Jensen! What have I said about your tendency to overthink?
“That it’s pointless at best and a danger at worst,” I mutter to myself.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
I didn’t realize I’d spoken aloud. I feel my cheeks flush, and I quickly grab my menu to distract him from, you know, my general chaotic self. “What looks good here?” I ask, my voice just slightly too loud.
“What doesn’t? Everything here is delish.” Our waitress appears as if from nowhere, leaning one hip against Grayson’s side of the booth and smiling down at us with lips coated in enough strawberry lip gloss I can smell it from where I sit. A thick blond curl falls perfectly across her forehead. “I’m Sheila, and I’ll be taking care of you today. Are y’all ready to order, or do you need more time to look at the menu?”
“I’m ready to order,” Grayson says, his voice rising slightly at the end in a wordless question to me.
“Yeah. I’m good,” I say. “I’ll have the BLT on wheat bread, please.”
Across from me, Grayson clears his throat. Aggressively.
Oh, right. The whole bacon thing.
“Um, actually. No. Instead of the BLT, I’ll take the…” I scan the menu frantically. “Ooh. The Monte Cristo sounds perfect.”
But that earns me another frowning throat clear. Because of course—ham.
“Wait. No, not that.” I set the menu down. “Chef’s salad?” I say tentatively, looking at Grayson.
He reaches across the table and taps his finger on the description of the chef’s salad.
More ham.
Man, pigs and diner food, huh?
“You know what? I’ll just take a garden salad. No meat, please.” It’s not what either Olive or Sally would choose for lunch, and I’m going to be starving long before dinner, but I’mtoo flustered to bother looking at the menu any longer. I’m sure there’s plenty of other meat options, but for all I know his best friend is a cow shifter and he’ll be mortally offended if I order the cheeseburger.
“I’ll have the grilled chicken sandwich, please,” Grayson says as he hands his menu to Sheila. “And could you tell the chef the lady has a shellfish allergy? Just so they know to avoid cross-contamination.”
Sheila beams at him for really no reason at all, which I’m sure is not an uncommon occurrence. With those cheekbones, I imagine a lot of women beam at him. “Absolutely, sugar.” She bustles away.
“How do you know I’m allergic to shellfish?”
“I read your file before I got here.” He carefully unrolls the napkin from around his silverware and spreads it across his lap. “You’re not the only one who does their homework before an undercover operation.”
I shove my bag a little farther into the booth and scootch in a bit more. There’s something about this guy that sets my teeth on edge even though pretty much all he’s done so far is know I can’t eat shrimp. “Have you ever been on an undercover operation before?”
“This is my first.”
“Because it’s not like you’re actually law enforcement, right? You’re a medical examiner?”
His chin jerks up sharply. “I hear an implied ‘just’ before ‘medical examiner.’”
“I mean, you hang out in the morgue while we go out and hunt down the bad guys. It’s important work, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not actually law enforcement work.”
I have to admit that I’d expected him to be a little pig-like even in his human form. Not just in looks, but in mannerisms—always in motion, grubbing around for food or informationor whatever floated his boat. But Grayson is almost unnaturally still as he absorbs what I just said. Finally, a small movement—his Adam’s apple shifts as he swallows. “I would argue that medical examiners are law enforcement-adjacent,” he says. “And it’s not like you have a lot of options, do you?”
For a moment, I’m sure he’s making a joke. “Options? Of course I have options. I could just use, you know, an actual pig. I work just fine on my own.”
That eyebrow of his is really getting a workout. Up, down, Up, down. It’s up again now. “Given what I’ve read in your file, it seems like maybe your boss doesn’t agree with you.”
Now it’s my turn to go still. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on now, Agent Jensen. You graduated top of your class from West Virginia University and blew everybody away in the MBI training program. I think you’re smart enough to know why Captain Caine doesn’t trust you to handle this alone.”
