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“But—” She rose.
Yeah, he knew a bad excuse when he saw one, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d let this one slide. “It’s just food, Remy,” he said, using her words back on her. “No big deal.”
She burst out laughing. “Well played, Asher Sullivan, well played.” He chuckled and then felt the temperature in the room go up a few degrees as she took a step toward him and went on. “What’s the plan, then?”
“You need food before we do anything further. You still probably haven’t eaten anything and your skin is ghost white.”
She touched her cheek. “And then what’s the plan?”
He lifted the sticky note. “Finding out who this guy is and what he wants from you.”
* * *
A half an hour later, sitting in the passenger seat of Asher’s car, Remy turned toward him next to her. “Just so you know, if this is your idea of dinner out, you’ve become really weird.”
He snorted a laugh but didn’t comment.
Which seemed to be his motto for the night. He’d spent most of the time after they’d left the police station driving around town. They’d grabbed burgers and fries—Remy’s favorites—from the burger stand on the side of Carriage Road. When they finally returned to Main Street, he stopped in front of Stoney Creek’s famous and historic B and B while they ate dinner. The Victorian house was the first summer cottage built in 1868 and had remained the most beloved place to stay in town. Remy had gone with the flow so far, but enough was enough. “If you’ve been expecting me to guess what we’re doing, I can tell you it ain’t gonna happen.”
Asher bit into his burger and gestured out his front windshield. “See that black car over there?”
Remy followed his gaze and found a fancy black sports car sitting right outside the B and B. “Yeah?”
“That’s the car of the guy who came into your store today.”
She stared at the car, reassessing. “How do you know that?”
“Same make, same license plate,” was Asher’s muffled reply as he chewed his
burger.
The first thing that went through her mind was that the guy was obviously rich. He had to be to own such an expensive ride. The second thing that went through her mind was wildly inappropriate. She lifted her fingers to her mouth, her breath suddenly quickening when she glanced Asher’s way. “Are we on a stakeout?” she asked, hearing the slight rasp of her voice.
He swallowed his food and wiggled his eyebrows. “Exciting, isn’t it?”
Her nerve endings stirred and tingled. “Maybe a little.”
Staring into Asher’s eyes, seeing the softness there, her heart melted. She liked that he was including her in all this. The old Asher would never have done so. He’d controlled everything. Always did things by the book. Followed all the rules. She liked this new side of him, one where he thought of her as his equal, and didn’t make major decisions without her input. With a smile warming her from the inside out, she glanced out her window, lifting her burger off the paper on her lap and then taking a bite. The flavor of the chipotle mayonnaise and grease exploded in her mouth.
Outside her window, the town was busy with tourists enjoying the shopping that Stoney Creek’s downtown had to offer. A quick peek out Asher’s window showed the Atlantic Ocean was choppy this evening, the fishing boats out on the water rocking above the crushing waves. Burnt-orange and cranberry-red leaves fluttered down from the mature trees that hugged the road. Fall was there, and as it was her favorite season, Remy couldn’t have been happier about that. She had a store she loved, and Asher…well, with Asher…things felt good. And that was something.
“What are you hoping we learn from this stakeout?” she asked, turning back to him.
“Just getting a read on this guy and seeing if we can learn why he’s in town.” Asher tossed the last bit of his burger into his mouth and then wiped his hands on his napkin. He reached for his phone, searching something on the web before putting it to his ear. “Hi, Mrs. Hathaway, this is Detective Asher Sullivan calling. Yes, ma’am, I’m doing fine, thank you. Listen, you’ve got a man staying there with you. He drives a black sports car…yup, that’s the one. I’d ask that you please keep this between us, but can I get his name?” Another pause as Mrs. Hathaway was obviously talking. “No, ma’am, nothing to worry about,” Asher said smoothly. “Just keeping an eye on who comes into our town…yes, we know you appreciate that.” He winked at Remy. “How about that name, please?” Another pause. “Yup. Great. Got it.” He grabbed a pen and notepad from his glovebox, then wrote: LARS VIOLI. “Thank you. Yes, take care too.” He ended the call, then texted someone before placing his phone back into the center console. “Rhett’s looking into Violi for me.”
“Great.” Remy settled back in her seat and took another bite of her burger, feeling much more rejuvenated with food in her belly. “What do you think he’ll find out?”
“Anything and everything that may or may not concern us.” Asher took a long drink of his soda and shrugged. “It’s very likely that this guy is just here looking around for Damon. Maybe he thinks something has happened to him.”
“I told him that Damon’s in jail.”
At that, Asher hesitated and arched an eyebrow. He finally returned his pop to the cup holder. “That’s good, but then it begs the question, why hasn’t he left?”
“Hmmm…that is a good question,” she replied with a long sigh, not having considered that.
Silence filled the car while Asher dug away at his french fries. When he neared the end, he asked, “When do you think you’ll stop doing your best to avoid being alone with me?”
Damn him. Remy suffered an uncontrolled moment of heat and then gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I wasn’t…” She paused at his knowing look. “Okay, maybe I’ve been trying my best to make sure we’re always with others. It’s just safer that way.”
