I arch a brow. “And that is?”
“How did you come to be near my restaurant when that kid swiped my bag?”
I lift my beer to my lips before taking a long drink to cover my embarrassment. There’s no way I can tell her I just happened to be there. She’ll run for the hills, and this has been a whole lot less awkward than it could’ve been.
“I mean, as far as stalkers go, you’re more nice than creepy. At least you’re not digging through my garbage for mementos or sending me underwear and asking me to wear them and return them in the mail.”
My mouthful gets stuck in my throat, and I start choking, my eyes bugging out of my head as I gape at her. “You’re kidding, right? That didn’t happen.”
“Only once, thank god.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “So, to answer your question, I was in town to catch up with my parents and without thinking, ended up taking a wrong turn.”
“Couldn’t get me out of your head?”
“No. I mean . . . Shit.”
“It’s okay. I mean, if you were to stalk me, I don’t think I’d complain.” She lifts her wine to her mouth, smirking against the glass.
“And I definitely don’t want your panties.” My words don’t register until her eyes widen and her lips twitch. “Oh, shit. I mean—”
She pushes up to get out of the chair, and for a second, I panic.
“Stop. I—”
Leaning forward, she rests her hand on my arm, sending a jolt of heat through me. “I’m fucking with you, Rhodes. But since we said we’re being honest . . .” She moves in closer and drops her voice to a whisper. “I’d at least consider the request if it came from you.” Then she snickers and leans back in her seat, leaving me sitting there stunned speechless.
Marco, Renee, and Jake return, my son taking the seat on the other side of me, looking between Dee and myself.
“Sooooo . . . how’s it going . . .?” His singsong voice has me torn between shoving him off his chair and cracking up laughing. Jake trying to be a love guru when it was Marco and Renee was funny. When it involves me—not so much. To make it worse, he’s going to want a debrief on the way home, and knowing Marco, he’ll love being a bystander this time.
Dee’s shoulders shake with silent laughter, whereas I just roll my eyes at my son. “How are you doing, Jake?” I ask.
“Good, Daddio. Really good. Although”—he lifts his chin in Dee’s direction—“not as good as you, I bet.”
“God, you two. You’re doing that weird conversation thing without having an actual conversation,” Renee says.
“Is this what I have to look forward to when Harvey gets older?” Dee asks.
“Probably,” I say with a nod. “Kids. Fun to live with, can’t live without them.”
She giggles. “And they steal a little bit of your sanity as each day passes?”
I point my finger at her. “Yes! Which means you’ve got time to protect your mind while you still can.”
“Hey. I’m sitting right here, you know?” Jake says, pretending to sound offended.
I roll my eyes at him. “Yeah, Jacob Dylan Anderson. I hear you.”
“Damn, Jakey boy. Your Dad is on fire tonight.” Marco messes up Jake’s hair, earning him a teenage-boy grunt. “So, Dee. Renee and I were wondering if you’d like to join us for ax-throwing next week.”
“Put the woman on the spot, why don’t you,” Jake mutters, earning a death stare from me. In return, he shoots me a smirk, telling me he’s having way too much fun with this.
Dee grins. “Said woman is sitting right here.”
Our eyes lock and she quirks a single brow.
“What do you say, Rhodes? Want to make it a double date? I mean, Marco did bring us together, not knowing I’d already kind of asked you out.”
“What?” Marco says. “You didn’t tell me that?”
“In my defense, I thought Dee was being nice and offering me a meal to say thanks. It was me that made it a condition that she join me.”
Jake stands, looking first at Dee and then me before throwing his hands in the air with a loud, “Ugh. I give up. I tried. I really did. Adults these days!” Then with a muttered, “I’ll be in the car,” he walks away, still shaking his head, leaving the rest of us to laugh at my son’s antics.
“We’re heading off. Do you want to come with us?” Marco asks. “Or do you want us to take Jake and you’ll find your own way home?”
Smooth, Marky Mark. Real smooth.
“Actually, I’d better be heading home anyway. I’ve got a staff meeting and ordering in the morning, and since Mom and Dad took Harvey home with them, I now don’t have a ten-year-old to manage. So I’m thinking I’ll go relax and enjoy the serenity and have an early night.” Dee downs the last mouthful of wine and stands.
“Yeah. We’ve got an early start too,” I say, not wanting the night to end but knowing my twenty-four-hour shift will drag if I don’t get a good sleep.
“We’ll meet you in the car.” Renee hooks her arm in Marco’s elbow. “Nice to meet you, Dee.”
The two women grin at each other. “You too. I’ll get Rhodes to let you know about next week.”
Renee’s smile widens before she waves and walks away.
“So . . .” I say, turning to face my not-so-blind date.
“So . . .”
“You sure you want to come on a double date?”
“Well, it will be a hardship, but Marco and Renee seem nice enough,” she says, unable to keep a straight face.
“You’re one of a kind, aren’t you?”
She sighs dramatically. “It’s hard to be this awesome, but I try.”
“You do it well.”
Her gaze softens, and she smiles. “Nice to know I made a good impression.”
“You made that the other day. Tonight just confirmed I wasn’t wrong.”
She scrunches her nose in what is a quirk of hers that I really
