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My skin pricked. Obviously, he had more than dinner on his mind, and that was fine with me. He didn’t take my hand as he had last night. I simply followed him across the house to his suite.
“Oh!” A small table had been set up, complete with fine china and candlelight. “This is lovely. Did Felicia set this up for you?”
He shook his head. “No. I did it myself.”
“Wow.” I was stunned. “It’s really beautiful, Talon.”
He pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”
I sat, and he poured me a glass of red wine.
“This is Ryan’s top-of-the-line Cabernet Sauvignon. This particular bottle has been aged ten years. I hope you like it.”
“Are you having any?”
“I will with dinner. I prefer a good strong whiskey as an aperitif. This is Peach Street, made in a bourbon style right here on the western slope.” He lifted his old-fashioned glass.
I took a sip of the wine. “Delicious. Berries on the nose, with some subtle black pepper and cinnamon.”
“Ryan taught you well.”
“I enjoyed working with him a lot. In fact, I miss it. Though I’m enjoying my new job as an attorney.”
“I’m glad you’re happy there.”
Small talk. I was dying to know what he had wanted to tell me last night. “So what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked.
“Let’s have our dinner first.”
Fine. I could wait. “What’s on the menu?”
He lifted the silver dome from my plate. “Tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce, broccoli rabe, rosemary polenta, and a sunflower seed baguette.”
I inhaled. “It smells great.” I took another sip of wine. “Felicia must’ve really outdone herself.”
“I asked her to make something special, and this is what she came up with.”
“Special indeed. Although any of her delicious meals would have sufficed. She’s a wonderful cook.”
Now I was making small talk. But we had to talk about something while we ate.
Talon picked up a steak knife and cut a piece of meat. “How was your day?”
“Good. A lot of investigating on the computer. Next week I’ll probably have to do some footwork for a new case. I’m sure glad today is Friday. I can use a day off.”
More small talk. How could we have so little to say to each other? Was sex all there was between us?
No. There was more. So much more. Love.
For the first time, I admitted it to myself. I had fallen in love with Talon. It scared the hell out of me, but it was the truth. Sometimes we were so close I felt like we were one person. And other times, like now, he was miles away, across from me at the table. His walls were up, and the only time he let me through them was when we were intimate.
I looked down at my plate. My filet was cooked to perfection—rare, just how I liked it. The red juice meandered into my polenta. I mashed the polenta with my fork.
Marj’s birth certificate popped into my mind. Jonah had told us to leave it be, but maybe Talon knew something.
“Talon?”
“Yeah?” He took a bite of steak, chewed, and swallowed.
