Page 78 of Dining for Love

And why did my stupid heart soar at the phrase?

He opens the smoker for my inspection. “It’ll be ready soon. Plenty of time for you to take a shower.”

I smile up at him and take the kiss he plants on my temple. This whole scene feels oddly…domestic.

Then again, what have we been doing the past few weeks but playing house?

I have got to get better about this.

I slide out from beneath his arm. “Sounds good.” I ignore the confused look on his face as I head inside for a shower, but deposit Midnight on the ground before going in. At least one female can give him love without expecting anything in return.

Freshly showered, I go back outside to find that Reid has put together a picnic. I join him at the table, grinning and forcing myself out of the sullen mood I’d been in. “This looks wonderful.”

He sets a beer down in front of me with a flourish. It’s a classic set-up: pork ribs dripping with what I assume is homemade sauce, potato salad, thick slices of white bread, and baked beans.

“Not gonna lie, I hope these are good,” he says. “It’s been a while since I’ve smoked anything, and I didn’t have as long to do it as I’d like.”

I take a bite. “They’re delicious.”

He preens.

“I could have done better, obviously,” I tease him, “but not bad for a guy from Florida.”

We eat and talk, studiously avoiding any topic that might lead to a deeper discussion on my part.

“That was delicious.” I lick the sauce from my fingers, delighting in the way his eyes darken as they watch.

“You should be careful with the way you’re using that tongue, Willa,” he warns.

I grin. “Come on. Let’s clean all this up and we’ll see what else I have to lick.”

Later, after a round of sex in which he had me screaming his name so many times I lost count, I remember the encounter with Thompson and the creep at the diner.

“You okay?” Reid asks, his eyes searching mine.

I shift in his arms. “Yeah. Just remembering something at work today.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Nah.” He has to work with Thompson, and I don’t want to make things awkward between the two of them. I reach down to grab his dick. “I have a better idea.”

Chapter 24

Reid

IT’S BEEN ALMOST a week since the last rabbit’s foot on my doorknob. Normally, this is exactly when I’d find something else. Maybe a head this time, or a rabbit’s foot that isn’t one from a store. I was with these guys enough to know their tactics.

The thing is, I find nothing. No strangers lurking at the diner, no one looking out of place during my patrols, and no more squatters. They’ve gone dark, and if the idea was to send me into a nervous tailspin of anxiety, wondering if they were going to target me or Willa next, then they’ve succeeded.

“You in there, Officer Reid?” Tom’s hand waves in front of my face as he and Jerry watch me with open curiosity.

I snap back to attention. “Sorry. What?”

“We were just wondering if you and Willa planned on five kids or ten,” Jerry jokes.

“Boys, you leave him alone,” Barbara admonishes as she refills my coffee.

I give her a nod of thanks and scowl at the old-timers.

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