“SexyDetective Hightower.” Her brows waggled.
“Gigi!”
“Okay, then…Silver FoxDetective Hightower…”
“Georgia!”
“Imogen!”
“I don’t know what you’re implying, but?—”
“Oh, come off it.” She set down her mug. “Don’t even try to pretend you haven’t noticed how hot that man is. I sensed the tension between you two last night.”
“There was no tension!”
“Honey, it was so thick I could’ve cut it with a knife, slathered it on toast, and still had leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.”
Damn and blast.
“Look, if there was tension, it wasn’t the kind you’re thinking of.”
“You mean therip-his-clothes-off-with-your-teethkind? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what I was sensing…”
“No, definitely not. It was thegrind-my-teeth-in-utter-frustrationvariety.”
“Sexual frustration?”
“Gigi,” I said warningly. “My car broke down. He was being nice to a stranger in need. That’s all.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Imogen.”
“He was just doing his job!”
“His job is catching criminals, not personally escorting women to a local inn, making sure they’re settled, then calling first thing in the morning with updates about their cars.”
I sat up straighter. “Hang on. Rewind. He called?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“And?” The word nearly exploded out of my mouth, such was its velocity.
“Oh,nowyou’re interested in chatting about the handsome detective?”
“Gigi, I swear?—”
Her giggles might’ve been infectious if they weren’t at my expense. “Take a breath! He only wanted me to pass along a message that your car is at the auto-body shop being checked out as we speak. He said he’ll have an update on the extent of the repairs by this afternoon but, from the initial diagnostic, you’re not going to be driving anywhere for a while.”
That didn’t sound good. “Definea while.”
“Seemed like a few days at least. A week at most.”
“A week?!”
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!” She held up her hands defensively. “Apparently, your car isn’t exactly fresh off the lot. They have to order a replacement part from somewhere else…”
Of coursethey didn’t have the parts in stock for my shitbox. That would be too easy.
“He wants you to call him.” Gigi was grinning like this was the best day of her life. “Please tell me I can be in the room, and that you’ll put it on speakerphone so I can listen in.”