balance between cajoling and flat-out directing.
Their landlady owned the rubies free and clear and had put them in the care of the women for safe-keeping. Since they were hers to do with as she wished, he had no power to take the gems.
So instead, he’d stuck close, watching and waiting while the women tried to put their business back to rights and get on with their lives.
They might wish the problem had corrected itself but he knew whomever had struck, desperate to have the gems, was sure to have another go at it.
Lilah gave him the eye as he reached for another of her delicious cookies, the calculation clear in those brown depths. “You don’t like what we’re doing?”
“Hell no.” Reed eyed the madeleines, considered a third before he shoved a hand into his pocket. “The people who want those jewels mean business. And they’re not going to let anyone stand in their way.”
“The rubies give us leverage.”
“There is no leverage when you’re dead, Cupcake.”
* * *
Lilah waited for something to register—some fear at the deep, masculine voice that spoke at her, full of righteous frustration—but all she could manage was a delicious little shiver.
Despite the danger inherent in their situation and the threat that hung over them all, she still felt safe. Protected. And, if she were honest, she also felt that sly, subtle shiver of attraction that fired the blood every time she looked into those haunting gray eyes fringed by thick, dark lashes.
All because of the man standing opposite her.
Reed.
No, she mentally chided herself, it was Detective Graystone. Which really was the more professional way to think of him.
Lilah knew it bothered him she’d hung on to the ruby. His frustration had been on display multiple times since she and her business partners had found the gems buried in the concrete floor of their wedding business, yet he always maintained a professional demeanor and a polite attitude.
Which only made her want to muss him up.
She didn’t trust men who projected absolute control, yet she couldn’t deny the appeal of the stoic cop. Nor could she fully deny he was spot on with the rubies, one of which was still warm from her body heat.
A situation she knew she needed to fix, even as she couldn’t quite deny the need to keep the ruby in her possession. Yes, the stone fascinated her, the good detective wasn’t wrong about that. But it was something more.
She’d lived without any control—or a single bargaining chip—for too long. The idea of placing that control in a safe-deposit box nagged at her.
So while she battled the rational versus the instinctual, she kept the ruby buried in her shoe.
And despite their danger, she couldn’t deny how the stones had brought a sense of closure to her best friend, Cassidy.
Even more important, they’d brought with them the love of Cassidy’s life, Tucker Buchanan.
Another delicious shiver pulled her from the thoughts of Cassidy and Tucker as her gaze caught Reed’s. The man was an interesting one, she mused. Physically impressive, with a broad chest and narrow waist, he wore authority in every muscle and sinew of his body. But it was more than the physical.
Quiet, calm and decidedly by the book, he’d been assigned their case after the first break-in the week before. He’d been professional, and she, Cassidy and Violet had also seen how much he cared about his job.
Reed Graystone was a good cop.
It wove around his shoulders like a mantle, telegraphing his desire to protect and defend.
But none of it changed the ornery need to poke at him. Lilah knew it was no use to pick a fight but the tension of the past week had begun to fray everyone’s edges. So she stood her ground and allowed her eyebrows to take a decided lift north. “Cupcake? Is this the sort of sexist nickname you use with all the women in your life? Or is it some derogatory reference to my profession?”
Another cookie disappeared between his lips, followed by a wicked grin a few short moments later. “I’d never insult a woman who spins sugar into gold.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Tucker’s partner, Max Baldwin, with an empty plate in hand. He was as large as Reed—larger, actually, his figure thicker and boxy—and their impressive forms seemed to fill up her kitchen, making the vast space appear small. Max’s bright blue eyes narrowed as they roved over Reed. “Are there any more of these bacon cheese puffs, Lilah?”
She didn’t miss Reed’s raised eyebrows but the detective said nothing as she reached for a fresh tray of Max’s favorite appetizers she’d kept warming on top of the stove. “Of course I have more.” Barely. Lilah made a mental note to bake in greater quantities when Tucker and Max came over for lunch. When a second note quickly followed the first—make more madeleines for surprise visits from the detective—she swiftly pushed away cozy images of Reed Graystone regularly sitting in her industrial kitchen.
She scooped several more bacon-and-cheese-wrapped puff pastries onto the plate and passed them over to Max.
Although the casual talk of appetizers seemed silly relative to the problem they were still dealing with, Lilah knew the food helped provide a subtle sense of normalcy. Tucker and Max had spent several days with them after the destructive break-in to help fix the ruined display areas while also providing the simple reassurance of their presence. They’d also managed to subtly redesign those areas and Cassidy had been like a kid with candy as she rearranged several of her creations on a series of raised platforms.
A few treats were the least she could do.
Since the showdown a few days prior with Cassidy’s ex-fiancé, Robert Barrington, life had begun to return to normal. The need to look over shoulders or keep an eye on the large display windows that fronted their shop had begun to recede. So had the hard bundle of nerves that had settled deep in her stomach.
What they’d not yet decided was what to do about the rubies. Hence today’s visit from the good detective.
Reed’s eyebrows rose. “Jeez, Baldwin. Hungry?”
Max’s gaze drifted toward the depleted cookie plate and the smatter of crumbs on Reed’s black T-shirt. “Pot. Meet kettle.”
Cassidy’s new fiancé, Tucker, walked in. She might have half the building to herself, but Lilah didn’t think this room had seen this many men in one place since it was under construction.
“Did you seriously eat them all, Baldwin?” Tucker asked, looking at the empty plate on the counter.
Tucker’s tall form and sweet smile brought about her own grin. Cassidy had chosen well. Tucker Buchanan was a gentleman, in every sense of the word. He’d also protected Cassidy when the threat around the jewels had hit its worst, and Lilah knew they were crazy about each other.
She turned back to the stove and let her new reality settle over her once more.
There
