Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,39

I’d like to repay you – somehow – even in a little way.”

He smiled. Man – was his smile always that bright white? Or did the fire do something to it?

“That’s very kind of you, but I’m not taking any time off until I figure out what happened.”

Of course.

How could she ever have doubted how great of a guy he was? And how could she ever have thought that he was interested in her…

“Well, you have to take a break eventually. I have to do something to thank you – I can make you dinner? Or – dessert or something?”

Obviously he wouldn’t want to have a dinner with her. She didn’t mean for it to sound like she was suggesting some romantic date – it just came out weird.

He crossed his arms. “Actually, you could do me a favor.”

Don’t stare at his muscles. Don’t stare at his muscles. “Anything. Anything you need.”

“I’d feel a lot better if you let me add one more security feature.”

She tilted her head. “Okay?”

“Well, I know you mentioned that you wanted a dog – you know, for some extra protection. And Toast is going to be pretty lonely since I haven’t been home much recently. Maybe I could drop him off before my shift and you guys can keep each other company? He’s a pretty good guard dog, and I’m fairly certain that he’d eat any intruders without question.”

Jade laughed. “That sounds really nice, actually. I think we’d make quite a pair.”

“I think so too. Okay – well, I’ll bring him by tomorrow morning then?”

“Sure! I’ll be here. I’ll probably still be cleaning the fridge.”

He laughed. “Sounds good. Stay safe Jade.”

“You too!”

You too?

So much for not saying dumb things. Oh well. She’d tried but…it seemed there were two things she could no longer deny.

The first was that if level-headed Matthew thought that someone set her house on fire, then someone really did set her house on fire. And the second was that she was hopelessly, maddeningly powerless over her feelings for him.

Jade couldn’t decide which of these two truths was worse.

Chapter 15

Toast got his first assignment at Jade’s place on Monday morning. Matthew chuckled to himself as he watched Toast leap into the car, panting excitedly – Toast didn’t get to go a lot of places, so he was thrilled despite not knowing where he was going.

Generally car rides meant good things for him – oceanside walks, ice cream, and getting to explore Luke’s house. That was normally fun – despite the over abundance of people who wanted to pet him when he got there.

Matthew parked his car outside of Chief Hank’s – er, Jade’s house – and Toast whined until he was allowed to leap out onto the lawn. His tail was up and wagging, and he was eagerly sniffing everything in his path.

At least he seemed to be in a good mood. Matthew walked up to the front door and called Jade’s phone – he didn’t want to wake anyone else up by knocking if they were still sleeping.

Jade opened the door after three rings. “Good morning!”

“Morning!”

Toast stood, frozen, staring at her.

Jade lowered herself to the ground and pulled something out from behind her back. “Hi Toast, I’ve been waiting for you!”

His ears perked up when he heard her voice, and when he saw the large treat in her hand, his tail started wagging manically.

“I’m sorry – is it okay if I give this to him? I picked up a few things at the store.”

Matthew smiled. “Of course. He loves food. And he’s still pretty skinny, so he can use some extra treats.”

Jade smiled and moved her hand closer to Toast. “Go ahead…good boy!”

Toast didn’t hesitate, pouncing on the treat before proudly trotting around as if he were showing it off. After a moment, he flopped down on the ground and got to work on eating.

“Wow – I’m glad that he seems to remember you,” Matthew commented. “He’s not scared at all.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of,” Jade said with a smile. “We have high tech, twenty four hour surveillance here.”

Matthew laughed. “That’s right. Are the cameras working well?”

“They are, thank you again. My mom keeps asking if she can login to watch the video feed, but I’m afraid to give her the password. I think she’ll just sit at home all day, watching, and probably never sleep again.”

“The first steps into madness,” he said, before hurriedly adding, “Not that I think your mom is crazy or anything.”

Jade smiled. “I think she’s just