Something About You (FBI/US Attorney #1)(24)

A silence fell over the room as Collin and Jack stared at Wilkins, seriously fearing for the fate of men.

Wilkins shifted nervously. “My ex-girlfriend made me watch the show while we were dating.”

“Sure, you keep sticking with that story.” Jack turned to Collin. “Sorry I didn’t recognize the name. I’ve been out of touch for a while.”

“Oh? The Sun-Times doesn’t deliver to Nebraska?” Collin quipped without thinking.

Oops.

He saw the flicker in Jack’s eyes and could read the agent’s thoughts as clearly as if there was a cartoon bubble above his head. So . . . he knows where I’ve been the last three years. She’s talked about me to this joker, then. Who is he, and how much does he know? Except on the issue of sports, a subject on which he clearly is all-knowing.

“Actually, I meant that I’d been working undercover the last time I lived in this city and didn’t have much time to read the paper.” Jack eased back against the counter and took in the kitchen, a room much higher on Cameron’s totem pole that recently had been remodeled. His gaze fell to the hardwood at his feet. “The floors turned out great. You have a very nice place here.”

“I’ll be sure to pass your compliments along to Cameron,” Collin said.

“Oh, I assumed you lived here as well.”

“Nope, just visiting.”

A smoky, feminine voice interrupted them. “And apparently letting unexpected visitors into my house.”

The three men turned and found Cameron standing in the doorway. She wore jeans and a gray T-shirt that hugged tight to her chest, and she had her long hair pulled up into some sort of ponytail/bun-type thing. She looked adorable in a fresh-faced, kicking-back-on-the-weekend kind of way.

Collin stood farther from the doorway, where he had a view of Jack. And although it was subtle, he was pretty sure he saw the agent run his eyes over Cameron before resuming his guarded expression.

Interesting.

Cameron folded her arms across her chest. “Agent Pallas . . . this is a surprise. I wasn’t aware we had an appointment this morning.” She peered around him and her expression turned warmer. “Hello, Agent Wilkins. Nice to see you again. Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

“No problem—we were just catching up with your boy Collin here,” Wilkins said.

Cameron turned her attention next to Collin. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”

“Of course, dear.” Collin followed Cameron into the living room. When they were safely out of earshot, she poked him in the chest.

“What is he doing in my house?” she whispered.

“There was a badge. And some mildly intimidating gazes. I felt it was best to cooperate.”

She poked him again. “I don’t want him in my house.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d get this flustered over Jack Pallas.”

Cameron scoffed at this. “I’m not flustered. I just prefer to handle him on my terms. As in, at my office, at a time when I’m more prepared for a business meeting.”

Collin’s gaze fell to her bare feet. He recalled her vow to be more suitably dressed the next time she encountered Jack Pallas. “You’re losing clothing every time you see him. At this rate, you’ll be naked in front of him before you know it.”

Then the strangest thing happened.

Cameron blushed.

“I’m perfectly capable of keeping my clothes on around him, thank you,” she said, her cheeks tinged rosy pink.

Collin was intrigued. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Cameron blush because of a guy.

The plot thickened.

“He’s even better looking in person,” Collin said, seizing the opportunity to probe deeper. “No wonder you nicknamed him Agent Hottie.”

Cameron threw him the evil-eye. “He’s in the next room. We are so not going to have this conversation right now.”

Collin looked her over. “You seem pretty tense. Are you getting any sex these days?”

“My God, Collin . . . time and place.”

He grinned. “Fine. We’ll continue this conversation later. I should get going anyway—leave you and the boys to discuss whatever it is you need to talk about.”

Cameron frowned. “But you made breakfast—you should at least stay to eat. It smells fantastic.”

Collin leaned in and kissed her forehead affectionately. “There’ll be more for you this way. You need a home-cooked meal a hell of a lot more than I do.”

She chucked him under the chin. “You were poking around in my freezer again, weren’t you?”

“It’s pathetic, babe. Truly pathetic.”

AS CAMERON HEADED back into the kitchen with Collin, the first thing she noticed was that Jack looked uncomfortable. Probably not particularly thrilled to be spending his Sunday morning with her.

“I apologize if we’re interrupting,” he said.

“Actually, it’s fine—I was just leaving,” Collin said. “Got some work to catch up on.”

Wilkins’s face lit up. “Next week’s column? Can you give me a hint? I’m a huge fan,” he explained to Cameron.

Because Wilkins was such a nice person, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Guys geeked out over Collin all the time and, frankly, his healthy ego was a testament to that. “He’s a very talented writer,” she agreed diplomatically.