On the Run (Whispering Key #2) - May Archer Page 0,64

don’t trust. Don’t suppose you have an extra lucky charm lying around? Preferably a tiny stone embedded in a pair of those floaty arm things children wear?”

He was joking, but I could feel in every line of his body how stressed he was, so I backed us up against the side of the pool in the shallow end, and without thinking about it too much, I removed my bracelet to clasp it around his wrist.

“Wait, what are you doing? No, that’s yours, Beale. I—”

“Shhh. I’m only lending it to you for today.” I wrapped my hand around the bracelet, holding it against his skin. “It’s for good luck, okay? And whenever you catch sight of it, you’ll remember that I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

For once, I seemed to have shocked Toby silent, because he stared at the bracelet on his wrist and relaxed against me without a word, letting me tow him toward the deep end.

“What’s the weirdest Hagatha letter you ever got?” I asked. We’d reached the center of the pool, and I was treading water for both of us, but I didn’t want him to think about it too much. I should have known better.

“Don’t try to distract me in the murder pool, Goodman.”

I laughed and squeezed him closer. God, he was adorable. So adorable I couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to the silly tattoo on his shoulder. “I suppose it was only a matter of time, really, until you accused something else of murder, but you’re still alive, you know. For now.”

One of these days, I was going to ask him about that tattoo—a permanently inked sexy cartoon character was so unlike the man I was coming to know, I felt like there had to be a story involved—but Toby didn’t like being questioned about anything, and I’d been really hesitant to push the issue. This was temporary, so it was none of my business. Fascinating as the man was, he was not meant for me.

I tried to picture, for a second, how much more perfect a situation like this would feel when I was actually experiencing it with my soul mate… but I couldn’t. I figured it was like looking at a crystal that was flawless to the naked eye, only to be told there was something even better out there. It was hard to imagine.

“Once I got a letter from a guy who wanted me to send him my sock so he could come in it.” Toby’s words startled me from my thoughts. “Pretty sure that was the weirdest.”

“Gross. That must’ve been upsetting.”

“Sure.” He sighed sadly. “I’m upset every time I see that single sock in my drawer.”

“Toby!” I poked him gently in the side, and he squirmed and flailed dramatically. “Be serious.”

“Alright, alright! Jesus. Surely this kind of aggressive questioning is banned by the Geneva convention. Yes, it really happened, but no, obviously, I wrote him back and said that wasn’t appropriate.” He relaxed back against me again. “Because maybe he was a kid or something, you know? Don’t want to embarrass someone who might not know better.” He thought for a second, then cleared his throat and added, “But mostly because it was a liability issue, of course.”

“Of course. Not like you cared or anything.” I snorted. “Drop the act, because I’ve figured out your secret, Toby Elford. Beneath that raw, carnal, prickly exterior, you’re a giant ball of mush and you care about things.”

I could feel Toby rolling his eyes, though I couldn’t see them. “Of course I care about some things! I care about Mason. And the fate of the polar ice caps. And having job stability. Making sure that every human has the same basic rights. My cute apartment with its ultra-plush mattress and pretty view. Um… not drowning? That’s damn important. So there’s, like, twenty-seven things I care about right there.”

“You might have forgotten a couple, because your love for your plush mattress doesn’t explain why you’d reply to someone whose letter wasn’t getting published.”

“Ultra-plush,” he corrected. “And I happen to reply to all the letters, even the ones that don’t get published. But don’t read into that, Beale,” he hurried to add. “I’m no saint. The best part of my job is that I get to be a snarky know-it-all to people for money. ‘Oh, you’re sad your granddaughter is marrying someone you disapprove of, so you’re not paying for the wedding? Let me tell you where you can stick your trust fund, Ebenezer.’ Or,