The knot tightened her throat and the truth just slipped out. “About her treatments.”
He almost stopped dancing. “You mean for cancer?”
She nodded. “She refused to have any more. She gave up.”
He caressed her cheek, his gaze as tender as his touch. “That must have been hard.”
“Not as hard as knowing that I spent the last weeks of her life mad at her.” Cali closed her eyes as the ache flared.
With a gentle sweep of his fingers through her hair, he pulled her into his warmth. “I’m sorry.”
“Maybe we should talk about something different.” She raised her head when he started moving again.
“I have a better idea. Let’s not talk.” He kissed her. A slow, deep kiss that tasted like red wine—sweet, tangy. She became lost in want. Nothing existed but him, the kiss, and their bodies, together. She closed her eyes and just let him lead her.
Finally, Brit pulled away. Cali opened her eyes and realized the music had stopped. They were almost alone on the dance floor. His hooded gaze met hers. He offered her one of his slow, sexy smiles, the kind with a lot of heat. “I told you this was dangerous.”
Aware of how dangerous she felt, of how far she’d let herself go, she stepped away. Embarrassment rained down. Had they really made out on the dance floor in front of everyone and God? Yup.
She started back to the room where his mother’s party was happening.
He caught her. “Not so fast.”
“We should go back to the party. Everyone else has.”
He arched a brow. “Let’s stand at the bar and give me a minute.”
The slow tune of passion still hummed through her, but the embarrassment and the fact that she’d let things go too far chased her back to this side of sanity. “Why?”
He cut his gaze toward the front of his khaki slacks.
She saw the bulge behind his zipper. She jerked up her gaze. “Oh.” She blushed.
Smiling, he touched her cheek. “Damn, you’re precious.”
~
Fifteen minutes passed before they rejoined the others. For some reason, either the second glass of wine, or dancing with Cali, he’d managed to forget about his issues with his mom and just started enjoying himself. He even managed to eat the birthday cake.
He was eyeing the uneaten piece of Cali’s cake when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, forked one big bite of her cake in his mouth, and moved to the quieter side of the room.
“Hello.” Brit felt Quarles watching him. The man had watched him all evening. And part of Brit knew the man was worried about his relationship with Cali. Down deep, Brit shared the concern, but not enough to do a damn thing about it. With Humphrey’s phone at the crime scene and blood evidence on Cali’s door, chances were they had enough evidence on the man and wouldn’t need Cali’s testimony.
“Lowell?” the husky female voice didn’t jar his memory.
“Yes?”
“This is Lucy Edwards, Officer Edwards. I met you the other day at the hotel. We answered the call about the missing woman.”
“Yes, I remember you. What I can I do for you?” And how did she get his cell number?
“Actually, it’s what I can do for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Brit hesitated. “What’s that?” he asked, uncertain he was reading this right.
“I’m back at the hotel. Some idiot took a few punches at the guy working the front desk to get the key for room 112. He tore through the room pretty good. The clerk had your card with your number on it.”
“Tell me you got the guy.”
“Sorry. He was gone when we got here.” She took a deep breath. “Aren’t you at all concerned about the woman?”
Brit looked at Cali, sitting and talking to one of his mom’s friends, and he remembered how close he’d come to leaving her alone tonight. Acid let loose on his stomach. “I know where she is.”
“Good, because I was going to tell you that she’s not here.”
“Did you get a description of the guy?”
“Yeah. White male, dark hair, big fellow.”
Brit palmed the phone tighter. “Can you call out an APB and comb the area for a ninety-eight F-150 pickup?”
“Is there something we should know about this case?” Edwards asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be there in ten minutes to fill you in.”
He snapped the phone closed.
Quarles appeared beside him. “Trouble?”
Brit nodded. “Humphrey just beat up the hotel clerk for Cali’s room key. He trashed Cali’s hotel room.”
“How did he find her?” Quarles asked.
Brit glanced back at Cali. “She originally put the room in her name. I told the clerk to change it. I bet the jerk didn’t do it.”
“Or she told him where she was staying,” Quarles said.
“She hasn’t talked to him,” Brit said. And he believed that. He did.
“Should we head out?” Quarles moved closer.
“I am,” he said. “You can stay. But I’m going to ask Susan to take Cali to my place.”
“I’m with you,” Quarles said.