Edgy is all.”
He put a hand beneath her hair and held the back of her neck. “You said you weren’t worried.”
Eileen held quite still. Her scalp tightened and she felt as if a subtle breeze lifted her hair. They might be trying to pretend they had no physical effect on each other, but it was a lie.
If she told Angel about Chuck, how would he react? He’d never understand that she couldn’t just brush it off. “I’m not worried,” she told Angel. He rubbed her neck and she shivered. When she glanced at him, he was frowning.
“Is there anything you’re not telling me?” he said.
She looked at the floor.
“Eileen?”
“Leave it. When I can talk about it, I will.”
He took her by the hand and led her into the stockroom. Once there, he turned her to face him and held her shoulders. “Not good enough. What is it?”
She kept her gaze on his chest.
“C’mon,” he said quietly. “Don’t do this to me.” He kissed her cheek, pushed her hair away from her left ear and stroked his thumb across it.
“Stop it,” Eileen said, without conviction. He had bad timing, choosing tonight to make moves on her.
“I’d rather not stop.” He pulled her against him. “I’ve already waited too long.”
“Christian, don’t.” He was a big man. If he decided to hold you, you were held.
“Sorry—I think we both need a little warmth sometimes.” He stepped back at once, but still held her arms and made it uncomfortable to look at him. It would be more uncomfortable to look away. “You’ve got a gun in your pocket,” he said.
She felt her face heat up. “Yes, I have.”
“I didn’t know you owned one.”
“You’re the one who’s always saying that even people in quiet places like Pointe Judah should take precautions.”
His fingers tightened on her arms. “Do you carry all the time?”
This was the problem when you hung around with a man who had interrogated people for a living. “No.”
“You keep a gun in the shop?”
She tried to wrench away but he didn’t let her go. “Yes. Are we done now?”
“And tonight you decided you needed to be armed when you went out to do this business in your van you talk about?”
Eileen looked him in the eye. She felt the prickle of tears and blinked several times. “This conversation is over.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Leave it, okay? Just leave it.” Chuck had driven away. What if he’d come back and was skulking around outside, hoping she’d leave on her own?
“I’m sorry I’m so snappy,” she said.
“Me, too.” He looked at her mouth. “Do you want me to leave?”
She shook her head. He was sending her messages he’d kept under wraps before. Or perhaps she subconsciously wanted that to be true.
“You sure you don’t want to tell me what’s on your mind?” he said.
She wasn’t sure, but she’d wait anyway.
“Eileen, would this be a bad time to talk about us, too?”
He’d done a great job of behaving like Aaron’s strong, benevolent uncle and her friend. And he’d done the things a woman wished for when she wanted to know a man.
He dropped his hands.
“No it’s not a bad time,” she told him, lying. She laughed a little. “We are so grown-up about things. I’m proud of us. We should get a prize for being reasonable.” And if she concentrated on something else, she wouldn’t keep trying to figure out what Chuck might or might not plan to do.
“As soon as we’re sure the boys are at your place, why don’t we go to the Boardroom for a drink?” Angel said. “And something to eat. The music’s good. We might even dance.”
“Dance? You told me you can’t dance.” Going to a club didn’t appeal to her much, but she said, “Yes. Looks like Delia and Sarah Board have a success on their hands with that place.” He was asking her out on a date. They’d had meals together before, in places like Ona’s, but there had never been any planned dates.
Located in the middle of Pointe Judah, the Boardroom had been open just a few months. It revved up when the town revved down and there was nothing else like it around.
Delia owned a cosmetics firm with offices and labs around the country but liked living in Pointe Judah. Her daughter, Sarah, was a chemist at the local lab and the club had been her idea.
Eileen hitched her bag over her shoulder and turned out the lights in the stockroom. “I’ve got extra help coming in tomorrow and I need it. It’s easy enough to get part-time people but I need someone full-time.”
“You’re working too hard,” Angel said. “Why don’t you put the gun in your purse if you’re going to keep on carrying the thing? It could fall out of your pocket.”
She did as he suggested without comment.
“Give me a couple more minutes,” Angel said. “If you don’t want to say anything, at least listen.”
In the darkness, piles of boxes loomed all around and unpacked merchandise was piled high on tables. Much of the stuff on the tables sparkled, even in the gloom. Eileen glanced at the high windows but all she saw was rain speckles heavy enough to make the glass look pebbled in the glow of the icicle lights at the roofline.
“Eileen?”
“Okay. Sorry I got distracted.”
“Something’s wrong—something you’re not telling me.”
When he nailed her like this she felt trapped. “And I told you I’ll talk about it when I can.”
“What’s changed?” he said, ever persistent. “If there’s something to be worried about I need to know what it is or I can’t help.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.” Yet. And there probably wouldn’t be. “Angel, has Sonny done jail time?”
A silence followed and went on so long she wished she’d kept her mouth shut.
“No, he hasn’t,” Angel said, opening the door again. “What made you think he had?”
“Oh, forget I said anything. He’s a lot more mature than Aaron and sometimes I worry there could be things Aaron doesn’t need to know yet, that’s all.”
