“True. I’m not sure that’s the way he’ll see it, though.” A soft, impish smile lit her face. “Claire will get him on our side, I’m sure.”
I chuckled, making another turn. “I bet she will.” Mina’s café reno wasn’t my first run-in with Claire Holmes. Because our jobs were related, we’d met before. The woman was tenacious. I could imagine how that would serve her to get what she wanted from her boyfriend.
It didn’t hurt that Claire was a beautiful woman. Detective Quartermaine didn’t stand a chance with her combination of beauty and brains.
I spared a quick glance at the woman beside me.
Claire’s friend was a lot like her in that department. An enticing blend of beauty and intellect. One I found quite captivating.
Returning my attention to the road, I saw the sign for the pizza place up ahead and maneuvered my truck into a parkingspace on the street. After cutting the engine, I hopped out, meeting Mina on the sidewalk in front of the shop.
“We’re not even inside and my mouth is already watering.” She tossed me a quick smile and headed for the door.
“It tastes as good as it smells too.” Holding the door for her, I followed her inside, and we got in line.
The queue in front of us was short. In minutes, we each had a giant slice of pizza and a drink. I spotted a table near the window and headed for it.
“This place is cute.” Mina set her drink on the table, then sank into the black metal chair. “How did you find it?”
“My dad, actually. He brought me here one day when I was a teenager. It was summer, so I was on one of the construction crews as a grunt. We came here for lunch.” I sat down across from her, picking up my pizza slice. “I’m here a lot. The pizza is good and it’s a quick meal.”
“It certainly smells good.” She picked up her pizza, folding it in half to take a bite.
I about swallowed my tongue as her pretty pink lips wrapped around the end of the slice. Something hot and needy unfurled in my belly as her eyelids fluttered closed and she let out a soft moan of pleasure.
Sweet Jesus. Dinner was a bad idea.
Forcing my eyes elsewhere, I took a bite of my own slice. How was eating pizza erotic? Was I that hard up for sex that watching Mina eat about set me off?
“So, how is your dad? You said he’s been transferred to cardiac rehab, right?”
Her words put a bit of a damper on my libido. “Right. He’s doing as well as expected, I suppose. Chugging along with therapy and not happy about being laid up. My poor mom has her hands full keeping him from going stir-crazy.”
Mina chuckled softly. “I bet. For a man who’s used to being on the go and on job sites all day, it’s probably torture. My own dad would be watching the clock, waiting for them to spring him.”
I smiled. “Yeah. My mom’s spending as much time with him as she can, so he’s not too bored, but it’s not the same as going out and living his daily life. I don’t think he’s quite wrapped his head around the fact it’ll never be the same again, either. He’s going to have to give up some control of the business and let me do more.”
“Are you ready for that?” she asked, lifting her pizza slice to take another bite.
I twitched a shoulder in a small shrug. “I guess. It was always sort of the plan for me to run the business. But I figured I’d have more time to learn it all before that happened.” I had also planned to hire a project manager so I could continue the architectural side of things. Depending on when Dad came back, I might do that sooner rather than later. Trying to do both was already almost more than I could handle alone. In reality, I shouldn’t even be out with Mina this evening. Or last evening, for that matter. I had too much work to do.
The late nights were worth it, though, to get to know her and to dig into the mystery at her café.
“I would offer to help, but there’s a reason I hired your dad to do my renovation.” A sardonic tilt lifted one side of her mouth.
An answering one drew up the right side of my face. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’ll be fine. Some of the crew have picked up a bit of the slack. We’re managing.”
“Good.” Turning her pizza slice, she bit off a corner of the crust.
“So, do you have any siblings?” she continued, several moments later.
My head bobbed. “I have a younger sister. She’s just graduated from the University of Anchorage with a business degree. She’s been doing some catering and trying to set up her own party planning business.”
“Seriously? That’s amazing. If you bring me some of her business cards, I’ll set them out at the coffeeshop. You’d be surprised by the number of people I get looking for someone to cater or plan events.”
I smiled. “I’ll do that. She’s always looking for ways to drum up business.” Polishing off the last of my pizza, I wiped the grease from my fingers and face. In just a couple more bites, Mina finished.
Grabbing my drink, I pushed away from the table. “Ready?”
