Page 282 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Is this the silent treatment, Em?”

She groaned. “What do you want from me, Wade?”

“I want you in my life.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“As what?” A harsh laugh escaped. “Your friend? Your girlfriend? A sounding board for this case?”

“You mean more to me than any of those things.” He made eye contact, but she broke it.

“How is that possible? You haven’t seen me in eleven years. You don’t even know me anymore.” Her whispered words sent a chill up his spine. “And I don’t know you.”

“I don’t believe that’s true. We’ve grown up, but we’re the same people at our core, and I’m even more drawn to you now than I was back then.”

“For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re right and we haven’t changed that much. Where does that leave us?”

“It leaves us right here in this moment.” He put his arm around her shoulders, and they strolled toward her SUV. When they reached it, he faced her and took her hands in his. “Will you allow me to use my IOU to take you to dinner tomorrow night?”

“A girl has to eat, so why not?” It wasn’t the response he’d been hoping for, but at least she agreed to the date. He would need to work extra hard to not mess up the chance he’d been given.

“Perfect. It’s a date.”

“You shouldn’t have wasted your IOU. Even without it, I would’ve gone.”

He grinned. Maybe things were looking up after all.

Wade gotcotton mouth as he stared at the stunning woman who came to the door in a red sundress. The color broughtout the auburn highlights in her chestnut hair. She’d left her hair loose and it fell in waves down her back and over her left shoulder. There was a glossy sheen on her rosy lips, and he wanted to kiss it off of her, but forced himself to speak instead. “Ready?”

“I am.” She hit some numbers on the keypad beside the door and stepped out of the house, locking the front door behind her.

“You look gorgeous tonight, Em.”

Emily’s smile lit her eyes. “Thank you.” Her gaze wandered up and down his length. “You look pretty good yourself.”

“I’m glad you agreed to let me take you out.”

“Me too.” She waited as he opened the passenger door of his truck. “This is scary, but so is everything worth doing, right?” she asked.

“That’s right.” Once she settled into her seat, he closed the door, walked around the truck to get in the driver’s side, and started the engine. He reached for her hand and held it as he drove. She made circles on his palm with her thumb driving him crazy with desire. It was all he could do to keep his eyes on the road.

He’d made reservations at the Sunset Inn, a lakeside restaurant near his home, and the maître d' greeted him by name.

“You’ve been here before, I take it.”

“Many times. The food is great.” He smiled. “I think you’ll love it.” He could practically see the wheels spinning in her head. “I usually dine alone when I come here, but Jamie’s come along a couple of times when Ty had to work late, and she didn’t want to go home to an empty house.”

“Oh.”

“You’re the first date I’ve brought here.”

“Am I that transparent?”

He chuckled. “If you had picked the restaurant, I’d be wondering the same thing.”

“How did you find this place?”

He pointed out the window. “Do you see the chalet across the lake?”

It was her turn to nod.

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