He shrugged and picked up his spoon. “Neither one of us had dinner.”
“Nicely done, Riya!” Daniel laughed.
Riya laughed, too. “You know I’m awful. But this guy—” she pointed her soupspoon toward Dhillon “—he has skills.”
Dhillon shook his head and ate some soup. He nearly groaned in pleasure it was so good.
“Fabulous, right?” Daniel was grinning at him. When Dhillon nodded, Daniel turned back to Riya. “How’s that injury?”
Dhillon snapped his head up at Riya. She was hurt? But Riya seemed focused on Daniel, not Dhillon. And that wall started finding its spot between them again.
“It’s fine. Simple sprain. You were right,” Riya said quickly.
“Glad to hear it. Common job injury for you,” Daniel continued.
Dhillon started to open his mouth to question Riya about it, but she pressed forward.
“So, Daniel,” Riya said, sitting back in her stool, turning her body away from Dhillon, “can you put me in touch with Katie?”
“Katie the firefighter?”
Dhillon tensed. Riya threw a fleeting look at him before nodding at Daniel.
“Um, yeah. Sure.” He looked from Riya to Dhillon, as if sensing the sudden tension in the air. “What’s up?”
Dhillon saw Riya flick her eyes in his direction again and hesitate. He stood, gazing back at Riya. “I’ll just go get more beer.”
Dhillon waited at the bar while Annika went to fill his order. He couldn’t help himself: he watched Riya talk to Daniel, quite animatedly. Whatever they were talking about was obviously exciting to her.
“This is how they get when they talk about work.” Annika set down his beers and grinned at him. “Wonderful how excited they are, huh?” She watched them fondly, but Dhillon’s body remained tense with apprehension.
Riya did look very excited, very happy. He picked up the beers and went back to the table.
“It’s a great idea, Riya. It’s a fabulous way to give back,” Daniel was saying as he left. “Nice meeting you, Dhillon.”
Before Dhillon could askwhatwas a fabulous way to give back, a man approached Riya, completely ignoring the fact that Dhillon was seated across from her.
“Hey, Riya? Right?” The man reeked of alcohol and had a glazed look about him.
Dhillon sat up straighter.
“Yes...?” She narrowed her eyes and turned her head, making eye contact with Dhillon. She clearly didn’t know who the man was.
“You don’t remember, do you? It’s all right. We met here. You were with your paramedic friends.” He eyed her up and down. Dhillon was ready to rip the man’s eyes out. “Very sexy.”
A flicker of recognition lit Riya’s eyes, and she shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. “It was a very long time ago.” She looked at Dhillon again. “I was a different person.”
“That was some night.” The guy drew his hand across her forearm, and blood pounded through Dhillon’s body. Whatever had happened between Riya and this guy in the past shouldn’t matter, but the way the man was touching Riya brought unexpected feelings of jealousy to the surface.
Riya stiffened, removing his hand. “Well, as I said, that was a long time ago.” She nodded, dismissing him. “Enjoy your evening.”
“Come on, now. Is that any way to treat an old friend?” He reached for her arm again.
Dhillon stood.
Riya stared the intruder in the eye as she stood, too, and spoke through clenched teeth. “Let go of my arm. Now.”
The guy was at least a head taller than she was. He did not let go of her arm.What the fuck?Dhillon stepped forward, reaching for the man’s shoulder, but before he landed, Riya had twisted her arm around the man’s and pinned his arm behind his back, speaking loudly. “I said, let go and leave.” She pushed his arm farther up his back. “Am I clear?”
