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“Why were you following me?”
Chapter 20
Caleb
Amelia jerks back and I immediately miss her closeness.
I never should have danced with her. But when I saw her on the dancefloor, eyes darting around looking for me, it was like my body took control and forced my brain out the back door. All that mattered was wrapping her up in my arms, feeling her smooth skin under my palm, and stretching my hands around her waist. And now that I’ve had the luxury of holding her close, I don’t want to pull away. I should have left when I still had some self-control.
“What are you talking about?” Amelia splutters.
I quirk a brow. “I’ve been watching you case the place for thirty minutes. Either you were looking for someone or you don’t know how to have a good time.”
“Psh,” she scoffs. “I know how to have a good time.”
“Who were you looking for if not me?”
She hesitates a moment too long.
I scrub a hand down my face. “Dang it, Amelia. Do you even know how dangerous your actions are?”
“Dangerous?” She looks up at me, her eyes widening with excitement. “Are you on the job?”
I wasn’t. But what if I was?
I finally came out for that drink with Ward, and we were wrapping up when I spotted Amelia not-so-subtly searching the crowds. I decided to wait around and see what happened.
She had no idea what she could have been walking into tonight. What if she got hurt?
“How did you know where I was?” I have a theory, but I’d like to hear her admit it. The woman only had my phone for a minute while I was distracted with the dogs because I didn’t know she’d put a dog treat in my pocket. She’s a menace. A beautiful menace, but a menace nonetheless.
She screws up her face. “I never said I was following you, Agent Grumpy-Pants.”
“You never denied it,” I counter.
She huffs, twisting a piece of hair back into her bun. “To be fair, I thought I could get away with this at least one more time before you caught me. It’s almost like you’re an FBI agent or something.”
Her confidence grates on my last nerve. I grab her arm and drag her off the dance floor. Gently. Mostly gently.
The back hall is blessedly empty and I pull her in behind me. There’s a small alcove and I push her into it, stepping in front of her to block her exit.
She focuses her big doe eyes on me. “Why, Agent Harris, I didn’t know I was going to have this much fun tonight.”
“Stop,” I growl, but my gaze drops to her lips involuntarily. We’re chest to chest and there’s an electric energy between us, bouncing from my skin to hers and back, drawing us closer with each breath. I want to force her away, but I also want to kiss that spitfire mouth of hers.
I place a step between us so I can think. “Drop the act, Amelia. I know you’re trying to find out more about this case, but it’s dangerous.”
“So you’ve said.” She shrugs, completely unfazed.
I pull out my phone and swipe over to the location-sharing app. I can’t believe I didn’t look at this sooner. I don’t let anyone track my location. And there’s a good reason for it. What if she had followed me last night when we were in the middle of taking down a trafficking ring? I can just picture Amelia waltzing in with her bubbly personality and creating an international incident worthy of worldwide press coverage.
I click on her number and block her from seeing my location. Then delete the app for good measure.
“Ouch,” she mutters. “Tell me how you really feel.”
I slide my phone back into my pocket. “Amelia, this is serious.”
She smiles again, for real this time. “But I could be the Shawn to your Juliet.” She’s not delusional; I think all she wants is to be a part of something exciting. But I can’t allow that. “You need me on this case. I can help. I have…” She sucks in her cheeks, looking around.