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“Beckett, huh?” he said. “You know, while you’re hanging out with him, you should ask him some more about that job of his. Hit him up for some details on what-all that family business does.”
I frowned. “Why are you so interested in his work all of a sudden?” I knew enough to satisfy me for the moment. The dedication and passion Beckett had shown for his career mattered more to me than what exactly it involved.
Slade shrugged casually, but another prickle of apprehension raced over my skin, as if some part of me could tell the subject mattered more to him than he was letting on. “The dude’s an enigma. He’s definitely got his shit together—maybe he has connections that would help our investigations after all. If you can find that out, Logan will have to loop him in more, right?”
That explanation did make sense, but it didn’t totally satisfy me. Would Slade really care that much about whether we could bring Beckett on board?
Before I could push for more answers, he stepped closer to tug a strand of my hair. “I’ve got to get going. Don’t forget your other boyfriends while you’re having fun out there.”
He followed up the teasing comment with a kiss, brief but emphatic enough to make my heart thump faster. Then he was striding on toward the gym with a quick smile over his shoulder at me.
Well, I definitely wasn’t forgettinghimanytime soon.
Just moments after I reached the main road outside campus, a black BMW cruised into view. It was sleek but not showy, the kind of car you wouldn’t glance twice at if it drove past but that if you took a closer look you could tell hadn’t come cheap. A far cry from my poor Malibu.
The windows were tinted, so I didn’t realize it was Beckett’s until it drew up next to the sidewalk and the window rolled down to reveal him smiling in the driver’s seat. “Come on in.”
I opened the passenger door and hopped in to a piney scent mingled with a hint of Beckett’s freshly aquatic cologne. Buttery leather welcomed my thighs. I had to restrain a sigh, sending a silent apology to my trusty vehicle.
“Hey,” I said as I relaxed into the seat. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“I was happy to.” Beckett studied me for a second as he pulled away from the curb. “How are you doing?”
The question brought a pang of stress and grief to the base of my throat. I reminded myself of all the reasons I had not to be worried right now. “Not too bad. My mom went home this morning no problem. She really just needs time for her arm and the bruises to heal up. I’m looking forward to taking my mind off it and school and all that for a little while.”
His gray eyes flicked toward me again with obvious concern. “And there hasn’t been any more weirdness like that text message?”
I shook my head, the pang sinking to my gut at the thought of what I was hiding from him. But I could honestly answer, “Nothing at all. Who knows what was going on with that? The shock of hearing the news and everything…” I waved my hand vaguely in the air.
To my relief, Beckett seemed to accept my explanation. He offered me one of his small but warm smiles. “I’m just glad you’re all right. And your mom too, of course. It’s no wonder you were shaken up. But I can definitely do my best to take your mind off it for a bit. If you’ve never tried the ice cream shop in the middle of the park, you’ve been missing out.”
“Hey,” I said with a little laugh. “I moved here at the beginning of January. It hasn’t exactly been ice creamorpark weather for very long.”
Beckett chuckled in return. “Fair enough. I’m happy to be the one who gets to broaden your horizons.”
“Well, it’d better be good now after the way you’ve talked it up.”
“Oh, I have no fear that you’ll be disappointed.” He shot me a sly look. “What flavor do you typically go for, Maddie? Somehow I’m guessing you’re not a vanilla girl.”
The mild but unmistakable insinuation in the remark brought a flush up my neck. “I think I’ll have to see what they have and make up my mind then.”
“Spoken like a true adventurer.”
It was only a fifteen minute drive to the largest of the city parks. The weather was cool enough that the place wasn’t swarmed, only a few other cars in the parking lot Beckett turned into. He parked at the far end away from the others that were clustered near the paths and got out fast enough to offer his hand as I emerged.
The sun beamed over us with enough heat to offset the chill in the air. We ambled along the main path between beds of flowers and trees just spreading their leaves to a courtyard around a small building painted in vivid pastel colors. I studied the wooden sign and decided that chocolate cherry sounded fantastic. Beckett asked for butterscotch ripple. As soon as we had our cones in hand, we wandered on through the park, which stretched for a few acres through this end of the city.
I wouldn’t have necessarily picked ice cream for a snack this early in the spring, but after the first few swipes of my tongue, I was in heaven. I nibbled a cherry from the creamy frozen mass and grinned at Beckett. “You were right. This is the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.”
He tipped his head toward the shop we’d left behind. “It’s a mom and pop place, been in the family for a couple of generations from what I hear. People who love what they do tend to make the best stuff.”
“I’ll say.” I couldn’t help noticing that his comment gave me the perfect opportunity to follow Slade’s encouragement and ask Beckett more about his own work. I wasn’t going to interrogate him or anything, but it would actually be useful to get a sense of whether he was involved in any areas that might be useful to us. And I was just generally curious. “Kind of like your company, then? All in the family?”
Beckett smiled back at me. “I hope so. Although we’ve had to bring on a lot more people than the ice cream shop would to handle everything we’re juggling.”
“It does seem like it keeps you pretty busy. You mentioned real estate—what exactly do you do with the properties you work with?”
“Mostly management,” Beckett said easily enough. “We pick up properties that we think have good potential, renovate them to bring them up to snuff, and then rent out the space to clients who are looking. Occasionally we invest in new constructions, but I find breathing new life into older buildings more fun.” He bit off a chunk of his ice cream and looked over at me as we took a turn on the winding path. “That reminds me of something I wanted to askyou.”
