“Not unless I do it first.”
“Doesn’t matter. I will break his fucking face.”
“I have no doubt.”
Leave it to that douchenozzle to ruin what started out being an amazing date. We ate in silence, Jason seething the entire time. “I never would’ve thought I’d be this helpless in the goddamned case. You’re the one doing everything and there’s nothing I can do to help.”
“You are helping, Jason. I couldn’t have done all of this without you. You needed me, but now I need you.”
“It’s getting harder and harder each time to keep my cool. What would you do if the situation was turned and you had to watch me leave with beautiful women who could possibly kill me?”
I ate the last bite of mashed potatoes and set my fork down. “I’d be furious. But it is what it is. These men want me and I have to find out who’s killing these girls. We’re lucky nobody else has gone missing.”
He scoffed. “That’s because they all want you.”
Taking his hand, I held it tight. “Can we please not talk about this tonight? I want to spend time with you and get to know you, not talk about the case.”
“Would you like for me to take your plates out of the way?” the waitress asked.
I let go of Jason’s hand and sat back. “You can take mine.”
“Sir?”
Jason nodded and handed her his plate. “I’m done. Thank you, it was delicious.”
“Would either of you like dessert?”
My eyes lit up and Jason laughed. It was good seeing a smile on his face again. “What do you want, firecracker?”
I looked up at our server. “I would love to have one of the lava cakes. But is there any way to order it for us to pick up later? I want to go out for a walk and then come back. How about two hours from now?”
“Of course. Would you like one too?” she asked Jason.
His smile grew wider. “Why not? Whatever I don’t eat, I’m sure she will finish.”
“I’ll put it in and have it ready for you in two hours. In the meantime, I’ll get your check. Have fun on your walk.” She sauntered off and came back with our check, which I stole out of Jason’s hands.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Closing the booklet, I set it on the table. “Paying. Have you seen the insane amount of cash I have? My uncle’s going to freak out when I give him his birthday present.”
“Are you going to give him the money?”
“Most of it. He deserves it after putting up with me for the past seventeen years. I never had to pay for anything, not even my first car. It’s time I paid him back.”
“What was your first car?”
“It was a ninety-three, metallic blue Acura Legend. It was also a manual transmission. Learning on those hilly roads by the B&B almost gave my uncle a heart attack.”
“Why does it not surprise me that your first car was a stick?”
“Probably because you know I like things difficult,” I laughed. “It was a good car. I drove it until it had over two hundred thousand miles on it. What was yours?”
“It was an old Mazda 626. The paint was even chipping off the hood because it was so old. I begged my parents for a truck, but they made me take that. My sisters got the better deal.”
“Oh yeah? How so?”
Standing, he reached for my hand. “Why don’t we go for that walk and we can talk as much as you want?”
Holding his hand, he helped me stand. “I’d like that. I’ve been dying to watch the fountain light show.” We walked outside and since it was getting dark, the heat wasn’t as bad. There were people everywhere, walking around, laughing, and talking just like us. For a moment, I wanted to pretend everything was normal and I was there on vacation—not risking my life.
“Where were we?” he asked.
“I was inquiring about your sisters. You said they got better cars than you.”