Faint furrows creasing his brow, he concentrated on the paper before him and jotted notes with bold, confident strokes.

Bold.

Confident.

Terms that had fit him eight years ago.

Terms that still fit.

A sudden surge of yearning swept over her, so strong she groped for the back of a chair at the nearest table.

No!

She would not succumb to his charms again, set herself up for another fall. The old adage about being once burned and twice shy was true.

It was called self-preservation.

Despite Zeke’s hint that he’d like to talk to her about more personal matters, she had no intention of—

He looked up, locked gazes with her—and shorted out her respiration.

Oh, for pity’s sake.

Letting the man fluster her with mere eye contact was not acceptable.

She tipped up her chin, squeezed the strap on her backpack until her fingernails bit into her palm, and marched toward the study room.

This would be a business session.

Nothing more.

He rose when she entered, as he always did. “Were you waiting long for me to notice you?”

In other words, how long had she been standing there watching him?

“I just got here.” Close enough.

She dropped her backpack onto a chair, shrugged out of her parka and gloves, and claimed her usual seat.

“You’re dressed for an arctic excursion.”

“Or a walk around Ivy Hill in the dead of winter.” She fished out her Spanish book and suppressed a shiver. “I hate cold weather.”

“I know.” Amusement lurking in the depths of his irises, he retook his seat, fiddled with his phone, and set it between them. “Remember the night we had ringside seats at the hockey game and I had to loan you my jacket? You claimed there was a cold breeze whenever a player skated by.”

Yeah, she remembered that—and more.

Like how she’d used the chilly temperature as an excuse to cuddle up to her date.

At least he hadn’t mentioned that.

But the sudden heat in his eyes suggested that memory had surfaced for him too.

He masked his emotions at once, however, and opened the book. “Anything new with your case?”

Willing her pulse to slow down, she pretended to study the page in front of her and briefed him on her encounter with the security chief and the new foot patrols—though her voice wasn’t quite as steady as his. “Does it strike you as a bit strange for him to do that if he believes Stephanie left the premises of her own volition?”

“We do live in a world where violence is prevalent, and this is an isolated location. The administration may have gotten pressure from parents to beef up security. Her disappearance could have rattled them, even if it was innocent.”

That was possible.

“Maybe.”

“Did you find anything of interest during your walk, or at the barn?”