Dani had always felt more at home here than she had around her own table with her father sitting at the head, her mother at his side. Meals in the Kim household were a somber and serious affair. Here, Gabe and Raphael were tossing a Nerf football over the dining room table. Frankie lunged for it, stealing it away from her younger brothers.
“Hey! Interference!” Gabe tried to snatch it from her.
Frankie tucked the ball under her arm. “You know we can’t do that at the dinner ta?—”
Raph rushed over to pick up his sister and tossed her on the nearby sectional. “You might be older, but we’re bigger.”
“Boys! Help fill the bread baskets,” Kate yelled from the kitchen. “Frankie, we still need the napkins.”
Yup. This was the life. Dani lost whatever weird sensation had flashed over her earlier and helped set the table. To the unfamiliar, it looked chaotic, but everyone had a task, and amid the chatter and spats, everything got done. Soon, they all sat around the humongous table and held hands to bless the food. Dani sat in the place of honor next to Dr. Martinelli.
“Tell me, Daniella”—she loved that he always pronounced her name the Italian way, making her feel like she was one of them—“how is it being back in Renegade? I thought you’d be living it up in New York City.”
“I was hoping for Miami, but the FBI sent me here.” She took the platter of pork chops from the doctor and passed it to Maria, next to her.
Across the table, sitting next to Michael, Gabe tore into his roll. “What kind of investigations are in Renegade? Talk about a lame place to be sent.”
“Right? Certainly not what I thought I’d signed up for. I’m just looking into accounts at a business, trying to find evidence of embezzlement. Seems like I can’t get away from numbers and accounting.”
“And yet you still find a way to create mischief. Like climbing locked bell towers and getting rammed off the road.” Michael’s smirk brought back the weird sensation, a sizzle of excitement running down her spine.
“Rammed off the road? Is that what happened to your vehicle, Michael?” His father looked concerned.
“It had nothing to do with my case, Pops. Just a jealous ex of Dani’s.”
“Right. That was the most excitement I’ve had since coming back to town, and it had nothing to do with work. What does that say? But hopefully, after I find who is embezzling at this company and how, I’ll be onto more exciting work. Maybe even be transferred to a bigger field office. So I guess, for now, Michael’s the only one with interesting cases.” She looked over at him. “Any chance you need help with them, so I don’t die from boredom at my own job?”
“Actually, I was going to ask for your take on something, but it’s more numbers work.”
“I don’t mind. Really.”
He set down his fork. “If you’re sure, I’ll take that offer. We can look at it after dinner.”
“Ooooh.” Gabe and Raph made kissy faces and laughed. “Mikey’s got a date,” they said in unison singsong voices.
It was nothing new around this table. The teasing, the banter. And usually, Dani laughed along and jumped right in. But something about being the other half of the romantic equation with Michael took her off guard.
Michael simply rolled his eyes at their antics, like he usually did. Then his gaze landed squarely on Dani, causing heat to rush up her neck and crawl over her cheeks. What was going on? This was Michael! They were talking work and accounting. And more importantly, she was supposed to be a poised and put-together federal agent who didn’t get flustered around guys she’d grown up with.
“You up for that?” he asked her.
She nodded and gulped her ice water. It cooled her from the inside and helped her find a normal—a.k.a. nonsqueaky—voice. “Of course.” Hopefully she came off as playful and not awkward.
“Good. We need all the help we can get.”
See? Nothing romantic about this. Just work-related interest. Dani relaxed. “Perfect. Let’s talk details later.”
And the conversation moved on to Gabe’s antics in his chemistry class, where he’d almost set the lab on fire.
Dani joined in the laughter and banter and tried to ignore the knowing look in Dr. Martinelli’s eyes the rest of the meal.
Twelve
Michael and Finn walked down the hospital hallway yet again.
“Ready for round two?” Finn asked.
“I’m ready to close this crazy case. And I’m not leaving until Carter tells us everything.” They passed the nursing station. Michael waved to the nurse they’d met yesterday. “Oh, and did I tell you Dani is going to look into Gary Donner’s finances for us?”
