Page 44 of Deadly Force

Oh wow. She’s really making me do this over the phone. “Then yes. He’s… ruggedly handsome. Jacked. Quietly charming. I mean, he’s infuriating. Bossy. Always five steps ahead of me. But also calm. Capable. Strong. Humble. He prays before meals.”

“Jacked?”

“Oh… it just means he has big muscles.”

“Oh dear,” she says, and I can practically hear her beaming. “Looks like my prayers have been answered.”

“Mom, I just said don’t set me up?—”

A quiet sound behind me makes me pause.

I turn and freeze.

The door is cracked open.

Of course he didn’t close it completely.

Caleb is standing just outside, one hand braced on the frame. His face unreadable.

But something in the way his fingers curl around the wood… the tilt of his head… the slight flush to his neck…

I know.

He heard every word.

Caleb

I should let it go. Step back, change the subject, pretend I didn't hear what she said. But I did. And I can't unhear it.

She gives me a sheepish look as she ends the call. “Sorry. She was going to set up a blind date. I needed a scapegoat.”

I tilt my head slightly. “Ruggedly handsome, huh?”

She blinks. “What?”

“That’s what you told your mom.”

The look on her face is priceless. Pure panic mixed with embarrassment. Her mouth opens, then snaps shut. She looks like she’s calculating the distance to the window.

“I—” She huffs. “I didn’t know you were listening.”

“I was.” Just enough weight in my tone to pin her where she stands. “But I need to hear it again.”

Her brows shoot up. “What, exactly?”

I let the silence stretch until it pulls tight between us.

“That I’m ruggedly handsome.”

She crosses her arms, but she’s stalling. There’s a blush creeping up her neck, betraying the calm she’s trying to fake.

“You want me to say it again?”

“I just need to be sure I didn’t imagine it.”

Her eyes narrow. “Some women might think you’re ruggedly handsome,” she says, chin lifting like a challenge.

“What else mightsomewomen think of me?”