“You don’t have to come all the way in here to pick me up. Why don’t I just meet you at the café at six,” she countered.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” she replied.
“Okay, then I’ll see you at the café at six this evening.”
They disconnected and Daniel leaned back in his chair. He was ridiculously pleased that she’d agreed to eat with him this evening. It would be another opportunity for him to get to know her better.
What in the hell are you doing, Daniel?Why was he pursuing a social relationship with her? She wasn’t even his type, although he had yet to figure out exactly what his type was.
So far, she had shown none of the controlling issues he had thought she would. She was just passionate about things, and he found that trait very attractive and certainly not off-putting at all.
But what in the serious hell was he doing with her? At this point he really didn’t know.
ANGELIQUE DRESSED WITHcare for her evening out with Daniel. She wore a pair of black jeans and a pink-and-black-striped sleeveless blouse. She pulled her freshly washed hair back at the nape of her neck and tied it with a black ribbon and then added a little makeup and black earrings.
When she was finished, she knew she looked casual yet rather hot. The jeans fit her perfectly and she had the blouse unbuttoned just enough to expose her delicate collarbones.
What she didn’t understand was why she was going to so much trouble to look good for Daniel. It wasn’t like she wanted a relationship with him and she certainly didn’t think of tonight as a date.
She just wanted him to find her mother’s killer and figure out who wanted her dead, and she was hoping he was the man who would give her those answers.
The only thing different tonight was she’d get a check-in from him over a table at the café instead of here in her shanty. And maybe that was a good thing.
There would be no temptation tonight and he was definitely a temptation. Throughout the day, when she hadn’t been racking her brain to figure out who might be after her, she’d been thinking about making love with Daniel.
The whole experience had been beyond breathtaking. Their bodies had fit together as if specifically made for each other. He had taken her to heights of pleasure she’d never been before. Even just thinking about it made her want him all over again.
She hadn’t made love with a man since Jason, and those physical unions now seemed weak and mundane when compared to what she’d shared with Daniel the night before.
She hadn’t told her sisters about going to dinner tonight. They would somehow try to make it into something it wasn’t, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with their silly nonsense. This was just about two people enjoying each other’s company and getting information about her mother’s murder and nothing more.
At five-thirty she left her shanty. Her purse was slung over her shoulder and the knife was firmly grasped in her hand. She was determined not to be caught unaware again.
Still, as always, she breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the safety of her car. Tomorrow, she had several errands to run. She needed to get more ice for her cooler and gasoline for her generator. Lately she was reluctant to leave the shanty. She felt so vulnerable when she was out and about. But she refused to be a complete shut-in because of some creep.
And who was the creep who apparently wanted her dead? She’d tried to think back in her past, but nothing and nobody came to mind. She didn’t go around making enemies. How could she help Daniel catch the attacker when she couldn’t think of anyone? And under those circumstances, how could she expect him to come up with the answers?
As she reached Main Street, she shoved all of these thoughts out of her head. She was hungry for both food and any information Daniel had discovered today. She was also looking forward to getting to know the lawman a little better.
When she reached the café, she was lucky to find a parking place close to the front door. She didn’t know what kind of a car Daniel drove, but she saw a patrol car parked down the street and suspected it was his.
At precisely six o’clock she walked into the establishment where heavenly scents filled the air. The scents of cooking meats and vegetables mingled with the yeasty fragrance of homemade rolls.
The place was crowded but she saw him immediately. He was seated in a booth and he stood up when he saw her. He was clad in the blue uniform that he wore so well, and he also wore a warm smile that lit up both his features and her insides as she approached.
“Angelique,” he said in greeting. “May I just say you look positively terrific tonight.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied, ridiculously pleased by the compliment. She slid into the booth seat, and he returned to his seat across from her.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said.
“I am. I skipped lunch, knowing I was eating here tonight,” she replied. “What about you? Are you hungry?”
“Definitely.” He held her gaze for a long moment and then pulled the menus out from where they’d been propped between the salt and pepper shakers. He handed her one and then opened his on the table before him. “You would think with all the times I eat here I would have the entire menu memorized.”
“I don’t eat here very often, but I have noticed the menu changes with the daily specials.” She gazed down at the list ofoptions. “And it looks like today the special is a fried shrimp platter and that sounds good to me.” She closed the menu.
