Page 43 of Dining for Love

Goldie had insinuated the same thing earlier, as well. Everyone is so insistent on me leaving town, but no one understands that I love it here. And following a man to Miami? A cop, no less? Reid is amazing, without question, but no. I’ll never leave Lucky. Whatever last night was with Reid, it needs to end. No matter how, ahem,talentedthe man obviously is, and no matter how improbable it is that Reid was even interested in someone like me in the first place. A big-city cop and a small-town diner cook will never work, so why bother trying?

Chapter 14

Reid

IF YOU’D TOLD me a month ago that I’d be living in a tiny beach town in Alabama, pining over a diner cook, I would have said you were crazy. And yet, here we are.

The worst part? Willa is avoiding me.

We had what I would have definitely defined as a “moment,” and the woman is avoiding me. I’m over here straight-up yearning like an angsty teenager, trying to get her attention whenever I go to the diner. And sure, she looks up and smiles at me, and we’re still trading Midnight duty, but she has put me on ice.

Now is probably when I should remind myself that I was only at her house a day and a half ago. But still.

I send a silent apology to the handful of women I’ve sent packing in the past.

Fine: ghosted. I’ve ghosted a few. Is this my punishment? If so, consider the message received. I’m tempted to find those women on social media and apologize, because if this is how I am after being treated as though Ididn’thave my head between her legs, then shit. I know it wasn’t that the experience was bad for her. That much was obvious. But hell if I can figure out what’s going on.

This morning was no different from the others: Willa showed up, handed over Midnight, and absolutely refused to make eye contact or say more than a few words to me. I’m so out of my element that all I can do is cuddle the kitten and wish she were Willa. Midnight, on the other hand, purrs like a maniac the second she gets into my hands. I’m trying to let that be my comfort, but a purring Midnight is a far cry from a Willa writhing in ecstasy.

After my requisite inspection of the property and review of the night’s video—nothing out of the ordinary—I bundle up the black ball of floof, and we head to the station. Chief gives a quick rundown of the day’s brief, then Ox and I head out.

It’s a beautiful late summer day, and we walk toward the beach. It’s a small little thing, nothing like the miles of shore we have in Miami, but it’s beautiful, with deep swells of powdery-white sand leading to the teal-blue warmth of the Gulf. We don’t go onto the beach itself, but stroll along the area just before it. The place is, of course, crawling with people. A few older couples here and there, but mostly this is all for families with young kids. Little toddlers, sticky with popsicles and summer sweat, and their parents, loaded down with far more beach gear than they ever thought possible. But underneath the harried expressions, it’s easy to see smiles of love and appreciation. For the most part, anyway. There are definitely some folks who are downright irritated.

“Ah, family vacations,” Ox intones, reading my mind as we step to the side for one such family, the dad loaded down with bags and the mom with a baby on one hip, a toddler on another, and yelling at two more to slow down as they race toward the beach.

I huff a laugh. “A far different beach scene than Miami.”

“I believe it,” Ox says. “You miss it?”

“Miami? I don’t know. I grew up there. Well, Fort Lauderdale. It’s kind of all I’ve ever known.”

Ox whistles. “I can’t imagine anything but small beach town life. But I was raised here, and love it.”

I do the calculations in my head. “You went to school with Willa?”

Ox shifts a knowing glance my way. “I did.”

He doesn’t offer anything else. On a sigh, I push for more. “And?”

“And what, Officer MacKinnon?” he asks shrewdly.

“Come on, man.”

He grins. “She’s good people, Reid. She always was, and she always will be. And she makes a killer cheeseburger.”

I laugh and drop it. I tried getting any amount of information out of Agatha yesterday, as well. While she seemed amenable to my pain, she was also quick to tell me that if I were really interested in Willa, I’d have to figure out a way to convince her to leave town with me.

Well. I may not know Willa as well as others around here, but after our conversations, I know she’s not leaving Lucky. Not even close.

What I’m beginning to realize, though, is that maybe I want to stay in Lucky, too.

Which, honestly, is ridiculous. Why would I trade Miami for, well,this? I like the hustle of Miami. The lights, the glitz, even the seedy parts. Hell, it’s my job to like the seedy parts, and there’s not really much of that here, unless you count the teenager who was caught shoplifting the other day.

After my shift with Ox, I take Midnight to Matty for a check-up. I carry her in, cradled against me like she’s grown accustomed to, and the receptionist practically undresses me with her eyes. She’s cute, too, and definitely my standard type: blond, big breasts, lots of make-up, smells good, bubbly, probably amenable to whatever I want. And even though she tries her best to flirt with me before going back to get Matty, it falls flat. All I can seeis Willa, a woman who is the exact opposite of what I’d normally go for.

Willa is…she might be perfect. No one but Willa would spend the day in pajamas and no make-up with me. No one but Willa has moved beneath me like that. No one but Willa has given herself over so completely, and lost herself to the pleasure without worrying what she looked like. I’m a goner.

And that’s a problem.

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