Liam took a bite of his smoked salmon and chewed. Almost everyone in the small town went to Ty’s. His prices remained reasonable, and the food was sourced locally for the most part. Addy lived there for two years and never set foot in the establishment. It piqued his curiosity.
“We’ll have to rectify that,” he murmured. “I’ve seen the nurses in there over the weekend while I wait for the teens to return from their shopping and take the van up the mountain. I assumed you went with them,” he said, gazing at her.
Setting her spoon down, Addy picked up her fork and concentrated on her shrimp salad. “They don’t want to spend an entire weekend socializing with their boss.”
“Then why don’t you hang out with Kassie, Catherine and their group?” he asked.
“They’re my boss,” she teased, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She seemed caught in a catch twenty-two with no friends.
“Good,” he said, pouring dressing on his salad. “It means I can get to know you before anyone else does.”
“I doubt it’ll be a problem. Tell me about your new job,” she insisted. “We’ve spent an entire morning talking about me and my vehicle.”
“I moved into the facility,” he informed her. “The team seems close. Even the K-9 trainer who started not too long ago, Cole, has settled in nicely.”
“I know him. He used to visit Stormy,” she told him. “I don’t know exactly what they do. I’ve heard rumors about how Leo and his team saved Kassie.”
“Yes, I recall Leo telling me about it. His original team guarded Kassie. They became friends. Since then, he added another group, Team Hawk,” he explained. “I’ll be on K-9 duty with Cole on Team Hawk.”
“What will you do?”
“Leo accepts security contracts, and we fulfill them,” he informed her as he finished off his salmon.
“I didn’t realize Serenity needed security. It seems like one of those small towns you watch in the movies.
“He takes them from all over,” he said as he rose to take their plates to the garbage. When he returned, he said, “Shall we check out the other dealership.
Sighing, she rose and picked up her purse. “I really hoped they’d come down a bit more.”
“In the meantime, we’ll check out the other places. You might find something you like even better,” he said, guiding her toward the SUV.
Turning onto the street, he checked his navigation screen for the next dealership. When they arrived, Addy got out and frowned while she reviewed their selection.
Liam knew she’d already picked out her next vehicle when they arrived at the fourth stop, and she showed little interest in the selection.
They walked back toward his SUV when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
Addy listened to the other person on the line.
Addy stopped in her tracks and jumped up and down. “Thank you, Tom. I will be there shortly,” she said, composed. When she hung up her phone, she turned toward Liam and squealed. “They went down twenty-five hundred.”
“I take it we’re heading back for your new SUV?” Liam joked as he watched her do a little dance and practically skip toward his parked SUV.
“Yes. Oh, now I wish you didn’t have this vehicle. I won’t be able to talk to you. It’s a new vehicle and I don’t know where everything’s located,” she said. “I’m not prepared.”
“You’ll do fine. I’ll drive right behind you. I must insist you let me take you out to dinner and celebrate. You did great for a first timer,” he complimented her.
“No. I’m taking you out. After all, if I hadn’t gotten your silly signals mixed up, I wouldn’t have saved over five thousand. I can afford it,” she said excitedly as he pulled into the dealership.
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said. “Addy, go get your new car.”
She gave another squeak of excitement before jumping out of the SUV. As they neared the building, Addy became more reserved.
Tom met them inside. “It’s in the back getting spiffed up. Let’s go to my office and review the financing.”
“I’ll be paying cash,” she informed him.
