Or maybe there was a better way to give him a break from Vivian Dunn.
I pulled out my phone and typed:Hey, handsome. How’s that hot scramble?
I pressed send. He sat up a little straighter and pulled his phone out of his pocket, still listening to whatever Vivian was saying.
He glanced at the phone. I knew when he’d finished, because he looked up and squinted through the window. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t see my Jeep since it was mostly blocked by a delivery van, but just in case, I leaned back so he wouldn’t see me in it.
A message buzzed on my phone.
Morning, love
Ah. Heart officially melted.
Need a break?I texted.
From breakfast?
From boring her out of town
There was a pause while he typed, erased and typed. He pressed send and looked out the window again. I scooched down lower, peering over the dash through the steering wheel.
Vivian, of course noticed all this. She must have asked him a question, because he shook his head and took another drink of coffee, squinting over the top of it, still searching for me.
I ducked my head and checked his message.
Why? What would you do to bore her? Talk to her about your top ten running sock preferences?
I grinned.
That would be riveting after hours of your talking about scale rulers and mechanical pencils.
My mechanical pencils are prose worthy
So are my socks
Challenge accepted. Your sock limericks vs my pencil poems
Slam poetry? Bring it. Also, gonna call
He raised one finger when his phone rang, and answered it with his hand over it. I heard him say, “Hang on, this is a work thing,” and watched as he stood away from the booth toward the front door and restrooms.
Piper met him halfway, a pot of tea and fresh fruit in each hand. She was bee-lining to Vivian.
It was good to know someone would keep her busy while I checked in with my man.
“Hey,” he said. “Sleep well?”
“Until Xtelle and Avnas showed up in our room. You?”
“Like a rock until I realized Vivian’s always been an early riser.”
I let that go by, not wanting to know how he knew that. She’d said they’d shared a room before, and he’d told me nothing had happened between them. I would believe him a hundred times over her.
“Any idea yet on why she came to town?”
“She said she wasn’t on an assignment. There wasn’t something about Ordinary that brought her here. But there’s a shakeup in the Organization, and she’s climbing the ladder. If she found something supernatural, she could wedge her way into a higher position. Oregon was convenient. I think knowing me brought her here. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t know you’d been living among the supers all your life.”
