Page 82 of To the Chase

“We always figure it out.” Smoothing a hand down his shirt, he took a retreating step. “We’ve made it through worse.”

Wehad. And I had to believe this was just another stretch of rough road on our journey.

“We’ll figure it out,” I echoed.

Sam started to turn toward the door, but paused, catching my eye. “Glad we talked.”

“I am too.”

After he’d closed the door behind him, I realized it was the first time in weeks he’d left my office on a good note. I leaned my head back on my chair and closed my eyes, exhaling a long, heavy breath.

Our foundation was cracked but not crumbling.

We’d get past this.

I’d stopped doing this. It was a bad habit and crossing a line, even for me. But after my conversation with Sam and a torrent of meetings, I had to see her.

A flash of blue caught my eye as my driver rolled through traffic.

“Pull over,” I ordered. “Please.”

Igor eased into a loading zone in front of the coffee shop Bea was inside. She was heading toward the door, and I held my breath, watching her through my open window.

Balancing two cups in one hand, she laughed at something the barista had said behind her. Sunlight caught on her hair through the window, lighting it up like the hottest part of a flame.

A man carrying a tray of coffee swerved around her to get to the door, and at the same time, another guy approached from the outside. Neither seemed to notice the other, but they definitely noticed Bea.

Theone outside got there first and reached for the handle with an excited smile aimed at Bea. The one inside moved just as swiftly, shoving the door open from the other side.

The two overeager men collided, coffee exploding everywhere. Two cups flew through the air and hit the ground with a sad splat. The third stayed upright, miraculously saved by the guy inside, who stood frozen in shock.

Bea hopped back to avoid the puddles. “Wow. Are you guys okay? You came out of nowhere.”Neither man looked particularly upset. One was grinning while the other nodded furiously, coffee dripping down his neck onto his white shirt.

Bea passed him a napkin as she carefully stepped around them, telling them to watch where they were going next time. Then she gave them an adorable little finger wave as the inside guy slipped in a puddle, knocking the other man onto his ass.

I smiled.

This was Bea. She wasn’t trying to cause chaos; it just followed her like a lost puppy. I’d witnessed scenes like this too many times to count.

Turning on her heel, she took one step, stopped, then twisted back around to look directly at my car, not even a flicker of surprise on her face.

I leaned back and slapped the window button, but I wasn’t fast enough. She strode right up to my door and bent down, her eyes locked on mine.

“Well, hello.” She pursed her lips. “Fancy seeing you here, Salvatore.”

“Uh…hi.” I didn’t have to see myself to know my ears were glowing bright red.

Herforehead crinkled. “Are you going to give me a ride?”

“Yeah. Yes. Of course. Get in.”

I opened the door, and she slid in beside me, placing her coffees in the cup holders. Her knee brushed mine.

“Should I even ask what you’re doing here?”

Unable to help myself, I slid my hand over her smooth, bare knee. “I was out for a drive and there you were.”

Her lips twitched. “Were you? It’s funny. I swear I’ve seen this car before. Quite a few times, actually.”