“Come on, just follow me, please.” Marlon started walking, trusting that Vahin would follow.
He did. “Marlon?”
Marlon kept walking but glanced over at Vahin. “Sorry, it’s probably silly. I saw my partner, and he’s the last person I want to run into. I don’t even want to see him when I’m in my patrol car, much less here.”
“Who, that hot ginger guy staring at us from across the street?”
Damn it. So he couldn’t pretend Andrew hadn’t noticed, if his attention had been obvious enough to Vahin, who didn’t even know him. “Yeah. That’s the one.”
“Wow. Stuck in a car all day with a guy like that. Poor you.” There was a tone to Vahin’s words, but Marlon couldn’t tell what it was. Sarcasm, irritation?
“Trust me, spend three minutes with the guy, and you’ll understand.” Marlon kept such a pace through the crowds that they were already a block away. He forced himself to slow and really look at Vahin. “Sorry. I am, honestly. Do you mind if we go somewhere else? A little less… public?”
Vahin’s eyes narrowed.
“Unless you wanna end the date.” Marlon wouldn’t blame him.
Vahin hesitated, like he was mentally debating things. “Do you want to end the date?”
Did he? Kinda, yeah. “No. I don’t.”
Another hesitation. When Vahin spoke, there was a challenge in his voice. “Okay, then let’s grab dinner at Mary’s. From what you said last time, there won’t be any of your fellow cops there.”
Guilt tugged at him. “No, I don’t wanna make you go on a date where you work. That sucks.”
Vahin shrugged. “I’m not the one who has a problem with my coworkers seeing me on a date.”
The bite in Vahin’s tone couldn’t be missed and probably wasn’t meant to be. Marlon didn’t argue. What was there to say? “Okay. Mary’s sounds great.”
