Page 29 of Dining for Love

She leans into me, a smile on her face. “The best,” she agrees.

An hour later, we’re in a line for the Ferris Wheel. It’s the only ride I’m willing to go on, and, apparently, a lot of other people agree with me.

“Oh, look,” Goldie says innocently, then points. “It’s Matty and Reid!”

I stiffen. Reid? Ishere? My heart kicks into gear and I try tonot be obvious as I look at my outfit. Do I have powdered sugar all over me? Doesn’t look like it. But it’s too late to ask Goldie because they’re at our sides in seconds.

“Hi, Matty,” Goldie breathes. “Hi, Reid.”

I eye her. She’s not spoken about Reid any more, other than in passing and to ask about the cat. But the way she just said Matty’s name is new. I make a note to ask her about that later.

“It’s the Dash women,” Matty says happily, leaning in to give us both a hug. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Is it, though?I study Goldie before turning to Reid. “Where’s Midnight?”

“Home. Figured he couldn’t do too much damage if I left her in the kitchen.”

Matty jumps in. “I went over to check on her and convinced Reid to come to the fair. Turns out, he’d never been to a small-town fair. Obviously, I had to change that.”

“Obviously,” Goldie says, her eyes firmly on Matty.

“How is she?” I ask Matty.

“Ask him yourself,” Matty jokes.

I swat at him. “You’re the vet. How is our—the—cat?”

He points a finger at me. “I heard that. We all heard that. You called the kitten ‘our’.” He turns to Reid. “Did you hear it?”

Reid bites back a smile. “I most definitely heard it.”

“And as an officer of the law, surely that means it’s a binding agreement,” Matty continues.

“No!” I protest weakly. “Just, come on. How’s her leg? Even though if you’re checking her leg, it should be at your office with the right equipment,” I huff.

“Ooh, is someone concerned about the kitten she’s co-parenting?” Matty teases.

I cross my arms and shuffle forward as we get closer to the front. “Whatever.”

Matty chuckles. “She’s doing good. Healing very quickly, just as a little kitten should. You and Reid are great pet parents.”

When we’re almost at the front of the line, Matty turns dramatically to Goldie. “Oh no,” he pouts, his voice far too loud, “I’ve lost my tickets.” He makes a show of looking for them.

“Oh no,” Goldie says, catching on quickly.

“Then we’ll step out of line,” I offer, making to leave.

Goldie grabs my hand in an iron grip. “Nope. You two can go. Reid’s never seen Lucky from the air, right?”

Reid, the bastard, is more than happy to go along with this farce. “Why no, Goldie, I haven’t. Tell me, is it a good view?”

She nods vigorously. “The best. Here.” She pulls the tickets out of her pocket and shoves them at Reid. “Take mine. Matty and I will?—”

“Leave,” Matty finishes, stepping out of line and smiling at me mischievously.

I flatten my lips, fully aware of what they’ve all conspired to do. Then I try to breathe. Because the prospect of being alone again with Reid,reallyalone with him, no purring kitten between us, is a little daunting.

Scratch that. It’s terrifying. Nauseating. Exciting. Confusing.

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