LITMIR.BIZ

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staff misconduct at the hospital.”

      Jade hadn’t kept tabs on Harley over the years, but that type of work seemed right up his alley. Maybe if she had paid more attention, she wouldn’t have been blindsided when the hospital hired him—the one man she’d managed to avoid successfully all these years. “Oh,” she said, trying not to sound disappointed or concerned. There wasn’t much she could do about it now. Even if she called the hospital and complained later, it wouldn’t get Harley Dalton off her front porch today.

      “They didn’t tell me who to expect. I didn’t realize... Come in,” she offered, taking a step back from the door to let him inside her small rental house.

      As he stepped over the threshold, the faint breeze blew in with him and brought the scent of him to her nose. The woodsy fragrance of his cologne mingled with his familiar manly musk immediately took her back to being eighteen again. To snuggling against him in his pickup truck. To fogging up the windows while he nibbled on her neck...

      Whatever confidence and self-assurance she’d gained over the years faded to nothing when she looked at him. In their place was a flutter of butterflies in her stomach and a sudden awareness of parts of her body that she hadn’t noticed in a very long time. Maybe since the last time she’d touched Harley. Lance had been a lot of things, but an intensely sexual creature was not one of them.

      Jade had been okay with that. She’d traded that intense passion for security and stability. Or so she’d thought. Being around Harley again had just reminded her of everything she’d passed up in her quest for a better life.

      It was a high price to pay. She’d been in the same room with him for less than a minute now and was already almost overwhelmed by his presence. She needed a moment alone or wasn’t sure she could get through a half hour interview without making a fool of herself.

      “Would you like something to drink? Some sweet tea?” she asked.

      “Sure. Thank you.”

      Jade gestured toward the couch. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.”

      She immediately turned on her heel and disappeared into the kitchen, trying to erase from her mind the image of him smiling at her. At one time, she’d lamented the closed-off floor plan of the older home she was renting, but now was relieved to have a barrier of wood and drywall between them.

      Jade took her time pouring two glasses of sweet tea, and even put together a plate of cookies. She remembered that Harley had a sweet tooth, and that bought her a few more seconds to compose herself. But eventually she had to go back to the living room and face him again.

      She wasn’t sure what to think of his sudden appearance, or the faint scowl on his face. Questions were swirling through her mind. Did he not believe her side of the story about being switched? He had been hired by the hospital, after all. Or was it because he was still angry with her? If so, why had he taken the case? Was it because he still found her attractive? If so, did she really care? She wasn’t really equipped to deal with something like that right now, what with everything else in her life spinning out of control.

      “Do you need any help?”

      Jade jerked her head up and saw Harley peeking around the corner. Trying not to look startled, she took the plate of cookies and handed it to him. “Here, take these. I’ll carry the tea.”

      “Mmm, shortbread,” he said, appreciation lighting his eyes.

      “Those were your favorites, weren’t they?” she asked, wishing immediately that she hadn’t. She didn’t want him to think she recalled things like that after all these years apart.

      “They still are. I can’t believe you remember.” Harley popped a cookie into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, drawing Jade’s attention to his full lips.

      A lot of time had passed, and yet it felt like almost none at all when she looked at Harley. She could almost feel those lips on hers as if it was yesterday. He might have been a bad boy, but he was a good kisser. A great one.

      How long had it been since Jade had been kissed?

      A real kiss. Not a peck. A long, slow, toe-curling kiss? She didn’t even know. A long time. Sadly, it had been long before her husband turned away from her and had taken up drugs instead.

      Deep inside, a part of her wished to experience that thrill of attraction again. To feel wanted and desired. But she knew that Harley was not the one to relight those fires. Those flames would be all consuming and that was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. Not back then and not now.

      Harley finished his cookie and smiled at her in a way that made her wonder if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Jade had never been very good at hiding her emotions, but she needed to do better. Especially when he was around. He was here to interview her about her claims against the hospital, but she could just as easily be a teenager again, helping him study French over tea and cookies, and fantasizing about making it to second base.

      He turned and walked into the living room, and with no other choice, she followed him. Harley sat on the end of the couch and she opted for the chair to his right. She set the tea on the table, unsure of how to start this conversation. Did they go straight to the investigation and ignore the elephant in the room? Or should they take the time to catch up after more than a decade of not seeing each other?

      “So how have you been?” he asked, making the decision for her.

      “Good,” she said on reflex. Since her divorce, people were always asking her how she was. She found they didn’t really want to hear the truth. “Most days, at least. A lot has changed since I saw you last, but I’m doing okay.”

      Harley glanced down at her hand and his brows knitted together in confusion. Presumably he was looking for the wedding ring she’d taken off a long time ago. “I heard you married Lance, but I don’t see a ring.”

      “I did marry him. My junior year of college,” Jade said. “It ended a couple years ago.”

      Harley straightened, apparently unaware of what had happened. She was surprised the investigator hadn’t thoroughly looked into her past before he’d arrived. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said.

      Jade could only nod. She didn’t want to tell him about what had happened with Lance. It wasn’t a pretty story, but it had been in the news and anyone with a desire to could look it up. He could get all the details if he wanted to know.

      “What about you? Any family?”

      Harley chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, no. I spent eight years in the navy, traveling all over the world. There wasn’t much time for starting a family or even settling down in one spot. After I got out, I started my own business. That takes up every moment of your day for a while. Thankfully, things are running smoothly, without my constant supervision, now.”

      Jade hadn’t been sure what Harley would do with his life. Some had bet their money he’d end up in jail. Others, that he’d accomplish nothing. She had seen more potential in him than that, and was pleased to hear he’d become an entrepreneur.

      “So your company does private investigations? Like hired detectives?”

      “Not entirely. Across our five locations, we do a lot of different work that falls in the security detail bucket. Personal security and protection, home security setup and monitoring, missing persons cases...lots of different things where the police can’t or won’t step in, for whatever reason. We specialize in government contracts and a higher end clientele who want to keep things quiet. Investigations are just one aspect of what we do at Dalton Security.”

      Dalton Security? Now that he’d said it, Jade realized she’d heard of the company. Maybe in reference to the recent Bennett kidnapping case. That had been on every news channel she’d seen for weeks. Dalton Security had broken the case wide open and delivered the teen back to her parents.

      It had never occurred to her that it was Harley’s business. It sounded like he was doing even better for himself than she had hoped.

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