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The bartender slides our drinks across to us, and I ask him to add them to our tab. Then we walk over to a booth near a window.
A busboy quickly places a basket of chips and two little ramekins of salsa, and a waitress stands behind him, waiting to hand us our menus.
“I know what I want unless you need a minute?” I glance at Britt.
“I’m ready!” She holds up her hands.
We both order the steak soft tacos with a side of street corn, and the waitress cuts her eyes at us before making a note.
“We didn’t even plan that!” Britt laughs, taking another sip of her margarita.
I’m relieved she doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge about what happened earlier, and my two beers have loosened me up a bit.
“It’s time I said it.” I hold up the beer, ready to clink her glass. “I think you’re going to be a great addition to the team.”
She’s just put a chip laden with salsa in her mouth, and she covers her smile with her hand, ducking as she lifts her margarita and taps it to my beer. “You do?”
“Hell, yeah. Your first day on the job, and you’ve already cracked the case.”
We both take a sip of our drinks.
“I’m not sure I’ve cracked it, but to be fair, our perpetrator was very sloppy.”
“Or he wasn’t expecting anybody to look that close.”
Our food comes out, and I scoop up a steak taco while Britt digs into the street corn. We both let out noises of delight.
“Herve makes the best street corn.” She groans between bites, making me grin.
“For me, it’s the steak tacos. Rare.”
Nodding, she quickly picks one up and takes a bite, letting out a muffled, “So good,” from behind her hand.
For a few minutes, we stuff our faces, until she sits back with a sigh. “So much better than scrambled eggs and cheese.”
“Was that your dinner for tonight?”
“I haven’t had a chance to shop! I’ll get groceries tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I nod, grinning and noticing her empty glass. “Do you want another?”
“I’d better not.”
“You sure?”
She sits up a little straighter. “Maybe I could just have a Corona?”
I order us each a beer, and she tilts her head after the waitress leaves, giving me a smile that tightens my stomach. “What?”
“Thank you for this, the dinner and the compliment—what you said about me being part of the team. It really means a lot to me.” She hesitates. “And I promise not to teach Owen any more card tricks. I really had no idea you wouldn’t like it.”
That part makes me groan. “I’m not a monster. I’m just not a fan of magic and… all that.”
I don’t really want to read off the laundry list of her family’s behavior while we’re getting along so well.
She nods. “I understand.”
“You do?” My brow arches.
