Page 53 of Detective for the Debutante (SAFE Haven Security #3)

LEIGH

T he salty air is tinged with the smells of coconut, sand, and sweetness as it melts together in the summer sun. I wiggle against the warmth of the beach towel on the sand, the sound of the rest of the beachgoers, sea birds, and the waves blending into a hypnotic soundtrack.

“This is perfect,” I tell Sydney. “Almost perfect.”

“Mmm.” It’s the sound of drowsy agreement.

We’re lying on the warm sand of Manhattan Beach, where I’ve decided I’m going to camp for the rest of my trip.

“Why did we wait so long to come here?” I ask, rolling over and letting the sun warm my back while I nestle my head on my arms, breathing in the coconut of my own sunscreen.

I’ve been in California for five days and fly back tomorrow.

“We’ve been busy, girl,” Sydney says on a yawn.

She’s played tour guide the whole time. We’ve explored everything from Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood sign, Universal Studios—where we rode every roller coaster twice—and a variety of restaurants and clubs. We dragged Jessie along too.

Sydney was right. There were shadows in Jessie’s eyes, demons chasing her that she wasn’t saying anything about. Instead she was throwing herself into dancing and flirting with any guy who approached her.

I frown.

That was the hardest part of this trip.

Leaving Murphy.

It was only for six days. I will see him tomorrow when he picks me up from the airport. There will be longer separations once he moves to DC and I am in Knoxville for law school.

But I miss him like crazy.

FaceTime isn’t cutting it.

Texts aren’t even close.

What am I going to do when he moves?

Opening my eyes, I reach for my phone, setting a reminder to look into law schools in DC again. I might have to wait until next semester, but that is as long as I am going to wait.

“Where are we going to dinner tonight?” I ask Sydney.

She turns her head in my direction, but her eyes are hidden behind dark sunglasses.

“I haven’t given it much thought. What are you in the mood for?”

The sun is bright—even with my sunglasses—so I close my eyes to think. We’ve had sushi, steak, Italian, and one night just had ice cream for dinner.

Worth it .

That ice cream was some of the best I ever had. And it was just from a small shop around the corner from Sydney and Jessie’s apartment.

For Sydney’s part, everything she showed me she also tried to use to convince me to move to LA with them. Even Jessie had joined her bandwagon the last two nights out.

“I have no idea. I just want to lie here for a while longer,” I murmur.

“Take your time. We’re in no rush.”

Sydney’s phone buzzes with a text, and she responds before tossing her phone back on her towel.

“Was that Jessie? Where is she?”

“She was babysitting for her brother and sister-in-law. She said they were going on a day date.”

“That’s freaking adorable,” I tell her, peeking one eye open.

“According to her, they say day dates are easier because then they’re home at night for nighttime routines for their three kids. Especially since those routines change when Jax tours.”

“I still can’t believe you know Jax Bryant,” I tell her.

We’d just heard one of his songs—an older one—on the radio on the way to the beach this morning.

“Jessie knows him better than I do,” Sydney teases, sitting up and groaning. “God, don’t look now but you’re being ogled by another one.”

I snort. “Whatever. They’re looking at you.”

With her red hair and flawless skin, she attracts attention wherever she goes. Or maybe it’s the confident way she embraces life. Like the deep plum bikini she is wearing for the day. She is stunning.

“Not this one, babes,” she says.

With a sigh, I sit up and look at where she’s pointing.

He’s standing at the edge of the beach in a pair of shorts and open button-down shirt, a pair of aviators covering his eyes, but I would recognize him in a crowd of a million.

I scramble up, running in his direction with Sydney laughing behind me.

“Murphy!” I squeal.

He meets me halfway, scooping me up and supporting my legs as I wrap them around his waist, peppering his face with kisses he returns as best he can while laughing.

“Did you miss me, Stóirín?” he asks.

I let my mouth do the talking, claiming his lips with mine and kissing him until several hoots nearby remind me we’re not alone.

“Does that answer your question?” I ask.

He releases my legs and I slide down his body, the muscle in his jaw ticking with the delicious friction of my body against his.

“I’ll have to show you later how much I missed you,” he growls in my ear.

My fingers grip his shirt and I’m ready for us to find a place right now for him to show me how much he missed me. I hope he has a hotel room since I’m staying on Sydney’s couch. Wait…Sydney.

I turn around and Sydney hands me my packed beach bag.

“That was the hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep,” she confesses.

“Thank you!” I tell her, stepping away from Murphy long enough to wrap her in a hug.

“You’re welcome.” She hugs me back before turning toward Murphy. “Did Jessie get you into the apartment okay?”

He nods.

“She did. Thanks for setting that up. I stopped by Sydney’s apartment to pick up your stuff before I came here. I hope you don’t mind,” he explains to me.

“I don’t mind,” I tell him, trying to hold back my excitement.

I mean, I love Sydney. She’s my best friend.

But my hot as fuck boyfriend just surprised me in LA. One I haven’t seen for five days.

It’s a no-brainer decision.

“I wouldn’t have minded either,” Sydney speaks up from behind me.

At least we have her blessing.

“Call me later. Love you!” She hugs me again, waves at Murphy, and heads for her car, leaving the two of us alone.

Or as alone as we’re going to be on a beach full of strangers.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asks.

He seems uncertain, slightly uncomfortable, and tension builds in my stomach. What’s happened now?

I sink my teeth into my lower lip and he reaches up, running his finger along the flesh.

“Nothing bad, sweetheart. I promise,” he murmurs. His sunglasses are gone, allowing me to see his eyes, and the truth is there.

I nod, the tension loosening, and follow him as he walks away from the pier, and the crowds thin. We walk to the edge of the water, continuing up the shoreline, his fingers woven with mine.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were going to spend this week packing.”

He leaves next week for DC and his new job. I fight the burn of tears, staring out at the ocean and breathing in the fresh air until the burn fades.

“I’m all packed and ready for the moving company to drop the storage container on Monday.”

I will not cry. I will not cry. Oh, who am I kidding? The tears blurring my vision release, and I’m glad for the dark sunglasses that somewhat hide them.

“Oh.”

It’s the only word I trust myself to say.

He stops walking and pulls me back to face him. I duck my head to the side, trying to sniffle inconspicuously which he ruins by pushing my sunglasses up my face.

“Why are you crying?” he asks, running his thumbs along my cheeks to clear the moisture.

“I’m going to miss you. This last week has been hard, and I know it was my choice to go, but I knew it was only for a few days and I would get to see you this weekend. You’re leaving next week and who knows when we’ll see each other again.”

Dramatic? Yes.

Do I care? No.

He smiles, pulling me forward until I’m wrapped in his arms and his lips press a kiss to my forehead.

“Only I’m not leaving next week. I’m not moving to DC.”

“What? What happened? I thought when IA cleared you the job was yours. Isn’t that what the special agent in charge said?”

He’s wanted the job for as long as he can remember—he told me so before. How dare they take it away from him when he was cleared of any wrongdoing with his cases.

“Sweetheart, take a breath. Fuck, I love you. One minute you’re crying because I’m leaving and the next minute you’re ready to do battle because you think I’m being treated unfairly.”

He squeezes me to him, lifting my feet out of the waves lapping at our feet.

“Well, I know it’s what you want. What you’ve wanted for forever.”

“Wanted,” he says.

“What?”

“You’re right. It’s what I wanted before. I called Agent Park and thanked her for the opportunity for the job, but told her my circumstances had changed and I could no longer accept it.”

Confusion now joins the roller coaster of emotions I’ve experienced since I saw him standing on the beach.

“Why?”

He reaches up, smoothing his finger between my brows.

“You.”

“Me? I don’t want you to make a choice to make me happy and?—”

“If you stop to take that breath we talked about, I can explain.” He rolls his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

“Sorry.” Heat fills my chest, traveling up my neck.

“You’re fine. And I didn’t make a choice just to make you happy.

I made the choice for us. If this week has been hard for you, it’s been equally as hard on me.

It only took me about three boxes before I realized I couldn’t leave you.

Not like I originally planned. I have zero doubt we could make long distance work, but that’s not what I want for you.

For me. For us. So I told the FBI thanks, but no thanks. ”

“You’re staying in Nashville?” I ask, excitement building at the realization he’s not moving.

“Not exactly.”

Wrinkling my nose, I shake my head.

“Why not? Where are you going?”

“Well, for one, I don’t have a job. The department has already selected my replacement. I could reapply but only when they have an opening. The second reason I’m not staying in Nashville is because my lease is up on my condo next week. But the biggest reason is you.”

“Me?”

He nods.

“You’re in Knoxville. And my home is where you are, Stóirín. I’ve lived without you for thirty-six years. I don’t want to live without you anymore. Think you could handle a roommate in Knoxville?”

“Oh my God, yes!” I squeal, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing a kiss against his lips, but pulling away just as he deepens it. “Wait. Was Knoxville PD hiring?”

He shrugs.

“I didn’t check with them.”

“You didn’t?”

“Turns out, when he and Hannah Grace were in Nashville last week, Cole mentioned SAFE Haven was looking for a profiler. They’ve been using a retired FBI profiler for work on an ad hoc basis but he wants to fully retire.

I flew out here this morning to meet with Sawyer and talk about the job.

You’re looking at the newest member of SAFE Haven Security. ”

“So you’re not moving to DC?”

“Correct.”

“You’re moving to Knoxville. With me.”

“Also correct.”

“And you’re going to go to work with Sydney and Cole?”

He nods. “Yes.”

“Why is all of this so easy?” I ask, overwhelmed with happiness.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?” he teases, lifting me until we’re eye level.

“I am going to be a lawyer. Consider it practice,” I tell him.

“So life with you is going to be full of questions?”

“Would you expect anything less?” I ask.

“No. Besides, I have a really good way of answering all of them.” His gaze drifts to my mouth and my lips tingle in anticipation.

“You do?”

Our mouths collide, my question still echoing between us as his tongue dances with mine.

My fingers thread through his hair, and I moan at the heat of his hand where it flexes against my hip.

His other hand tangles in my ponytail, tugging my head to deepen the kiss, and goose bumps ripple along my skin, my nipples pebbling against the Lycra of my bikini top.

We continue kissing until I have no idea where he ends and I begin.

“I have a question,” I tell him, ripping my lips from his.

He moves to my jaw, pressing kisses in a line to my ear.

“Of course you do. What?”

“You mentioned earlier wanting to show me how much you missed me.” It’s hard to focus with the delicious things his mouth is doing to my ear.

“I did. Is that your question?”

“No. But can we go now? I’m ready for you to show me.” The words are breathless, need blotting out every other emotion.

Except love.

It’s a heady combination.

He lifts his head, his eyes finding mine. The golden depths hold a fire I can’t wait to explore. He studies me, eyes darkening as he does, until he nods.

“Just one more thing before we go,” he tells me.

“What’s that?”

“I love you, Leigh Whittaker.”

I am a puddle of goo on the sand. The man knows how to light me on fire and make me melt in the same heartbeat.

“What was that for?”

“I’m always going to remember this moment. And I want it to be one where I told you so.”

“I love you too.”

“Now let’s get out of here.”

In the next instant, I’m over his shoulder and he’s sprinting for the car.

“You’re crazy,” I tell him, laughing as he deposits me in the passenger seat of a rental car.

“Crazy for you,” he says, snagging another kiss before closing my door. He rounds the hood, sliding into the driver’s seat and cranking the engine in a fluid movement. “Now hang on tight.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m about to bend several speeding laws on the way to the hotel.”