Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(78)

Dax grinned and winked her way. “Sorry, sweetheart. I thought we were alone.”

“Well, you can see now that we’re not,” she shot back. “So clothes would really be appropriate here.”

“All right, then. I suppose I could get dressed after our lazy morning.” He grabbed his bag and turned to the bathroom. Just when she thought she was home free, he whirled back, his eyes narrowing on Chad. “You look familiar, kid. Maybe I saw you on YouTube or someplace. And just so you know, Holland, I’m completely emotionally available, so don’t you go thinking you can use me for some psychosexual therapy thing. I am available to you in every way a man can be to his woman, darlin’.”

She sighed as he strode off and closed the door behind him.

“Is that who I think it is?” Chad had turned a perfect shade of red. Even his angry flush looked as if someone had painted it on his skin. He didn’t go blotchy the way she did.

How had she ended up dating a man prettier than her? “It depends. Who do you think he is?”

“Captain Daxton Spencer, one of the president’s closest friends, but more important, the man who dumped you for your best friend.”

“I didn’t dump her. She dumped me and I ended up in a drunken marriage,” Dax yelled from the bathroom, proving that while she couldn’t hear anything outside her apartment, the walls were superthin inside. “So really when you think about it, it’s all Holland’s fault. Did she send me a happy divorce present? Nope. Not even a card.”

She had something she could send him. Holland yanked a pillow off the sofa and threw it at the door, wishing it had been Dax’s head. “You jerk.”

Chad ignored their byplay. He turned her around, hands tight on her shoulders. “That man used you and made you look like a fool. Everyone knows it.”

“Really?” She wasn’t able to keep the bitterness from her tone. “Everyone? I think there are some people who don’t know. Maybe in Antarctica. And it’s none of your business.”

“Of course it’s my business. I love you, Holland. I’m the man who stayed with you, the one who watched out for you. Not him.”

She let go of her anger. It was misplaced. “You’ve misunderstood the situation, Chad. Captain Spencer and I are working together on a project. That’s all. We worked late and he ended up sleeping on the couch. But the truth of the matter is, my love life is no longer your concern. I appreciate that you came here to check on me, but it’s not necessary.”

He strode to her dining room, looking to the whiteboard she’d set up and the documents they’d printed out and pinned there. Despite the fact that they each had a laptop, it was simply easier for them to look at everything together on a whiteboard. She preferred it because it often gave her an overview she didn’t have when she looked at pieces of evidence separately.

His eyes flared as he turned to her. “Do you know what kind of trouble you could get into for giving that man access to those documents? Did you even run it by your supervisor? Some of these are NOLA PD documents. Did you get them transferred to you through proper channels?”

Chad was big on proper channels. “My uncle gave them to me. You can ask him yourself.”

“If he did, it wasn’t so you could call up that manwhore and lure him back into your life. This case is closed. It’s been closed for years. If Captain Spencer wants to stir up trouble again, let him do it on his own time.”

“Would love to, but apparently I’m now on a presidential task force and Dax is my boss.”

Chad stopped. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means she can’t talk about it.” Dax strode back into the room. At least this time he was wearing a pair of jeans. He seemed to have forgotten his shirt again. “This case is classified. I’ll let you know if we need the help of the New Orleans PD.” He turned her way. “Sweetheart, do you still like your eggs over medium?”

“I like my eggs alone. They’re so much happier that way.” When had she completely lost control of the situation? This scene was like something out of a terrible comedy of errors, especially when Dax walked into the kitchen and proceeded to prove he knew exactly where she kept everything. How did he remember where she stored her skillet after three years?

Chad frowned and took her by the elbow, hauling her back. “You need to explain to me what’s going on right now. Why is that man here?”

“You need to get your hands off her,” Dax said, following them. He looked awfully masculine for a man with a cast-iron skillet and spatula in his hands. Somehow he made both ordinary kitchen tools look like the weapons of a predator.

“I can handle Chad, Captain Spencer.”

“Yes, Captain Spencer.” Chad curled one arm around her shoulders in a possessive move. “This is between me and my fiancée. So back off. I’ll put my hands on her whenever I like.”

Dax started to puff up in that caveman way that shouldn’t be so damn sexy. But it was. Still, as interesting as it might be to see him take Chad down, she could do it herself.

Holland grabbed Chad’s wrist to prod him to let her go. When he tightened his hold instead, she flipped him neatly onto his back, his weight hitting her floor with a loud bang that hopefully didn’t upset Madame Delphine in the unit beneath her.