“Please,” she added, throwing him a pleased-with-herself look that she’d remembered his lesson in manners.
He buttered the roll.
He caught Grace’s eye, and there was softness in her expression that made him think of flour and lemons and her mouth against his. He abruptly discovered that the chicken on his plate had become very interesting.
“So, Reno,” Grace said casually, “how was your day?”
He nearly choked on his chicken. “Pleasant,” he managed. “Yours?”
“Educational.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It had its moments.”
Lily looked back and forth between them. “Why is Mommy’s face red?”
“Because the kitchen is warm,” Grace said quickly.
“Mr. Reno’s face is red, too.”
“Must be some sunburn, I was on a ladder in the sun for a while.”
“Oh.” Lily went back to her chicken.
Grace didn’t make eye contact with him for the rest of supper, and he was fine with that, because he wasn’t entirely certain what he would do if she did. And it might have involved giving Lily a crash course on what adults did when they liked each other. A lot.
He was at the sink rinsing the last pan when his phone buzzed on the counter. The display said Cooper.
He dried his hands and stepped out to the back porch to answer. “What’s up, Coop?”
“You at the cottage?”
“Yep.”
“Mind if I swing by? I’ve got a few things to share, and I’d rather do it in person.”
“Sure. I’ll tell Grace.”
“Ten minutes.”
He hung up and went back inside. Grace was at the kitchen table with Lily and a coloring book.
“Cooper’s coming by,” he said.
She looked up. “Bakery?”
“He said he had things he wanted to share. Plural.”
She nodded, and the pink that had come back into her face during supper went out of it again. She set the crayon down and started cleaning up the coloring book.
“Mommy, why is Sheriff Cooper coming?”
“Deputy Cooper, Baby. He’s coming to talk to Mr. Reno and me for a few minutes.”
“About bad guys?”
Grace’s eyes flicked to him over Lily’s head.
