of the accident report. Maybe talk to the responding officer.”
He nodded as he rose and took her by the elbow. Steered her toward the door. “And we’ll do that. Tomorrow. But right now you need to get some rest. And Darrell’s lack of success notwithstanding, I just remembered a place you can get a room. They always keep one in reserve.”
Her face brightened a little. “Really? Do you have the number? I’ll give them a call.”
“I’ll do even better than that.” He opened his office door. Guided her through it. “It’s right on my way. You can follow me there.”
Risa left her car in the driveway and aimed a hard stare at Nate, who was exiting the open garage door toward her, his computer case in hand. “Let me guess. The Hotel Chez McGuire.”
“I didn’t lie. I have a couple rooms open and you don’t have to call ahead.” Jamming his free hand in his jacket pockets, he arched a brow. “C’mon, it won’t be that bad. It beats a couch in the CCU waiting room and damned if I’m going to let you go back to Muller’s.”
“Let me?”
Something in her tone must have warned him because he held up one palm placating. “You don’t want to stay there either. You turned his offer down three times that I heard.”
True enough. But even with depressingly limited options, something had her hesitating. This couldn’t be a good idea. She’d have been better off at Morales’s than to stay with Nate, especially after being in his arms this morning.
Especially after her reaction to being in his arms this morning.
As if reading her mind, he said, “From the looks of you, you’ll be unconscious within an hour. Give me a few minutes to throw a frozen pizza in the oven, change the sheets . . . you get something in your stomach and go to bed.” The smile he gave her was crooked and much too appealing. “You won’t even have to see me until the morning. At which time you can show your eternal gratitude by cooking me breakfast. Tucker’s usual choice is frozen pancakes, and it’d be a treat to eat something that doesn’t have to be thawed in a toaster.”
Something inside her relaxed a fraction. He was making this simple. And if the niggling thought occurred that it could be just that easy between them, if she let it, Risa would refuse to allow the thought to put down roots.
“I do make a mean eggs Benedict.”
“Change the English muffin to a bagel, a poached egg to over easy, and switch the sauce for cheese and you’ve got a deal.” When he started back toward the garage, she fell in step beside him.
“I believe you can get that off the breakfast menu of most drive-throughs.”
“Ah, but then it wouldn’t be made by an ex-college basketball standout, soon to be porn star.” The elbow jab she aimed at his gut for that crack didn’t seem to faze him. “Think of my thrill of being able to say, I knew you when.” He pushed open the door to the house and then hit the switch to lower the garage door.
Risa preceded him into the home. “You never did say how you happened to recognize what a Peavy was.”
“I’m not a perv, if that’s what you’re implying. But I’ve attended my share of bachelor parties. Even hosted a few. Been to college. Take your pick. Haven’t watched one of those things in years.” He set his computer case down. Without a shred of embarrassment on his face, he grinned at her. “But if you’re really considering a career change, I could be persuaded to change my viewing habits.”
She fixed him with a jaundiced look. “You might want to consider the fact that I’m armed.” He didn’t need to know that the thought of drawing her gun and aiming it at another person still made her knees weak. Maybe if she pictured him as a window.
“Armed. But that’s not what makes you dangerous.” The teasing light had disappeared from his eyes to be replaced with something much harder to resist. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve always preferred a private one-on-one to watching a couple strangers. For future reference.”
She should have made a witty retort. Said something, anything, to defuse the suddenly charged silence. Exhaustion could only be blamed for so much. The temptation the man represented had her senses reeling.
And that’s exactly what made him so lethal. This wouldn’t be a man