When she moved away, he let her go. “We shouldn’t have done that.”

That was so not what Danny was going to say. A lot of thoughts were flying though his head. Wow. Holy shit. Incredible. But Danny didn’t have a single ounce of regret.

Unfortunately, Mandy had enough for both of them.

“I have to get back.” She brushed past him to pack up her supplies.

“Mandy.” Danny caught her bicep. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

With her eyes firmly fixed on her bag, she shook her head.

“There isn’t anything you can’t tell me.”

Her gaze lifted to his. There were many things swirling around in the beautiful blue of her eyes. Regret. Sadness. Determination. “You have to go.”

But the lust was gone.

Sometimes retreat was the best option. The object was to win the war, not necessarily every single battle. “OK. We’ll go.”

He reached for the nylon straps of her bag.

Mandy stopped him with a hand on his forearm. “No, you have to go back to Philadelphia. All you’re doing here is stirring up things best left settled.”

“Nothing feels settled to me.” Danny crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Danny cruised down the main drag past dark shop after dark shop. Most of the local businesses closed at six. He pulled into a strip mall and parked in front of a pizza joint. He ordered a large pie with mushrooms and a Coke.

Hours had passed, and Mandy’s rebuff still stung as badly as if she’d slapped him across the face. When they were alone next, she wasn’t getting away so easily. Of course, he seriously doubted she’d ever let them be alone again. She’d successfully hidden from him all afternoon. He’d even skipped lunch in hopes of seeing her, but she hadn’t ventured into the public areas of the inn all afternoon.

She wanted to forget their kiss along with the case. Danny couldn’t get either out of his head.

The waitress brought his pizza. The aroma of hot cheese and spices wafted to his nose. Danny’s stomach rumbled, and he wolfed down slices in rapid succession. He took the remaining few to go.

He started the engine and rested his left wrist on the wheel. His fingers trembled, but they weren’t dancing like this morning when the doctor had stitched him up. Apparently, that rest thing really worked.

Since Mandy wasn’t talking, Danny had to find another information source. Who else knew stuff about Nathan? Like the identity of the secret girlfriend, for instance.