He stared at the sway of her hips and the rounded curve of her backside and tried not to groan. She bent down to pick up the matchbooks she’d dropped on the floor. The movement lifted the hem of her short T-shirt, revealing the sweet expanse of skin on her lower back and the thin strap of lace underneath. He bit down on the inside of his cheek and prayed for restraint.
Molly examined each matchbook before tossing it back into the bowl. “I recognize all of these places,” she muttered, obviously frustrated.
He headed back to the desk and started looking through recent credit card bills.
“Wait!”
Her excited voice caught his attention and he glanced up.
“Find something?”
“I think so. All of these were from local places—restaurants and bars around here or at least in Connecticut, but look. This one’s from New Jersey and it’s a motel, not a place to eat.” She tossed the matchbook at him.
He caught it midair and looked it over. The matchbook appeared to be unused and new, no rips, tears or creases in the cover. “It says A.C. Probably Atlantic City.”
She nodded. “That’s what I thought. Could it be the lead we’re looking for?”
He wasn’t about to feed her false hope. “It could be nothing or it could be something. When Sonya gets home, ask her if she’s ever been there, and if she hasn’t, I’ll have Ty run down the lead.” He pocketed the matchbook and scanned the credit card bill for the past few months.
There were no indications Paul Markham had been to Atlantic City or anywhere else in New Jersey for that matter. But the man had been stealing from his partner for a while now. He had to have been an expert at covering his tracks, paying cash and maybe even using an assumed name.
Hunter caught the dejected look on Molly’s face. He understood how badly she wanted to find something that would lead to more information and hopefully free her father.
“I didn’t say it was nothing. I just said we need to look deeper.” He started to reach a hand out to comfort her, then curled his fingertips into a fist and dropped his arm back to his side. Touching her now would be deadly to his self-control.
And he had to be tougher around her now.
She turned away, pretending not to notice his rejection.
But he knew she had and his stomach cramped. “Let’s go back to your father’s and see what we can find out,” he suggested.
“Sounds like a plan.”
He followed her out, wishing like hell she’d confided in him instead of choosing to shut him out by lying to him about Sonya and Frank’s relationship. Not only had she sent him into a witness interview unprepared, she’d shaken the fragile trust they’d begun to develop again.
It was ironic, really. And it would be funny, if he wasn’t so disappointed in her. Molly had lied out of fear that Hunter would no longer trust her father and he’d drop his case as a result.
Her plan had backfired big-time. Because it was now Molly he didn’t trust at all.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AWOMAN SCORNED had nothing on Hunter, Molly decided as she dressed to meet Ty and Lacey. In the two days since he’d discovered Molly had lied about her father meeting with Sonya, Hunter had frozen her out. He acted as if they’d never made love. As if his body had never been buried deep inside hers, filling her completely.
Ignoring a headache that had been building, she pulled on her red cowboy boots for luck, hoping that a visit from his best friends would help improve Hunter’s mood. Ty and Lacey were driving down from Albany to visit and to give them the information on the Atlantic City motel. Hunter had asked Ty to run down the lead after Sonya said she’d never seen or heard of the place on the matchbook before. She also suggested it had been a place where Paul stayed while out of town, not on business but with his mistress of the moment. Molly shuddered, remembering the matter-of-fact way she’d discussed the issue. Clearly she’d known of her husband’s infidelities and it made Molly sad to think of living with someone you couldn’t trust. Which brought her full circle to her major mistake with Hunter.
He was right about one thing—every decision she made was dictated by fear of losing her new family. But he was wrong to think she didn’t trust him or that she’d deliberately chosen her father over him. It wasn’t that clear-cut, she thought, still frustrated and upset.
Enough that she sensed her headache was turning into a massive migraine. The kind she used to get as a child. It had been a while since she’d had one, but she kept her prescription updated and filled just in case. Still, she wasn’t in enough pain to take them, so she popped two over-the-counter painkillers instead and tried to think of positive things that wouldn’t upset her more.
All she could do now was go forward and hope Hunter could move past it, as well. She ran her fingers through the air-dried waves in her hair, brushed on a swipe of peach lip gloss and decided she looked as good as it was going to get.
She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said to Hunter, who paced by the front door.
“He’s been wearing a hole in the carpet,” the commander said. She sat in a chair in the family room, obviously keeping him company. “It’s a male thing. They get ready too fast, then have to pace and wait while a woman makes herself beautiful. Doesn’t she look beautiful, Hunter?”
Molly flushed red. She figured she’d done a lifetime’s worth of blushing since Hunter had come to stay here. “We’re going to a business meeting, Commander.”
“Well, if I could get these legs into skinny jeans and boots like that, I could pick up every man within a ten-mile radius.”
Hunter turned Edna’s way, taking in her now dark brown hair. She’d rinsed out the purple last night, changing it for a mahogany after pronouncing the burgundy too punk for her liking. “You can still pick up any man you want and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” Hunter said with a grin.
His eyes filled with genuine affection and his tone held a deep warmth.
Regret suffused Molly and she silently promised herself she’d somehow win his affection back.
“I think I’m going to head over to the senior center and bag myself a man!” Edna chuckled, but didn’t rise from her seat.
“Just because a handsome man complimented you, don’t fall for the first pretty face.” Molly strode over to her grandmother and kissed her cheek. “You need to find someone active. Jessie’s getting older and you can travel again if you want.”