Gabe.
13
Gabe knocked on the front door of El’s house, thinking it resembled her in many ways. She wasn’t square and boxy like her small ranch, but she was no-nonsense. No frills. Basic, like the colors she wore even off duty. Not that he’d seen her off duty more than a couple of times. She certainly didn’t dress flashy, but fit in well with her nondescript house, painted a simple green and white.
The door swung in. El stood before him, her hand on the knob and her hair hanging wet to her shoulders. Ah, they thought alike and she’d showered too. He’d not only needed to wash away the crime of the day, but to eliminate the cobwebs in his brain for a long night ahead.
She’d dressed in a rust-colored sweater and baggy jeans, her bare toes poking from under the hem. She looked far more casual than he’d ever seen. Soft and curvy and way more approachable. A good thing, and yet not a good thing.
He steeled his resolve to keep this evening all business and held out a pizza he’d grabbed on the way. “I didn’t have time for dinner and figured you might not have either.”
Flashing a generous smile that went straight to Gabe’s heart, she leaned toward the box and inhaled deeply. “Bless you for thinking of that.” Apparently unaware of her effect on him, she spun. “Follow me, and I’ll get some plates and drinks.”
She led him into the combined living-dining room. “Have a seat, and I’ll be right back.”
Before he could ask her about the many moving boxes in the room stacked to the ceiling, she went into the kitchen. He placed the pizza on her glossy white table and set the reports he carried next to it, then sat in one of the green velvet chairs. She’d decorated the place in oranges, greens, and mustards, totally different from her work wardrobe.
Surprising. Maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. Nah. He knew the important things. Maybe not her decorating style, but the person deep inside. Still, what was up with the boxes? There were even more in the living area.
She rushed into the room, carrying green plates, napkins, and a pitcher of water along with two glasses.
“So, the moving boxes,” he said and reached for the pizza box. “Coming or going?”
She quickly laid things out. “Neither.”
“So, you just moved in then?”
“I’ve been here for almost a year but haven’t had a chance to finish everything.” She poured the water. “The job, you know? Takes up all my time, and I pretty much only sleep here.”
“But you had time to paint, right?”
“Not me. Hired a painter to do the walls before I moved anything in. Figured if I didn’t have time to finish the place the way I wanted, I’d at least have something that made it look like it was mine.”
“I like your choice of colors.”
“Thanks. I’m a big mid-century modern fan, and it took me a while to find a house that fit my aesthetics.”
He opened the pizza box and pushed it closer to her. “I didn’t know what kind you liked so I got pepperoni. Figured it’s easy enough to remove if you didn’t like it.”
“I love pepperoni.” She grabbed two large slices and put them on her plate, then dropped into the chair across from him. She chomped off a large bite and pointed at the documents he’d brought. She swallowed. “That Hayden’s report?”
He’d also grabbed a few slices, one of which he’d taken a large bite from, and nodded. Before he could swallow and say anything, she reached for the report and started reading.
