Page 19 of Take the Bait

“That I do,” he responded as she took a bite of shrimp cocktail. “So?—“

“Holy shit, this is good,” she interrupted. “I didn’t even get to taste this last time on that horrible date, but oh my god.”

She groaned, and the sound went straight to his cock as he watched her lick her lips.

Fuck.Thatmouth.

“Sorry to interrupt, but, like, I want to take a bath in this sauce,” she said, dipping another shrimp, breaking him out of his reverie. “Of course, that dream will never become a reality because this is your Granny’s secret recipe and you’ll never give it to me. Not that I would ever ask for it. I respect the secret family recipe situation. But wow. This is heavenly. Okay, sorry for interrupting. Back to this super embarrassing childhood story.”

She was an absolute tornado.

He loved it.

“No apology necessary,” Tucker responded sincerely. “Anytime you want to interrupt me to compliment my food, go right ahead and do it.”

She grinned and kept eating.

“So I was 14, I had just seen Sherlock Holmes, and I suddenly decided I wanted to be a detective.” The memory was fresh, as if it had happened yesterday and not over a decade ago. “I’d overheard my mom talking to our neighbor, Mrs. Lee, about how dead squirrels kept being left on her front porch. They had no idea why. And I decided that I would be the one to solve the case.”

“How ambitious of you,” Hanna said with faux seriousness in between bites.

“Of course, I knew my parents would disapprove,” Tucker continued. “At the time, I told myself they wouldn’tunderstand. I also didn’t talk to them unless I absolutely had to since I was well into my angsty teenage years. So early the next morning, before anyone woke up, I snuck over to my neighbor’s house to see if there was a dead squirrel.”

Hanna’s eyes widened. “And?”

“There was.” Tucker leaned back, taking a dramatic pause. “I went back the next four mornings and always, without fail, there was a dead squirrel on the porch.”

“What did they look like?” She asked breathlessly, fascination and curiosity swirling in her eyes.

“Dead,” he laughed. “Maimed in one way or another. A little bloody. Stiff.”

“You didn’t take detailed notes?”

He bit back a grin. “Clearly, I wasn’t the detective you were.”

“Are.” She raised her eyebrows and grabbed another shrimp. “So what did you do?”

“A very stupid thing.” His cheeks grew hot. “I took all the squirrels home, put them in a plastic bag, and labeled them with the day I found them. As evidence.”

She burst into laughter. “You’re kidding me.”

Making her laugh was so fun. He’d embarrass himself more often if it meant this was the reaction he got. “I kept the bags of dead squirrels in a box in my closet with the other evidence.”

“Part of me is impressed by your dedication to detective work,” she said, reigning in her giggles. “And part of me is extremely grossed out. Didn’t it absolutely reek?”

“Oh, absolutely.Bad.And?—”

“Wait,” she cut him off, her eyes widening. “Did you sayotherevidence?”

He bit his lip. “I started taking anything near the ‘crime scene,’” he said using air quotes, “that looked like it could have any sort of relation to the dead squirrels.”

“Naturally,” Hanna said with amusement. “So that would be…?”

Tucker rubbed his hand over his face, half-disbelieved that he freely offered up this story. “Newspapers. Leaves. Their welcome mat…”

She covered her mouth. “You didn’t.”

“That’s not even the worst part,” he said, gearing up to drop the big whammy. “I also started collecting various… fecal samples from other animals I found nearby.”

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