Page 83 of Dining for Love

“And you better make it good, Reid MacKinnon. I’m tired of being in the dark.”

His shoulders drop with relief and he shoots me an affectionate glance. “Look at you, standing up for yourself,” he teases, the moment lightening.

I snort softly. “Come on.”

We make our way to the beach, pulling off our shoes and leaving them just off the entrance next to several other pairs. We’ve walked a good half mile before he speaks, the ocean lapping at our feet and keeping us cool in the early September heat. He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I lied to you.”

My heart sinks with his revelation. There’s a difference in suspecting something versus knowing it outright, and it hurts. Still, I stay silent and wait on him to continue.

“I told you I was shot during a routine traffic stop, but that’s not true.” His knuckles graze mine. “I spent the last three years working undercover to infiltrate a drug organization called the Bunnies.”

I gawk at him, puzzled. “The…Bunnies? You’re kidding, right?”

His face is a mask of grim determination. “No. They soundharmless, but they most definitely aren’t. Not even close. I was doing pretty well, rising through the ranks and gathering evidence as I went. But it all went sideways a couple of months ago. Someone got suspicious. When they called me on it, I had no choice.” He looks out to the water. “I did what I had to do, but it resulted in three people dead. One of whom was the boss’s son.”

I suck air in, trying to wrap my head around the story. It sounds like the plot of a movie. And killing the mob boss’s son? “Oh, no.”

He huffs out a laugh. “Yeah. Oh no. I immediately went underground. Got treated for the gunshot, and my chief told me to lay low. At the same time, Uncle Jack reached out about needing some help in Lucky. It seemed like a win-win. My chief agreed, so after about a month, when we knew the heat had lifted a little, I came here.”

“How did anyone think you working as a small-town cop was a good way to lie low?” I ask, incredulous.

“Such a good question, Willa.” He shakes his head. “And honestly? I don’t know. None of us thought they were operating this far away from Miami.”

Dread snakes across my body. “Are they…here? In Lucky?

“Uncle Jack was shot by the Bunnies,” he says flatly.

My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“It’s so much worse than that.” His voice breaks. “They know where I live. They’ve left two rabbit feet on my fucking doorknob in warning. And when I talked to Jack, he said the man tossed a rabbit’s foot at him before shooting him. If he hadn’t moved the way he did—” He cuts off.

“Hey.” I stop, halting his stride and pulling him to me. The water laps at our feet and I tighten my arms around him. “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out. We’ll get through it.”

He pulls away and stares at me.

“What?”

“You saidwe. Thatwewould get through this.”

I blink, confused. “Well, yeah. Of course. What else would I say?”

He looks at the ocean for a beat, then focuses back on me. “I don’t deserve this.”

“Deserve what? Kindness?” I almost say ‘love,’ but swallow it at the last moment.

“You, Willa,” he murmurs. “I don’t deserveyou.”

“Why not? I’m not special.”

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, then cups my face in his hands, his eyes soft and adoring. “Sweetheart, you are absolutely special. You are the best of everything in this world, beautiful and wondrous. But me? I am nothing but trouble for the people I love. Clearly.”

My heart hitches at the word. The word I almost said but kept inside. The word that I’ve not dared to hope would come out of his mouth. The word that I was eventually going to lose him over. And now? What happens? Does he even mean what I think he means? “Reid.” It sounds more like a question than anything.

He squeezes his eyes shut. “I just…said that out loud, didn’t I?”

I almost laugh, still not quite sure what to do here. My heart is galloping. “You did. But, Reid?”

He peeks an eye open and looks down at me, one of his stupid dimples popping as he gives me a bashful look. “Yeah?”

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