Free Uncovering Officer Smith (The Discovering Trilogy #2) by Sheena Hutchinson Page B

Courtney, Paul, and Matt. Rod is there, also, but he’s facedown on the couch still, so I don’t think he counts. All eyes but the ones I want. Becca is concentrating on the bagel she’s spreading with cream cheese.
    “There are a few left.” Becca throws me the white paper bag without even looking at me. “Slim pickings, I’m afraid—Only onion or cinnamon raisin. Apparently Court doesn’t believe in plain bagels on a hung over stomach.”
    Her joke seems to liven things up a bit. “Hey, that wasn’t me. Your brother picked the assortment.” She leans back in her chair before shooting Bedford a smile.
    Paul’s the next one to get up. “I’m outta here—Gotta get to work,” he calls, grabbing a bottle of water off the island before heading for the door. The door shuts behind him when I feel the tone of the room change.
    Bedford’s eyes have been on me since I walked in the doorway. I feel them bore through me like a bullet. But all I can think of is Becca. I slip the cinnamon bagel out of the bag and reach for the knife she just placed down on the marble countertop.
    She glances down at my hand, and I pause. Finally, she meets my eyes. I was hoping when I finally saw her it would all make sense. Her eyes would tell me all I needed to know. But now that I’m looking at them, they are just as unreadable as my own. She tears her eyes away, sliding the cream cheese over to me with her fingertips.
    While I prepare my bagel, I can feel everything about her: the heat radiating from her body and the little glances she shoots me from the side of her eyes. When she props herself up on the counter while she takes a bite of the bagel, I have to advert my eyes because they keep staring at her bare thighs. My eyes skim over anything and everything before they meet Bedford’s. His face is anything but happy.
    “Well, I have to get home. Finals and everything,” Becca mutters, slipping down to the ground and digging into her purse for her keys.
    “Do you need help?” I snap to my senses. For some reason, I don’t want her to leave. There are still things I need to figure out. Things I need to ask her.
    “My final is tomorrow, so unless you’re a statistics expert, I really don’t see how you can help me.”
    Math: probably my worst subject. She’s won and I know it, so I nod in assent. I watch as she walks over to her brother and kisses him on the cheek. She whispers something into his ear before walking over and giving Courtney a hug.
    When she’s walking back around, she eyes Rod, still immobile. “Nice talking to you, Rod. As always, a pleasure!” Her sarcasm is loud enough to make him roll over, but his eyes are still closed. It’s my turn; I can feel it as she begins walking towards me. Almost shy, her blue eyes meet mine and she smiles. A real smile; a flirty smile. “I’ll see you around, John Smith.” She fakes a salute and heads past me towards the door.
    That’s it? The big build up for that? I bounce from one foot to the other, deciding what I should do, things I could say. But when I hear that door open my body reacts like I would on the field. Even with her brother’s eyes still on me, I slip into the hallway. “That’s it?”
    She pauses in the doorway, slowly turning to face me, hand still on the door. “A weak salute – which is the army, by the way – and I’ll see ya ‘round?”
    “What do you want me to say?” Her shoulders straighten and I pause, thinking, because honestly, I don’t know. “I’d say call me—But we both know that isn’t going to happen.”
    “You don’t know that.” I run my fingers through my hair, trying to dispel some nervous energy.
    “Don’t we?” It’s like she can see right through me.
    “Okay, John Smith—Call me.” This time she twirls her hand and bows to me obnoxiously. “Was the bow better?” She smirks at me, hiding a giggle before turning and leaving me, standing in the hallway staring after her.
    I can’t hide the smile even as