Page 217 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

“I’ll have a better idea after Sanchez and I talk.”

“So we should probably reschedule dinner for some other time.”

“Shit,” he mumbled under his breath. “No. We can do it tonight.”

“It’s okay. I forgot I already made plans with Molly,” she lied as she walked off, leaving Nate to follow behind.

~~~~

Nate pulled into a parking space by the pickup, keeping his foot on the brake as he looked at Callie. Neither one of them had said much since she’d turned her back on him and left him to follow her along the logging trail through the woods. He sighed. “Callie, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She grabbed her purse and got out. “I’ll see you later,” she said, not bothering to make eye contact as she shut the door.

“Fuck,” he muttered, putting the Tahoe in Park. He got out of his truck as Callie got in hers and wasted no time turning over the engine. He hurried around to the passenger side before she could take off. “Wait a minute.”

She darted a look his way, her eyes frosty and miserable, as her hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I should get going.”

“Please don’t.” He got in and reached for her, holding her rigid hand in his. “Talk to me instead.”

“I’ve already said plenty.”

He sighed again. “I don’t want us leaving things like this. I’m sorry I took you out there. I’m sorry about the whole damn thing.”

It was her turn to exhale a long breath as she rested her head against the seat. “I know there’s no easy solution here. You have a job to do, and I get that. You took this on because of me. I’ve been busy the last couple of weeks, and I understand that you still are, but… I don’t know. I guess I was hoping that every now and again we could have a date night—or take a simple bath together and enjoy each other’s company without talking about my case.”

He was screwing this up. He had everything he’d ever wanted and he was making a mess of it. “Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m having a hard time finding a balance. When I was a beat cop, I secured a scene and the detectives took over. Stuff like this doesn’t happen on the island. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

She laced their fingers. “I’m worried about you, Nate.”

He could see it in her eyes as he captured her chin and eased her closer, stroking her skin. “I’ll get things figured out.”

She kissed him. “I love you.”

When would he get used to hearing that—to the uptick in his heartbeat when she said the words? “I love you too.” He brought her mouth back to his, lingering. “Can we have dinner tonight? At home? I can cook for you.”

She smiled. “I’d like that. We can make something together if you want.”

He nodded. “Sure. And the bath idea sounds pretty good too.”

Her smile bloomed wider as she touched his cheek. “Yes, it does.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, Callie. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.”

Her eyes went soft. “I know. We’re going to figure everything out. Together.”

He nodded, even when his instinct was to tell her no. He and Sanchez were a long way from connecting all of the dots, but the more he dug into Samantha Fletcher’s disappearance, the further away he wanted Callie from the details of her own case. “I’d love to stay right here with you, but I really should get going.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll probably be a couple of hours. If I get called out before I can head home, I’ll let you know.”

She kissed him. “Thanks.”

He brought his lips back to hers once more, then opened the door. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Be safe.”

“That’s always the plan.” He winked, shutting her in the cab.