on anyone, because people let you down. It was hard for me to let others in. But Joy wasn’t giving me any choice.”
“You let me in for those ten months,” he reminded her.
“Yes, but look at all the restrictions I’d placed on our relationship.” She sighed. “I was also thinking about how Maria Tindal must have felt when she lost her mom. Granted, she was older than I was when I lost mine, and she was away at college, but I can imagine the pain she’d felt. And then to see that necklace on Nettles’s flash drive? It must have shocked her.”
“So, you think that’s what happened?”
“I might be wrong, but yes.”
He nodded again. “I was thinking along those same lines. I believe when she watched the video with Nettles, she recognized that necklace. That’s why she took the flash drive.”
“But why didn’t she go to the police with her suspicions?”
“No idea.”
“She didn’t tell Pamela anything either. I’d have thought she’d have been the first person she’d tell.”
“Me, too.” He stood and placed Toni on her feet. “How about letting me whip up something in the kitchen while you take a soak in the tub. I want you relaxed and fed before I leave.”
He leaned in and kissed her, more passionately than he’d planned. But once his mouth tasted hers, he couldn’t release her lips. When he finally broke off the kiss, he stepped away from her. “Now go.”
Those adorable brown eyes looked up at him. “Are you sure? I invited you here. I should be the one preparing something for you to eat.”
“No biggie. I’m sure I can find my way around your kitchen, so go take your bath.”
She turned and quickly walked off toward her bedroom. Andrew rubbed a hand down his face. They were still playing by her rules, and although it was killing him, he’d do as she’d asked.
• • •
A leisurely soak in the tub worked wonders, Toni thought, slipping into her caftan. She had honestly expected Drew to join her at some point, but obviously he intended to play by the rules. He’d even said that he would be leaving after dinner. She was really starting to regret putting those rules in place...
As she made her way from her bedroom to the kitchen, she noticed that something certainly smelled good. That was one thing she always looked forward to whenever she visited Drew here in Alexandria. He liked cooking for her. Whenever he came to visit her in Miami, he’d get to experience all the take-out places in town. However, for the past few weekends, she’d surprised them both by making home-cooked meals.
“Umm, something smells good, Drew.”
He glanced over when she entered the kitchen. He’d certainly gotten comfortable, taking off his shirt and working in just his t-shirt. And he was in his bare feet. Did that mean he was staying a while? Maybe the entire night? She crossed her fingers behind her back.
“You had everything I needed to whip up a chicken pot pie,” he said. “And there was stuff for a salad.”
Dinner smelled incredible...although what really had her mouth watering was Drew himself. Trying not to stare, she went to the cabinets. “I’ll set the table. What would you like to drink?” Now that he was a regular visitor, she kept beer and wine coolers on hand. She had also stocked several bottles of scotch.
“A glass of wine would be nice.”
She nodded. “A glass of wine, it is.”
By the time she finished setting the table, he came out with dinner. After saying grace, they dug in, and before long, their plates were clean.
“I meant to tell you that Muraca questioned me about our relationship,” Drew told her. “He said he’d heard we were seeing each other.”
Toni knew Detectives Zinc and Muraca had been out of the office the past few weeks working on a sting operation. Evidently, now that Muraca was back, he had caught wind of the office gossip. “What did you say?”
“I told him he heard right and left it at that.”
She nodded, satisfied with how he’d handled it. “So...what do you have planned for us this weekend?”
The look he gave her was telling. Suddenly, the room got really warm. “Besides that, Drew.”
He smiled, not denying what she was thinking. “I figure a movie on Saturday and a picnic on Sunday would be nice. The last time I actually went out to a movie was last year when I visited the guys in Oregon.”
She knew what guys he was referring