The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 288

Nora let out a soft laugh.

"Sometimes I seriously wonder if you have an ounce of romance in that thick skull of yours."

He was usually so incredibly attentive; if he wasn't, she would have officially diagnosed him as completely hopeless by now.

"Why would you say that?"

Nathan glanced over, looking genuinely confused.

Nora sighed playfully at his blank expression. "Any guy with a decent amount of emotional intelligence who actually wanted to score points with his girlfriend would have immediately agreed to call in another medical examiner."

"He would have used a super gentle voice and told me that since it was so late, I should just give my statement and go straight back to bed."

"But not you. You just rigidly schedule my entire workload without missing a beat."

Nathan kept his eyes on the road. "But isn't handling the autopsy exactly what you want to do?"

"After everything that happened earlier, you care about the progress of this case more than anyone else on the team. If I handed the body over to someone else and ordered you to go home, would you honestly be able to sleep a wink?"

"You're making it sound like I don't trust the medical expertise of my own colleagues."

Nathan chuckled softly. "Of course not."

"Forensics is a field that only tolerates absolute elites; there's no room for amateurs."

Nora was pleased by the compliment, but she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily.

"If they're all elites, then anyone else doing the autopsy would yield the exact same results."

"If you truly insist on stepping back, then that's perfectly fine with me," Nathan conceded easily.

Nora was left completely speechless.

Arguing with him was like trying to punch a wall of cotton.

She shot him a heated glare and muttered, "Would it kill you to just say something sweet and comforting?"

"But sweet lies aren't what you actually want to hear."

Nathan replied, his voice quiet but anchored with absolute certainty.

"Other guys might try to feed you lines about how they only want you on the case, or how they only trust autopsy reports if your name is on them."

"Sure, it sounds flattering on the surface, but it's completely insulting to who we both are."

"I have absolute faith in your professional abilities, and I don't need to drag down your colleagues' reputations just to hype you up. You've already earned your spot at the top; you don't need anyone to act as a stepping stone for your ego."

Nora wasn't an unreasonable person. Even though they had fast-tracked their relationship to an engagement, they honestly hadn't been dating for very long.

She viewed every interaction as part of their necessary growing pains.

Nathan was incredibly straightforward and fiercely loyal, and Nora felt like she fell a little more in love with him every single day.

"I don't have that bad of a temper. I was just giving you a hard time."

Nathan let out a warm laugh and reached across the console to take her hand. "I know you were."

"But I also had an ulterior motive. I'm always looking for any excuse to remind you exactly how I feel about you."

A furious blush instantly stained Nora's cheeks.

"Just keep your eyes on the road!"

She yanked her hand back and aggressively stared at her blank phone screen, pretending to check her emails.

Nathan just flashed a triumphant grin and focused on driving.

The moment they arrived at the precinct, they split up—Nathan headed straight to the task force bullpen to get briefed, while Nora made a beeline for the interrogation wing.

"Dr. Hayes, you made it," the detective standing outside the room sighed in relief. "Evelyn's boyfriend is already inside."