Page 40 of Defending Love
Dani grinned. “When it comes to almost everything else, you win.”
It was my turn to wink. “I was hoping you were going to tell me you’d bow.”
Her cheeks filled with pink. “Back to the issue at hand.” She began to read the first one aloud. “C257H383N65077S6.” Her blue eyes met mine. “That’s Sinclair’s formula for insulin.”
“Did Sinclair have any involvement with its invention?”
“No,” she answered quickly. “It was discovered by three Canadian scientists. In 1923, they sold their patent to the University of Toronto for only a Canadian dollar apiece. Lilly was granted exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute.” Dani flipped through the pages. “It will take a while to read through all of these, especially if they’re formulas. They’re not all familiar. I’ll need to research the chemical composition.” She shook her head. “I definitely don’t know all of these.”
“Your father was a scientist like you?”
She laughed. “Dad was a businessman. Grandpa Sinclair was a scientist. My great-grandfather who founded Sinclair Pharmaceuticals did so by opportunity. Dad used to say the science gene skipped a generation.”
“Why would Derek keep all these formulas if he didn’t understand them?”
“Maybe because they were Grandpa’s?” She closed the journal and stacked it with the others. “I’ll take these up to my room and read while you’re working on those computers.”
I had a few programs running as we spoke. According to the Villages community website, pickleball was played every Monday and Wednesday morning at eight a.m. They probably wanted to get it done before the Florida sun scorched the courts. Pickleball lasted an hour, and the location of the courts was close enough to the Sinclairs’ home for Carol to either walk or ride her bike. Even if she drove her golf cart, it was still a short trip.
Based on that primary data, Carol returned to her home after nine in the morning to find people coming to and going from the Sinclairs’ home. Interestingly, there was no activity on the Sinclairs’ camera doorbell.
It didn’t take me long to learn the doorbell companies representing the neighbors. My current search was working to find the necessary codes to hack into each of the closest neighbor’s database. The incident was recent enough that assuming not all the doorbells were scrambled, we should have more information.
I reached for the photo album. “Do you want to look through this?”
Dani exhaled and nodded again, wrapping her arms around her midsection.
“Are you all right?”
“Cold.”
I picked up the photo album and reached for her hand. After a puzzled look, she stood as I led her into the living room. “Here.” I motioned toward the couch, and she sat. I sat beside her, laying the closed album on her lap.
When Dani shivered, I laid my arm around her shoulders.
Dani stiffened.
“I wanted to help you warm up.” I started to move my arm. “But I don’t?—”
She snuggled against my side. “I don’t want you to move your arm.” Her navy-blue stare peered upward. “I’m just unsure of where we are in this rule-breaking journey.”
“Fuck if I know.”
That made her grin.
“This is new territory for me too.” Running my thumb over her cheek, I gently pinched her chin, lifting it until I was again staring into her gaze. “Since your comment about fucking, it’s taken every ounce of my self-control to not throw you over my shoulder like some caveman and carry you upstairs.” I scoffed. “I’ve also imagined bending you over that kitchen table.”
“Yet, somehow you’ve refrained.”
I tipped my chin toward the album. “If we have answers here, we need to find them.”
Dani reached for the album and moved it to the coffee table. “I want answers.”
“You need them to get your life back.”
She shimmied closer. “I know you have work to do.” Her eyes were back on mine. “I’m tired of navigating all of this alone.”
Pulling her closer still, I kissed her pert nose. “You’re not alone any longer.”
