Page 91 of Sweet on You
“He looks a lot like this weird guy we saw photographing kids at the park a couple of weeks ago.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t be sure. It had been a while, and it wasn’t like I really remembered his face all that well. I tugged Olivia’s high chair closer to me.
“I’ll take the club sandwich, please,” Lana said.
Elsa nodded and turned back for the kitchen. Once she was out of earshot, Lana leaned into me from over the table. “I know that guy,” she whispered, jerking her head back to where the guy with the camera was sitting. But she didn’t get to continue the thought because Lex walked into the diner at that moment.
“Hey,” he said, grinning and sliding into the booth beside me. It took him a moment to see Lana and his eyes widened, his grin spreading as he recognized her. “Hi,” he said. She stood and gave him a hug.
“Dada,” Olivia said, holding out her arms to him. The word didn’t quite have the same enthusiasm as it did this morning.
“What’s wrong with Liv?” he asked, lifting her out of the high chair and putting her in his lap.
“She spilled my hot coffee on her hand. I think she’s okay, but we should have my mom take a look.”
Lex tugged at her hand, inspecting it and giving it a kiss. “It doesn’t look too bad. Good idea, though. If your mom can save us a trip to the pediatrician, I’ll bake her a pie every week.”
Lana cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to be a downer, but we might have a problem, Lex.”
“Why? It’s just a little burn,” he said. “I don’t even think it’s a second-degree burn. Kids—”
“Not that,” Lana interrupted. “The guy in the corner booth. His name is Jeremy King and he’s a private investigator. He does really shady shit and isn’t known as one of the good guys.”
Lex’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that the guy from the park?” he asked, mirroring my exact thoughts from earlier.
“What kind of shady shit?” I asked.
Lana snorted. “He’ll orchestrate scenes to photograph in order to give his client what they want to see. Like, if he’s investigating a potential adultery case, he’ll hire a sexy woman to talk with the man in question and photograph them in what look like compromising positions, even if it was harmless. Like… the actress he hires will pretend to fall into the man’s arms. Then he’ll show the images to the cheating husband first and blackmail him for more money than the wife offered him to get the photos in the first place. If he pays up, he goes back to the wife and claims there was no evidence.”
“Oh my God,” I hissed. “What a douche.”
“Mmhmm. Which begs the question, why is that camera pointed at you and Olivia?”
That was adamngood question.
Lex moved to stand up, handing me Olivia. “I’ll kill him,” he hissed. Luckily, I was able to grab his elbow and tug him back down.
“I will handle this,” Lana said. “It’s why you pay me, right?” She turned and glared at Jeremy, giving him a little wave. At first, he seemed startled, and then his expression shifted. His eyes widened. He stood, camera in hand, and crossed over to us. “Lana Shaw,” he said. “As I live and breathe.”
“Jeremy King. Slimeball of the universe,” Lana gave him a tight smile that was just a tad too nice. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence in our town for these last few weeks?”
Jeremy paused, his eyes sliding over me first, and gooseflesh rose on my skin. I didn’t like the way he looked at us one bit. “Is this little family one of your clients?”
I kept my mouth shut, hugging Olivia into me as she rubbed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder. She needed lunch. And she needed a nap.
“What if they are?” Lana answered ambiguously.
“If they are, I’d be willing to show you what I have as a courtesy.”
Lana huffed a laugh. “I’m much more interested in who your client is.”
“That’ll cost you.”
Lana shook her head. “That’s not how this works, and you know it—”
She didn’t finish her sentence before Lex had pulled a fifty dollar bill from his wallet, holding it out to Jeremy. “Who are you photographing us for?”
Jeremy’s smile was slicker than oil on tarmac as he snatched the bill from Lex’s hand. “Sarah Murphy. She’s convinced you’re unfit to be a father, and she wants her parents to have full custody again.”
Lex’s frown deepened and his eyes narrowed. I’d never before seen him so angry. “Those photos reveal nothing,” Lex snarled. “Other than pictures of us around the park and in the bakery, you can’t possibly haveanythingon us.”
