Page 89 of Mensa's Match

Mensa grinned at her. “Yeah, Jonah’s a huge fan.”

She beamed at Jonah and introduced herself. “I’m sorry you won’t be here for dinner. I was looking forward to getting to know you, but I’m also jealous you get to see one of my favorite bands.”

Jonah nodded, but Mensa sensed he was getting antsy.

There was a light knock on the door, and Mensa glanced that way. “Denver picking you up, J?”

Jonah laughed. “Yeah. She insisted.”

Mensa clapped Jonah on the shoulder. “Have a great time.”

Jonah nodded, called out goodbyes to everyone, and left.

Mensa caught Whitney’s gaze. “Still feel like you know him?”

Mom hurried past them carrying a small pot, a trivet, and a spoon. “Time to eat. If you need to wash up, hurry.”

Dad followed her with the heavy crock pot in tow. “Grab a beer for me, son.”

“Since Jonah’s not here and we put the leaf in the table, your father and I aren’t going to sit at the foot and the head of the table. Besides, us sitting at either end of the table always seems too formal,” Mom said, as everyone gathered.

Mensa made sure he sat next to Whitney. Dad took the center seat on the other side of the table, Riley sat to his left, with Mom on his right. That left Finn sitting on the other side of Whitney.

After they said grace, Mom aimed an inquisitive look at him and Whitney. “I couldn’t help but overhear the two of you after Jonah left. Why would you feel like you know him? Besides Riley and Finn’s wedding, this is the first time the two of you met.”

Riley and Mensa started in at the same time, but Whitney lifted her hand up at them. “It’s okay.” Her eyes met Mom’s. “I was part of the investigation into Judge Tyndale. My assignment was to befriend Riley, and being part of the investigating team, I saw and heard plenty of recordings that had Jonah in them. But mostly,” she glanced at Riley, “I don’t think it’s possible to be friends with Riley andnotknow about her brother.”

“I could argue that,” Finn muttered.

Whitney smirked at Finn. “As I understand it, you weren’t exactly friends since you ghosted her.”

Riley chuckled.

Whitney glanced back at Mom. “The way Riley talks about Jonah, it felt like I’d already met him.”

Mom shifted her gaze between Mensa and Whitney. “Riley told me that you were between jobs.”

Whitney shrugged a shoulder. “My Aunt Nadia is retiring soon. She’s either going to close her shop, or I’m taking it over. Right now, I’m learning as much as I can from her, so I’ll know if Hard Pressed will be successful when I’m in charge.”

Dad picked up his beer, but simply held it over the table. “You gave up a job with the FBI for this?”

Mensa sighed. In a low voice, he said, “Dad.”

Whitney patted his leg under the table. “It’s all right, and it’s the same question my brother and other family members asked me.”

He twisted his head to give her a look. “I understand that, but it doesn’t make it ‘all right,’ babe.”

Chapter 23

No Necking

Whitney

I loved how protectiveMensa could be. From the tone of his voice to his words, he hated that I was having to deal with this uncomfortable conversation. But in all fairness, most parents would be concerned about their only son taking up with a woman who – from the outside – seemed to be making half-baked decisions.

I grinned at him. “Itisall right, honey.”

When I faced his parents again, they were looking at the two of us with disbelief. Since I didn’t understand that, I powered past it. “Doing undercover work is tough, lonely, and for me, it was leading to burn-out. After a routine evaluation, I was encouraged to take some time to work on my mentality and learn not to be so engrossed in my cases.”

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