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“And I’m supposed to just pretend it’s any other morning?” I mused on my way to the door. “How am I supposed to do that? We were just naked.”

“I have confidence in you.”

I opened her front door and made my way through. “I have none!”

“Bye, Skyler.”

“Bye, Caroline McNamara.” I grinned, popped on my shades, and made sure to drive along the ocean as the sun climbed in the morning sky. San Diegans made their way to their various places of work alongside me on the highway. My morning music played, upbeat and cheerful. My coffee had never tasted better, and my blueberry scone was outta this world. I had very few complaints.

Chapter Twelve

I liked having a sexy little secret.

It kept the day tension-filled and a hell of a lot more exciting. The best kind of drug. I surveyed the busy newsroom and turned to my right where Carrie was lost in her notes, with that look of intense concentration as she bit the inside of her lip. I grinned. I’d be leaving for a live shot from the scene of an overnight hotel fire shortly, and she’d be heading to the studio for the five p.m., and no one would know when we spoke to each other across the airwaves that we’d been naked and devouring each other just sixteen hours earlier. There was something special about that, and I enjoyed having it tucked away for just us. Not nearly as much as I enjoyed every second we spent together. I liked my apartment, but I’d only spent two nights there this week, and she and I had talked on the phone both nights until we’d fallen asleep.

“What was the first story you went out on?” she asked earlier that week. I loved the way her voice tickled my ear. It was part of the reason people tuned in to the broadcast. She had a great one.

I scratched Micky’s head and his eyes closed in surrender. We were snuggled up in my bed, he and I, enjoying the getting-to-know-more-about-each-other conversation that Carrie and I had going. “That’s easy. A local car dealership was giving away a free hundred-dollar gift card to the person who showed up in the best costume.”

“Halloween?”

“Not at all. That’s just small-town entertainment for you.”

“And who won?”

I squinted. “I feel like it was a roller-skating cow.”

“The roller skates are a nice touch. Allows for creative movement. It’s those details that matter in the snagging of gift certificates.”

“What was yours?” I asked.

“You mean all those years ago? Let’s see if I can remember.” She was teasing, of course. “Carjacking. A two-year-old was in the back seat when the guy took off in it.”

“Wait. That was your first story? I get roller-skating cows, and you’re already Ms. Cutting Edge News? How is that possible?”

“I got lucky, I guess. So did the two-year-old. Safe and sound.”

“Glad for that part. Still in awe of your career path.”

“Oh, I’m not sure you should be jealous. It was almost like being thrown to the wolves to see who survives. I think I got pulled into my news director’s office and screamed at at least once a week back then. Learned very quickly not to let her see me cry.”

“Still. It worked.”

“Eventually. I learned on the job. I screwed up a lot but always got back up. I watched the other reporters, learned their tricks and the things that got them praise.”

“I try to do that. It’s possible I’ve been watching you, too. For reasons other than the obvious flat-out lust factor.”

“That goes both ways, that factor.”

I grinned. “But seriously, you’re so damn good at your job. The best I’ve ever seen. I’d be an idiot not to take notes.”

A pause. “I’m glad someone thinks so.” There was a shift in the timbre of her voice. She’d alluded to criticisms from the station higher-ups in the past.

I wondered what her face was doing. I longed to touch her cheek. “Why would anyone not think so?” I asked.

I heard her exhale. “According to them, I’ve been around a while, which means I’m old.”

I frowned. She was anything but that. “That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard you say.”