Page 63 of Mine to Keep

I chuckled. “Well, I can’t say it’s forever, but it’s a hell of a right now.”

He grinned, and we finished our lunch. Darnell was telling me about this guy he was interested in but trying to get the nerve to go ask him out. Darnell was always one who had trouble being the go-getter in a relationship.

“Buy him a drink or something when you see him next time. Subtle.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

I drove back to Rybelt with Darnell. He had another client, but I was done for the day. I decided I was going to make Nick something special for dinner, so I drove to store for the ingredients I’d need.

He’d texted me throughout the day, and it wasn’t in what he was saying but what he wasn’t: something had happened or he’d discovered something, and he didn’t want to tell me through text. I trusted he would once we were together, so I focused on making dinner.

Nick liked seafood, so I was trying a recipe I’d found on a romantic dinner site. It was called Tuscan butter scallops. I was also making mushroom soup and some fresh bread. I had hours before he’d be done at Saintly Sweets, so I’d be able to get it done.

I was just putting the finishing touches on the meal when there was a knock on the door and my Ring melodically called out.

I saw that it was Nick, and I opened it with a smile. “Why didn’t you use your key?”

He leaned in, kissed me, and entered my apartment. “You let me borrow it, Matt. I’m not going to come and go as I please.”

“Well, I give you permission to use it, Nick. You did the other night.”

“True.” He beamed and sniffed. “It smells incredible in here. What are you up to, Chef Ramsay?”

I chuckled and followed him to the table. “We have mushroom soup, Tuscan butter scallops, and fresh bread.”

“Holy shit! What’s the special occasion?”

It was cheesy, but I answered, “You.”

He bunched up the front of my shirt in his fist and pulled me close. “I’d rather celebrate you.”

“We can celebrate each other.”

He kissed me, like really kissed me. His tongue slid into my mouth, and my body came alight.

“No, no, no.” I pushed him away. “I worked my ass off on this dinner; you’re eating it.”

He grinned. “Okay…and, I’ll eat you for dessert.”

It appeared I’d be eating dinner with a hard-on.

We were halfway through our food when I asked him. “What aren’t you telling me, Nick?”

He sighed, put his fork on his plate, and looked at me. I couldn’t decipher the expression on his face—worried, maybe?

“When I went down to my car this morning, your stalker left me a note.”

I hadn’t expected that. “What did it say?”

“Told me to back off and that you were theirs.”

I wiped my mouth and dropped the napkin on my plate, my appetite well and truly gone. “They’re going after you now?”

“According to Four, yeah. He said I’m an obstacle and that getting rid of me would leave you vulnerable for the taking. He also said he thinks your stalker is a woman.”

I shook my head. “What, how would he know that?”

“He said it was the handwriting. It’s not an exact science, and I’m not putting all my chips on that hypothesis.”

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