brain was completely blank.
“I guess so,” she squeaked. Blinking rapidly, she pulled back from their staring contest and forced herself to step back from his magnetic pull. Bella cleared her throat, hoping he hadn’t caught the anxious edge in her tone. “So...what brings you by today?”
The curve to Henry’s lips let her know that she wasn’t fooling anyone and Bella folded her arms over her chest. She knew the stance was defensive, but at the moment, it helped her feel slightly more in control. She rarely found herself at a loss for words and was almost always the one in charge of a situation, so this reversal was a new thing for her, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
“I thought maybe I should do a bit of investigating,” he said easily. “I haven’t looked around the inn very much. Since I was brought in slightly late to the investigation, I didn’t worry about it the other day. Sometimes introductions are enough for one day.”
Bella nodded her agreement. “If you’ll give me five minutes, I’ll be able to go with you.” She watched a frown pull at his forehead before he smoothed it out.
“That sounds fine,” he replied, straightening from his stance on the desk.
Bella grit her teeth. So much for falling under his good-looking spell. He really is trying to cut me out of things. Well...too bad! He told me I could be there, and I intend to keep him to his promise. “If you’d like to take a seat on the bench, I’ll get things figured out here.”
Henry nodded and walked over to the area she had indicated.
Bella watched his foot bounce as he sat. It was evident he was not used to sitting still. After revealing his true feelings about her coming along, Bella was tempted to make him wait longer, just to see what he’d do about it.
She set the phone up to forward any calls to her cell phone, rather than the front desk, and stuffed her cell in her pocket. “Okay. I’m ready,” she said, bouncing out from behind the desk.
She probably should have teased him a little more, maybe put him in his place and let him know who was boss, but the problem was, she was just as eager to get going as he was.
Torturing him would only torture me as well, she thought glumly as she led him up the stairs to Mrs. Harrison’s room. Once there, Bella knocked firmly. “Mrs. Harrison? I’m here with Detective Gordon to look at the crime scene.”
She turned and glared over her shoulder at his stifled snicker.
“Sorry,” he said with a shrug, looking younger and much more approachable than he had when he was flirting with her at the front desk. “I’ve just never heard someone say it quite like that.”
“Well, what would you call it?” she asked in exasperation. This man was starting to drive her nuts. She was attracted to him to the point of distraction, yet he seemed to always have the upper hand when they were together, and now he was making fun of her. How much could a woman take before she punched a guy in the face?
“Usually I just say I’m here to look around.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “That’s boring.” She turned back to the door, which hadn’t budged. “Mrs. Harrison?” She knocked again. When no one answered, Bella pulled out her master key. “Guess it won’t matter now,” she said snippily. “Mrs. Harrison isn’t here to appreciate my honesty.”
THIS TIME HANK KEPT his chuckle to himself. He’d already put the feisty woman on the defensive, and if he wasn’t careful, he would grow to regret it. Kind of like he was regretting saying she could come with him on his investigation.
He really would work much better without her distracting him. Her smell, the sound of her voice, and her quick quips were all enough to drive him crazy, but in a good way.
Few women kept up with him the way she did, and he had to give her credit for doing so. His dry humor and sometimes hard personality usually drove women away. They didn’t like to stick around and try to get the best of him. He frowned. The thought made him wonder how long Bella would stick around.
She’d been bold last night, teasing him about kissing and stuff, but that didn’t mean she actually wanted anything more than a working relationship with him. He’d recognized she was trying to throw him off his game, and darned