Gavin?” Caroline’s voice came from inside. “Norman, don’t lord over the doorway like that. Let the boy inside.”
Chief rolled his eyes. “I’m not lording over the doorway.”
Caroline was in what was now a fully furnished front room. She sat on the couch with her legs crossed, dressed in a pink blouse, beige pants, and a pair of pink slippers with feathery poofs on top.
“Come on in.” She closed her laptop and pushed it aside, a bright smile on her face.
I went inside, avoiding Chief’s eyes. That was probably making me look more guilty, not less, but I’d never been in this position before.
I’d never banged my boss’s daughter before.
“You must be awfully tired of those crutches,” Caroline said. “How much longer before the cast comes off?”
I took a few more steps in. “Soon. They’re supposed to x-ray it again but I’m tempted to just take the cast off myself.”
“Gav,” Chief said.
“What? I can put weight on it.” I demonstrated, resting my casted foot on the floor and taking my weight off my crutches.
“Listen to your doctor,” Chief said. “I need you back at work, not in another cast because you didn’t let it heal properly.”
“Trust me, I’m dying to get back to work.”
He patted me on the back. “I know you are.”
Okay, maybe he didn’t know.
Resting his hands on his hips, he gave Caroline a side-eye glance.
“What?” Her wide-eyed innocent expression looked well practiced.
“I need to go to the hardware store.”
“So? Go to the hardware store. I’m certainly not stopping you.”
“I’m just wondering if you’re going to hide any more of my stuff while I’m out.”
She smiled. “I didn’t hide anything. I put things away where they should go. It’s been an awful long time since you lived with a woman, Norman, and it shows.”
“I still can’t find my socket wrench.”
“It’s in your toolbox in the garage.”
He crossed his arms. “Why in the hell would it be out there?”
“It’s a tool. That’s where tools belong.”
His eyes narrowed. “I have half a mind to go upstairs and reorganize your closet.”
“Careful, there. You might not be ready for what you find.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Why don’t you go upstairs to my bedroom and find out?” She emphasized the word bedroom and it was clearly on purpose.
Damn. Caroline was bringing the heat.
He grumbled something incoherent and stalked down the hallway toward the kitchen. Caroline watched him go, her lips turned up in an amused smile.
There was tension in this house all right. Skylar seemed to think they were on the brink of a fight, but I had a feeling they were on the brink of something else entirely.
I was about to ask where Skylar was, or if I should just go upstairs to find her, when Chief came back, his boots stomping on the wood floor.
“I’m going to the hardware store. I’ll be back later.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.” Caroline stood and smoothed out her shirt. “I just need to change my shoes.”
“What do you need at the hardware store?” he asked.
“The doorknob on my bedroom door sticks. I want to replace it before I get locked in my room because it won’t open.”
“You could have just told me. I didn’t realize it needed replacing.”
“I know. I’m not complaining.” She patted his cheek as she walked by. “You can buy me lunch while we’re in town.”
Chief rolled his eyes. Caroline opened the coat closet, stepped out of her slippers, and into a pair of beige heels.
“Looks like she’s made herself at home,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“That she has,” Chief grumbled.
She cast him a smile over her shoulder. “Ready?”
“I suppose.”
She opened the front door and damn it if Chief didn’t pause, tilt his head a little, and check out her ass as she walked outside.
Yeah, they weren’t on the verge of blowing up in a fight. They were on the verge of fucking each other’s brains out.
Which, from Skylar’s perspective, still had to be awfully awkward to live with.
“Hey,” Skylar said, coming down the stairs. “I didn’t realize you were here already.”
“That’s okay, I was just chatting with your parents.”
“Oh boy. I bet that was interesting. Sorry if my mom said something awkward.”
“Not really. There was a little innuendo, but that’s way less weird for me since they aren’t my parents.”
“Innuendo? Really?”
“Yeah. And Chief totally checked out your mom’s ass when she went outside.”
She laughed. “He did not.”
“He really did. I wouldn’t worry about them fighting. But maybe make a lot of noise when you come downstairs when they’ve been alone