Page 19 of The Finder

Liam laughed. “That good, huh?” Emma just shook her head and went back to eating her soup. Emma was thoroughly enjoying her soup, but she couldn’t help but glance enviously at the plate of chicken and mashed potatoes Garrett had ordered. He hadn’t touched it, and it looked amazing. She’d always been a fan of mashed potatoes. As if hearing her thoughts, Garrett slid the plate over in front of her.

“That’s for you,” he said quietly.

Emma looked up at him in surprise. “But I got soup.”

“Eat it,” he ordered.

“I’m not going to eat your food,” Emma protested.

“I ordered it for you,” he said.

“But—” Emma tried to protest.

“Stop arguing with me and eat your meal,” Garrett said in anger.

“Yes, Dad,” Emma mumbled under her breath. She heard a choking sound from across the table and looked up to see Liam trying not to laugh and Max’s eyes wide with surprise.

“I told you,” Liam said to Max.

Emma ignored them and started eating. She took the first bite of mashed potatoes and moaned. “These are so good.” When nobody said anything, she glanced up. All three of them were staring at her. “What? They’re really good.”

Liam grinned and opened his mouth, but a stern look from Garrett made him smirk and shut his mouth. Emma decided to just ignore them all and enjoy her food. She wasn’t sure when she would get another meal like this. When she felt she couldn't take another bite, she sat back. When the waitress asked if they wanted dessert, Garrett turned to her. Emma shook her head. Garrett turned back to the waitress. “Whatever you have that’s chocolate and a coffee for me.”

“Coffee for me,” Liam said. Max ordered one too.

Garrett turned to her again. “Coffee?” he asked. Emma shook her head.

It only took a few minutes and the waitress was back with three cups of coffee and a plate of the largest piece of chocolate cake Emma had ever seen. The waitress slid the cake in front of Garrett, and Garrett slid it over to Emma. Emma looked up at him. “It’s for you,” he said.

Emma picked up her fork. Before she could get a bite, Liam stopped her. “You’re not going to argue with Garrett about it first?” he asked with a smirk.

Emma took a huge bite and stuffed it in her mouth. Liam laughed out loud. Emma closed her eyes and shook her head as a breathy moan escaped her. It was quite possibly the best thing she had ever tasted in her life. She ate a few more bites and moaned again. It wassooo good.

Garrett shifted close to her and bent down to her ear. “You need to stop making sounds like that in public,” he said. “Or I’m going to have to kill every guy that is close enough to hear you.”

Emma felt her face go dark red, and she choked on the bite of cake in her mouth. She heard a coughing noise from across the table again that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, embarrassed. “I won’t do it again.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to hear it again, just not in public,” he said in a low voice.

Emma looked up into his eyes, confused, and was met with a look in his eyes she couldn’t interpret. His eyes bored into hers. Then, without losing eye contact, he reached up slowly and touched the corner of her mouth with his finger. He sucked that finger into his mouth. “You’re right. It’s delicious,” he said in a deep, gritty voice.

Emma didn’t think it was possible for her face to get any redder, but it did in that moment. She wanted to crawl under the table. She pushed the cake away from her, fuller than she had been in a long time. “I can’t eat anymore,” she said.

She had hardly gotten the words out before Liam dragged the plate in front of him and finished the piece in three large bites. Emma laughed. “That was impressive,” she said. He grinned. She caught Garrett looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t look his way.

When their waitress came back, she bent over to pick up their plates and cups, giving the men an eyeful. Emma glared at her. Thankfully, none of the men seemed to notice her. “Was everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Garrett said dismissively. Emma couldn’t help but grin. The grin was wiped off her face a moment later when Garrett looked at Liam. “All right. Let’s have it.”

It felt like a rock settled in Emma’s stomach. Suddenly, she wished she hadn’t eaten so much. “What time is it?” she interjected. “I need to get back to work.”

“You have time,” Garrett said.

Emma wasn’t really sure if that meant she still had time left for her break or if it meant he didn’t really care what time it was. Either way, she was stuck here until they decided she could leave.

Emma looked at Liam, and he nodded at her. Emma closed her eyes. This was all on her. She was on her own. She looked at Garrett, who was watching her intently.

“All right. So here’s the thing. I may have misled you with more than just the car,” she said wincing.

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