Their meal arrived fifteen minutes later, and they made it through with talk about the case. Brantley filled Reese in on the experience he’d had with Magnus over the past six months, keeping everything professional.
“Him and Trey?” Reese pushed his plate away. “Are they a thing?”
“Based on what Trey told me … there’s some stuff between them, yeah.”
“I don’t mean that to be gossipy,” Reese said with a chuckle. “Although it sounded like it.”
Brantley smiled. He found Reese’s slight embarrassment endearing. Then again, he found most everything about him endearing.
“And the team? How are they working out?”
On to safer ground, Brantley answered with, “It was tough in the beginning, but they’ve found their way. Evan and Slade tend to gravitate toward one another as partners.”
“And you? Who’re you partnering with?”
Brantley knew Reese was fishing, so he purposely kept his answer vague. “If I need someone, I take whoever’s available.”
Reese nodded, his gaze shifting back to the table.
“I want you back on the task force,” Brantley told him. “As far as the team’s concerned, you were just on sabbatical. We’ve expected you to come back.”
Now, that was only mostly true. While the team had anticipated Reese to return, Brantley hadn’t expected it. With every week that’d passed, he’d lost more and more hope of anything returning to normal. With Reese here, he wasn’t even sure what their new normal would look like.
“Is this a private party? Or can anyone join?” a deep voice bellowed.
Brantley’s gaze darted to the end of the table where his cousin Ethan and Ethan’s husband, Beau, were standing.
“He’s kidding,” Ethan said. “We’re not here to crash. Just wanted to welcome you back to town since we didn’t get to last night.”
“Don’t y’all have dinner with your folks on Sundays?” Brantley prompted, draping an arm over the back of the booth and regarding his cousin.
“We did.” Ethan motioned to the kitchen. “It was Sawyer’s night for dessert, and he said he forgot. We ran up here to get a pie.”
“Heard you spent the night on Travis’s couch,” Beau mentioned. “Woke up to some little heads in your face.”
Brantley watched Reese interact with the two men Reese used to work with. They chatted for a couple of minutes before Ethan turned his attention to Brantley.
“Rumor has it Magnus is havin’ problems. Let him know if he needs anything, we’re here.”
“I’ll tell him,” Brantley promised.
“Well, we’ll let y’all get back to it; they’ll start bitchin’ if we’re not back soon.” Beau winked. “But I ain’t leavin’ until I force my husband to request extra whipped cream for later.”
Brantley chuckled, turning his attention to Reese when the pair sauntered off.
Rachel arrived to deliver their dessert and the check. Brantley used what was left of their time to enjoy Reese’s company. It was difficult not to. Despite the anger he harbored and the pain he felt from Reese’s betrayal, he knew deep down that this was what he wanted. He just wasn’t sure he was ready for it yet.
Chapter Fourteen
BAZ STARED ATJJ, WHERE SHE SATcross-legged on the kitchen island, her laptop sitting in front of her. She was leaned over, her fingers flying over the keyboard, lost in thought.
He could’ve watched her all day, every day. The woman mesmerized him.
“I really wanna know what happened to that girl,” JJ mumbled to herself. “You can’t hide her forever.”
He loved the way she talked to herself or her computer when she worked. It was fascinating to see how her brain processed everything she was dealing with. What was even more adorable was the fact she didn’t seem to care who else was around, who might overhear. During their time together, he’d heard a number of things come out of her mouth, some that were questionable in polite company.
She must’ve sensed him watching because her fingers stopped, her eyes darting up. “What?” She sat up straight. “Did you tell me dinner’s ready, and I didn’t hear you?”
