Free Edge of Reason (EDGE Security Series Book 2) by Trish Loye Page B

were teammates now. She wouldn’t let anything interfere with that.
    Her inner voice laughed.  
    So she cursed it and smiled at Rhys. A friendly, professional smile. “What are you making?”
    “Gumbo.”  
    “Gumbo? I’ve heard of it, but never had it.”
    “Well then, chère,” he said, letting his accent thicken. “You’re in for a treat. Chicken and andouille sausage gumbo is pure N’Awlins dee-light.” He waved his hand toward a tray holding a short golden loaf resting on the countertop. “And cornbread, of course.”
    She inhaled the delicious scents and her stomach growled again. “Where did you learn to cook?”
    “My grandmother,” Rhys said, looking back at the gumbo he stirred.
    Cat sensed a story there, but didn’t pursue it since Dani called out from the living room. “I just can’t get it, Rhys. Come show me again.”
    A grin lit Rhys’s face as he left the kitchen, and Cat had to follow that smile. In the living room, Dani stood with part of a deck of cards in one hand and the other part all over the room. A bulletin board had been set up on a chair. “Show me again,” Dani demanded.
    “You’ve created a monster, Rhys,” Jake said with a laugh. He lazed on the couch watching his girlfriend. “We’re going to have a mess of cards in here until she figures it out.”
    Rhys laughed and took the cards Dani offered him. “The trick is to hold them lightly. You’re not throwing them, they’re flying out of your hands when you flick your wrist.” He threw a card in a quick motion and it thunked into the bulletin board edgewise and stuck there, quivering slightly.
    “Holy crap,” Cat said. “Should we call you Gambit instead?”
    Rhys scowled while Jake laughed. “It was close,” Jake said. “But Lucky had already stuck.”
    She spent the next few minutes alongside Dani, trying to get a card even close to the board.  
    “Let me show you,” Rhys said and stepped in behind her, placing one arm alongside hers, the front of his body almost, but not quite, touching her back. She bit her lip as tension tightened her muscles.  
    “Relax,” Rhys said in her ear. She fought the shiver that raced through her at the sound of his low voice so close. She swallowed, conscious of Jake and Dani in the room. She went to flick the card just to get it done, but Rhys’s hand enclosed hers, stopping her.  
    “Easy,” he said, his voice lower still. She glanced at him. That was a mistake. His eyes glowed with amusement. Her heart skipped a beat. He looked down at their joined hands and her gaze followed.  
    “Like this,” he said. He curled their combined hands toward them and then snapped them out.  
    The card shot from her fingers and straight to the board. It didn’t stick, but it had flown true. All thought of Rhys standing too close vanished. “Cool!” She immediately took another card.  
    Rhys stepped away from her, a small smile on his face as he watched her fling two more cards. “Addictive, isn’t it?”
    Jake groaned. “Seriously, Lucky. Now you’ve got both of them making a mess.”
    Rhys just laughed. “I think the gumbo’s ready. Let’s eat.”
    After a few more cards, only one of which flew straight, Cat filed into the kitchen after the others and filled her dish with rice, then layered the rich gumbo on top. No one spoke much through the first bowls, but eventually Cat’s curiosity got the better of her.  
    “Your grandmother taught you well,” Cat said. “Did she live in New Orleans with you?”  
    Rhys averted his gaze. “Yes.”
    He didn’t elaborate and Cat could tell by his face that the woman had meant a lot to him. “You must miss her.”
    Jake stood up. “I’m getting a beer. Any takers?”
    “I’d love one,” Dani said, standing too. “Cat?”
    Cat wasn’t fooled. Jake and Dani were trying to redirect the conversation. She arched an eyebrow at them. “I’m on call and so is Rhys.” Dani shook her head at Cat as she and Jake went into the