“You want fries with that order?”
“I’m being serious.”
“Yeah. The lab has it marked as evidence, so it’s in the freezer. I can get it out, but it might be a day.”
“Do your best. It’s important.” He’d hung up before I finished my sentence, but Dino knew I paid well for solid leads and good intel, he’d get us the box as soon as he could.
“All right.” I rubbed my hands together and turned to Stone. “Get out of here and see if you can come up with a slug for Serenity.”
“Got it.” He glanced at Serenity and his brows dipped. “Don’t touch those cherries unless you’ve confirmed with a real medical doctor that the poison doesn’t transmit via touch. Promise me.”
Serenity crossed her chest. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
As Stone walked out, Julia smiled at Serenity. “That’s true love.”
“He is very protective, I’ll admit.” She pointed at me. “He’s that way, too. You’ll see. He takes care of his people.”
“He sure does.” Julia had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before she realized what she’d said. She blushed bright red.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Serenity left without looking back.
After she left, I gave Julia a wicked smile. "I had fun last night."
"Who would've thought a Thursday could turn into such an adventure?"
"If anyone had told me last month I'd be—" I shook my head, grinning. "Let's just say you're full of surprises."
"Quentin!" Julia's cheeks flushed. "The door's open."
"Then you'd better shut it, because I'm about to kiss you." I stood, and her gaze dropped briefly before meeting mine again. "Just being near you does crazy things to me."
She crossed to the door, giving me her brightest smile before closing it. "And you make me feel young and reckless."
Two steps and I had her. She turned into my arms and I kissed her like I'd been thinking about it all morning—which I had. My mouth moved to her neck, pressing soft kisses just below her ear. She giggled, the sound vibrating against my lips.
“I could stay here all day.” She rested her forehead against mine. "But I really do have work. Tonight though? We can pick up where we left off."
"Cruel woman." I kissed her once more, quickly. "Fine. Go be productive. I'll drown myself in paperwork and phone calls. Maybe figure out who wants us dead. You know, light Friday tasks.”
“One last kiss.” Julia leaned into me and closed her eyes.
We met halfway. Our hands eagerly explored. Our lips locked and my senses hit overload. I pulled away before we hit a point of no return. “If we don’t stop now, we’d end—”
The phone buzzed.
“Quentin, I have Willow Bend Table on line four. They’re saying you have to personally confirm your reservation tonight—”
“Got it.” I met Julia’s gaze and rolled my eyes. “So much for the surprise.”
“Wait—that place has a six-month waiting list. How did you manage that?”
I gave her a sly smile and pushed the button for line four. “This is Quentin Vanetti.”
“Sir, will you still be joining us tonight?”
“Yes.” I smiled at Julia. This place was famous, and I had to grease a few palms to get a reservation so quickly.
“Very good, sir. I have a table for two and the seating is at eight. Cocktails in the great room begin at seven, sir. We’ll see you tonight, and, sir?”
