I shook my head and greeted him with a smile. “Thanks for helping out.”
“No problem,” he said.
We stood in awkward silence for a beat. It wasn’t a date, but somehow my nerves were jangling a bit, as if it was.
I took a breath and turned to the door. “Let’s do this.”
The hostess was good on her word. She threw me a wink as she led Pin and me to a corner table. Pin took the seat with his back to the room so I could sit across from him. It was perfect. Pin’s broad shoulders would even conceal my camera. I made a mental note to slip the hostess a twenty before we left.
We ordered drinks – water for the both of us. I needed to keep a clear head and Pin evidently thought the same. I glanced at my watch. We still had thirty minutes. I opened my menu and glanced over the options.
“I’m honestly kinda nervous,” Pin said.
I looked up to see he was wearing a self-deprecating smile that really had no right to be quite so charming.
“I can’t believe you do this kind of stuff every weekend,” he said.
“Well, noteveryweekend,” I said with a coy shrug.
I ducked my head down to look at my menu. I told myself to stop flirting on the job, but then glanced at my watch again. We had so much time to kill, we might as well enjoy the wait. Besides, Pin wasn’t so bad to talk to. There was something about the way he looked at me with total focus. As if I was the only thing in the room worth observing.
“I actually have been getting bored with the cheating husband stuff,” I said. “It’s not exactly thrilling since these idiots are easy to catch.”
“I can imagine,” Pin said. “It also must get pretty depressing.”
I blinked.
“I guess so,” I said. “Honestly, I tend to disassociate. I don’t often involve the mistress like tonight; Kim’s an exception. And something tells me she doesn’t need my pity.”
“Don’t call Kim a mistress to her face,” Pin said with a grin. “She definitely won’t like that.”
I laughed as I pictured Kim’s outraged reaction to being labeled a mistress. “Noted. Thanks for the advice.”
Figo Wine Bar was trendy and right in the center of downtown La Playa. Even on a Thursday night, it was filled with couples gripping big glasses of wine and nibbling on tapas. I knew this wasn’t a real date, but something about the piano music in the background and the shimmering orbs hanging artfully from the ceiling for lighting made me feel all smiley and chatty, as if it was a first date with a really, really cute guy.
Because Pin was cute. More than cute. He was downright attractive. And I couldn’t help but steal a glance at his torso. I could see the shape of his shoulders and chest through the thinner fabric of his shirt and he was definitely fit. I flashed my eyes back to his face.
“So what’s next?” he asked. “Now that you’ve gotten bored with all the cheaters.”
“I’d love to bust a criminal ring or something,” I said. “Missing children cases can be really rewarding too. I worked one a few years ago with a coworker.”
“What happens when you don’t solve a case though?” Pin asked.
“Oh, I drink,” I said.
That shocked a snort of laughter out of him.
“Yeah,” I said. “I do not deal well with failure. I was always a very sore loser as a kid.”
“Isn’t failure unavoidable?”
“Of course,” I said. “And knowing when it’s time to close a file is part of the job. Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“But you love the job anyway,” Pin said.
It wasn’t a question. He could tell how dedicated I was to my PI work. I held still as I met his gaze and nodded. His perception made a chill run up and down my bare spine.
“What about you?” I asked. “How did you get sucked into the dubious world of biker clubs?”
