friends had treated Amelia like a little sister, the detective in her had noticed that one man, though keeping his distance, had his eyes on Amelia most of the time. That man was Stonewall’s friend, billionaire Dakota Navarro. Joy had told Toni that Stonewall and Dakota had become friends when Stonewall had been hired to be the wealthy billionaire’s bodyguard.
“What did Joy think of us being partners?”
She paused for a moment, then decided to give him a watered-down version. “She thinks we’ll work well together.”
He laughed. “Sounds like Joy.”
Now it was her time to ask a question. “What are your plans for the weekend?”
Too late, she realized that might not have been a good question to ask. There was a time when their weekends had been saved for each other. They didn’t plan a romantic getaway every weekend—but pretty close to it.
He brought the car to a stop at a traffic light and looked over at her. “I don’t plan my weekends anymore, Toni.”
She met his gaze, feeling a deep pain encase her heart. She wished she could undo things...but that was impossible. Hopefully, they’d be able to move beyond what she’d done, and one day be friends again. But could she just be friends with a man she loved? A man who could push her buttons without even trying? His deep, husky voice alone still made heat curl inside of her in the worst possible way.
“What about you? What are your plans for the weekend, Toni?”
Jeez. Did he have to look at her like that? She was tempted to tell him that her plans were whatever he had in mind. She felt it, that spike of heat between them they just couldn’t shake. That spike that always seemed to show up when they were alone and talking about anything other than work.
She nervously licked her lips, but regretted the action when she saw him follow the movement of her tongue. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’m still unpacking. I’ve just got the bigger boxes to finish up.”
“Do you need help?”
She swallowed. “Help?”
“Sure. I bring plenty of muscle power to the table.”
Her gaze roamed over his shoulders. Yes, he could certainly bring that to the table...and to the bedroom. She pushed that thought from her mind. The last thing she needed was Drew all in her space. “I’m surprised you would volunteer.”
“Why not? You’re my partner and you just moved to town. All I’m doing is offering my help. You and I both know that whatever was between us in the past is over and done with. But we can be friends. Since we’ll be working together, do we have a choice?”
No, they didn’t. He was right. They were working together and he was her partner. They couldn’t let personal emotions get in the way of them doing their jobs. She might detect sexual chemistry—and there was nothing she could do about that—but he was letting her know that anything more developing between them was close to impossible.
“Thanks for your offer, Drew, but I’ll be fine. I’m taking my time. In fact, I thought about driving to D.C. on Sunday to that concert in the park.”
“Great minds think alike. I’d thought about going there myself on Sunday. I’m meeting a friend and we plan to hang out.”
“How nice,” she said, breaking eye contact with him. She figured his friend was female. Probably Natalie.
A few minutes later, he pulled into the Rocket Restaurant, smiled over at her and said, “We’re here.”
• • •
“I don’t think I’ve ever had better seafood gumbo.”
Drew chuckled, looking at her empty bowl. “I told you. By the way, I meant to tell you earlier that Locke told me to say hello. I talked to him last night.” There was no need to add that he intended to hire a PI firm Locke recommended to investigate what went down with her in Miami.
“How’s he doing?”
“Good. Really good.”
“What about Shogun and Macayle?”
“They’re good, too. They’ve got plenty of cases keeping them busy.”
“I can imagine. That’s on my bucket list.”
“What?”
“To visit Oregon one day.”
“It’s a beautiful state,” Drew said. “I thought about moving there with them—and probably would have, if I hadn’t been offered the job here.”
At that moment the waitress came to see if they wanted dessert. Toni declined and so did he. “You can bring the check, please,” he then told her.
“You don’t have to pay for my meal, Drew.”
He shrugged. “You paid for our lunch yesterday.”
“Yes, but the cost of your hamburger and fries wasn’t nearly