Page 76 of Succeeding Love

“Tried and Trude the prude,” Milton started snorting, laughing.

“You’re a prude, huh?” Lynn smiled, and this time it reached her eyes, making my heart beat rapidly at how breathtaking she looked. “I never would have pegged you as a prude.”

“Oh, ho, ho,” Milton snickered loudly. “So his junk does still work?”

“Shut the fuck up!” I threw my napkin across the table at him.

Lynn was full on laughing now, lighting up the entire restaurant. Gawd, she looks the prettiest when she’s laughing.

“Look at you,” Milton scoffed. “I’m glad Trude finally found a woman that can make him smile like that.”

Fuck, I probably looked like a fool just now, staring at her like I was. I couldn’t help it.

Lynn blushed, looking at me from the corner of her eyes with a shy little smile. I don’t care if I look like a fool anymore. How could I not be infatuated with a woman like her?

Milton asked Lynn questions about her work, getting to know her more while I talked to Jerry and the officers I would work closest with. I still had my arm around Lynn, and she was still leaning into me, but it felt so natural that we easily carried on our separate conversations.

“Jeez, I swear you look so familiar,” Lynn said to Milton at some point. “The more we talk, the more I get this sense of déjà vu.”

Milton’s smile faltered for a second before he pasted it back on. “We might have met a few times in the past. At city events and such.”

Lynn quirked her head to the side, tilting it adorably as she thought deeply for a few seconds. And then it was like something just dawned on her.

“Oh,” she whispered. “Huh.”

Her eyes quickly flashed to me before looking away, and then she put back on that forced smile.

“Small world,” she whispered.

“Not too small.” Milton seemed apologetic somehow. “Kevin is a good guy. I’m happy for you both.”

She nodded, looking much like she did when we first showed up. Her smile wasn’t reaching her eyes again.

I was curious about what they were talking about now. It was clear they had met before, but judging by the mood, I knew not to bring it up in front of others or ask questions. Luckily, Milton was already giving me that look, saying he would fill me in on everything after this.

When everyone finished eating, Milton and I battled it out for the tab. He won, saying he would just take it out of my first paycheck.

“I guess I’ll see you later,” Lynn said to me as she stood from her chair, getting her purse from the back of it and putting it over her shoulder.

“Let me walk you to your car.” I rested my hand on her back. I then looked at Milton. “I’ll be right back.”

He nodded, already knowing I wanted to talk to him before heading back to work.

Lynn thanked Milton, then said bye to everyone else before I escorted her outside.

“Where are you parked?” I asked as she fished her keys from her purse.

“Right there,” she pushed the button on the remote, unlocking her SUV parked on the street a few spaces from the front of the restaurant. “Thanks for lunch. I had fun.” She wrapped her arms around my waist, giving me a quick hug.

I held her in place before she could pull away from me. I waited for her to stare up at me with a curious expression before I again asked, “Is everything okay?”

Her smile fell a little, then she bit her bottom lip. “Was I acting weird? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I squeezed her waist. “I’m just concerned, babe. You weren’t your normal happy self.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, resting her chin on my chest as she stared up at me. She looked like she was debating on telling me something, her mouth opening and closing every few seconds. Then she finally told me what had happened. “Nick showed up at my house right as I was leaving. He just…. He just really got under my skin.”

“How?” I asked flatly, trying not to show my irritation, but I knew it was leaking through. I wasn’t irritated with her, just with her ex, that seems to show up every time we have plans together. It’s starting to really piss me off.

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