Which was exactly why she had showed up at Ryan’s, like a love-struck teenager.
Whatever. Logic was overrated.
“Come in.” Ryan smiled. Liv hadn’t planned it, but a date night would be a nice relief from the stress of the past couple weeks. Especially now that they were officially dating.
Liv walked in, and relief flashed across Ryan’s face. Had she been nervous? “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Sit.” Ryan pointed to the faded green couch in the living room. “I’ll get us coffee.”
“I take mine—”
“Black, I know.” Ryan smiled before she darted into the kitchen, leaving Liv by herself.
The house hadn’t changed much from when they were teenagers, which was both creepy and sort of nice. There were photos of Ryan and her parents on the far wall, then Ryan and her grandparents. Between the chaos of her parents dying in elementary school and her grandparents when she was in college, Ryan had raised herself.
It was something Liv had admired about her.
Ryan came back in the room, two mismatched mugs in her hands. The one she handed Liv read ‘Good Morning, Sunshine!’ With a photo of a scowling sun. It made Liv smile.
Ryan sat on the other side of the sofa, and Liv took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes closed as it hit her tongue. It was perfect.
“Thanks,” Liv said softly.
“Welcome.” Ryan took a drink of her coffee, and for a moment the two of them were just looking at each other.
Liv wasn’t certain what to say. She knew sort of what she wanted to say, but that was lost in the maelstrom of her mind. There was so much she wanted to say and so little time to say it. “So, what’s your case about?” She kept her words generic. They could get to the more personal stuff later.
“A nineteen year old girl went missing about a week ago, and now her friend was found dead.” Ryan filled her in about the rest of the details, who she had interviewed and who she hadn’t gotten to talk to because of Cairo’s case. “It was considered lesser priority, but with discovery of a body —”
“It’s getting bumped up?” Liv said with a nod. That made sense. She didn’t like it, but it made sense. She pulled her cell out of her pocket, pulled up the camera app and checked in. “Sorry,” she said to Ryan. There was uneasiness prickling at the corner of her awareness, and she just wanted to make sure that Gram was okay.
“It’s okay.” Ryan smiled.
“Do you have any idea who did it?” Liv asked.
Ryan hesitated, then shook her head. Her eyes were distant. “I think it might be related to Cairo’s case,” she said finally.
Liv blinked. “What?”
Ryan exhaled. “It’s too much of a coincidence for there to be two murders in this town so close together.”
“I’m guessing that’s another theory your Chief doesn’t like?” Liv drawled.
“He doesn’t know about it yet.” Ryan smiled faintly.
“This is exactly what couples talk about on their dates,” Liv teased. She liked the conversation, liked that Ryan trusted her.
Ryan snorted. “You’ll get used to it. It happens with the spouses of police officers.” She winked.
Liv startled a bit, but smiled. She couldn’t deny that part of her was giddy over the thought.
They had settled down with reheated leftovers and were almost done with dinner when a soft ping drew both of their attention to Liv’s phone. Liv could see Gram peering out the door. That somewhat concerned Liv. Was someone there, or was Gram imagining someone there? She let the anxiety surge through her, then tamped it down. Gram wasn’t in danger.
Ryan opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it. “You take care of her.”
Liv smiled faintly. “She took care of me,” she said.
“Let me help you.” The words were faintly pleading, but there was a heart behind them that warmed Liv to the bones.
“With what?” It was Liv’s knee-jerk reaction to deflect, to push it away and hide from the love. If that’s what it was, anyway.
“Your Gram. You. Your coffee shop.” Ryan kept her distance, taking another sip of her coffee.
Had it really come to that point, were they really teetering on the edge of something, even in the midst of all of the panic they were going through? And what did Liv want? There was a lot on the line, a lot on her mind, and she wasn’t entirely certain how she was going to pull everything through.
Where did Ryan slot into all of that? Very easily, she realized. There had always been a spot for her in Liv’s life, she had just shoved her out of it. “Okay.”
Ryan stared at her as if she wasn’t speaking English, as if it wasn’t the answer she had been expecting. And given how high school had gone, it probably wasn’t the answer she was expecting. But Liv wanted to try.
“I don’t know if I’ll be good at it,” Liv warned, protecting herself by keeping the coffee between her and the source of her emotional distress/happiness.
Ryan’s smile about burst Liv’s heart into pieces. Surely that was illegal. If not, Liv was going to have to make it so. “I want to kiss you.” Ryan said, leaning towards her the tiniest bit.
Liv’s stomach fluttered, her fingers clutching the mug tighter despite its heat. There was nothing she wanted more than to kiss her, to repay her for everything she had done when Liv was scared and alone, and to make up for what she had done. She wanted a future with this beautiful woman.
She just didn’t know if she would get it or
