Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,38
about that. My mom is still pretty freaked out about the fire.”
“That’s why I’m here!” He set a large bag on the table. “To install your new surveillance system.”
Jade laughed. “I’m sorry that you got dragged into this – I think you’ve already done more than enough.”
“Oh, I’m happy to help.”
Jade took a step forward. It didn’t matter how uneasy her insides felt – she finally had her chance to talk to him and she needed to take it. “I wasn’t able to properly thank you for what you did. I don’t even know the words. You saved my life.”
He shook his head and smiled that dazzling smile. “Really, I was just doing my job. I’m glad I was there.”
“Me too,” Jade said. “And really – thank you.”
They both smiled, but said nothing. Jade tried to reach into the bag at the same time as Matthew reached to open it, and their hands met. She quickly pulled away and retreated to the fridge.
“I just need to finish up a few shelves here and then I can help you,” she said.
She was grateful to be able to turn away from him. She thought that her face might be a bit red. Even getting that thank you out was tough – and it didn’t feel like it was nearly enough to convey how grateful she was, but she didn’t know what else to say.
And then – he brushed it off so coolly. How many burning buildings had he run into by this point in his career? It was so like him to refuse any praise.
But it was true that he was just doing his job – she shouldn’t read into it. No matter how dizzy she felt when she saw him, or how stunning he looked in that uniform, she had to remind herself – he was just doing his job.
“I see that Chief treats the refrigerator the same way here as he does at the office,” Matthew called out from the other side of the kitchen.
“Yeah,” Jade rubbed her forehead. “I’ve been working on it for a while.”
“Well, don’t let me interfere,” he said. “I’ll get to work.”
Jade didn’t want him to leave now that they’d broken the ice. “Have you, uh, set up cameras before?”
“Not exactly, and I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think I can finagle it.”
Jade slapped herself in the forehead. “Oh duh, you’re an engineer. Of course you know how to set up a few cameras.”
He smiled but said nothing; instead, he stepped outside and returned a moment later with a ladder.
Jade silently berated herself to stop being a spaz and get back to work. Luckily, Matthew spent the rest of his time busily drilling and hammering away, so Jade didn’t have a chance to say any other stupid things.
She only finished with the fridge when he was just about finished. As he was packing up, he showed her the instructions for the cameras.
“You can watch the live video from your phone or laptop.”
Jade frowned. “My phone is the only thing that actually survived the fire.”
“Oh.” His face fell. “That’s terrible – I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “No, no – I don’t mean to complain. I just mean that the phone will have to do for now. You know, to complete this security suite.”
He laughed. “I got you. Actually, you know what – I have a laptop at home that I don’t use very often. It was my old work laptop, but when I quit, I got to take it with me. Let me run home and – ”
“No, please, you’ve already done so much.”
He shrugged. “No, really – I’d be happy if it’d make this transition a little easier.”
Jade thought she’d melt into a puddle. “Well – if you insist.”
He flashed a smile before disappearing to his car.
She didn’t know what had gotten into her – she was almost being a little flirty. It must’ve been the smoke inhalation. She tried to pull herself together, but as soon as he was back, she felt herself getting loopy again.
“Here you go – one mid tier laptop for your security super system,” he said, handing her the laptop.
“Thanks again – you’ve seriously just done too much.”
“I’m glad I could help. Well, I’d better get back to work and find out who started that fire.”
“So…you really think someone did it on purpose?”
He frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. I don’t have any suspects yet – but I’ve got a good feeling that we’ll crack it.”
“When is your next day off?