“Was it cool?”
“Best vacation ever.” She winked at him. “Although this one is working out pretty well too. Give me a case to sink my teeth into and I’m a happy camper.”
He wondered if there was a reason she was such a workaholic, or if that was simply her nature. Was she avoiding something by throwing herself into work? “What about your personal life?”
“What about it?” She bit into her burger, probably to avoid answering his question.
“Ever been married?”
She shook her head as she chewed.
“Long-term relationship defined as anything longer than six months?”
“Sure.”
“Romantic relationship,” he clarified.
She swallowed a bit of her mushroom burger and half-closed her eyes in bliss. “Mmmm.”
He waited patiently until she could speak again. “Was that a yes?”
She sighed, then launched into her answer. “I wouldn’t call it romantic, but there was lots of sex. Sex is very healthy, an excellent release, and I quite like it. I don’t really get the point of romance. Like, give me my orgasm, then let me get back to work.”
The wave of amusement started somewhere in his belly, then swept upwards through his heart and into the smile that spread across his face. She made him laugh like nobody’s business.
“I get the picture. So are you in one of these relationships now? All sex, no romance?”
“No.” She set down her burger and went for the fries. “I thought things were going well, but he wanted to meet my parents. I told him there was no point in that, but he kept insisting.”
“What happened?”
“It was incredibly awkward. We met them for dinner and he told them he wanted to marry me, and wanted to get their approval before he proposed. I realized he didn’t know me at all, because?—”
“That was insulting. You’ll pick your own life mate, should you ever want such a thing.” Even he knew Tina, with her fierce independence, wouldn’t appreciate that move.
“Exactly. He was playing the eligible Chinese husband card, but it didn’t work on my parents either. They know me better than that.”
“What’s the eligible?—”
She dragged a French fry through ketchup. “Many Chinese-American parents would prefer their children marry someone Chinese. My father feels that way, but my mother’s more open. It’s one reason I sometimes avoid Asian men. I don’t want my parents to get their hopes up. The fact is, I don’t know if I’ll ever get married. I’m lucky that I have two siblings, and they’re much more obliging, so the pressure is less than it could be. How about you?”
“Me? I’m handy,” he offered.
“Excuse me?” She set down her French fry before even taking a bite. “You mean, for orgasms?”
He let out a spurt of laughter. “Not saying ‘no’ to the orgasms, but let’s start with a margarita.”
She stared at him blankly, pink rising in her cheeks.
“You said your police contact made you promise to get a margarita with someone handy.” He spread open his hands like a showman about to break into song. “Here I am, handy Jack Finnegan, at your service.”
They were so focused on each other that they both started at the sound of a woman’s voice nearby.
“I knew it was you! You’re Jack Finnegan from Dark of Night, aren’t you?”
17
Saved by the superfan, thought Tina. Her heart was beating so fast, she had to take a moment to center herself.
