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“Yes.” She nibbles her bottom lip. “It’s great, actually.”
“Food’s up.” Carrie slides our plates onto the table, and I have to pull my hand away from Liza’s.
“This looks great, Carrie.” Liza thanks her.
“Holler if you need anything.” Carrie walks to the next table to get their order.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a patty melt with mozzarella before.” I eye the sandwich and say a silent prayer that my Nonna can’t see what’s on my plate. Otherwise, she’d be rolling in her grave.
“It’s great. I mean, it sounds weird, but I promise you the cheese makes it.” She picks up half her sandwich and takes a bite. The sound that comes from her makes my cock stand at attention. “So good.”
When in Rome, I suppose. I take a bite of my own sandwich and am pleasantly surprised. It looks all sorts of wrong, but it tastes right. The cheese is perfectly melty, and the beef patty is well seasoned.
“What do you think?” She dabs at her mouth with her napkin.
“I think you’re right.” I take another bite. “The cheese makes it.”
“Told you.”
The fries are hot and crispy, and Carrie keeps our root beers filled to the top. The entire meal is better than I ever expected, but the best part of it has been Liza. She doesn’t hide herself. When she said she was an open book, she wasn’t kidding. Her emotions always come through, and I’m enjoying how real she is with me. It makes me wonder if I can be real with her, too. Not that I should. This is about the job.Easy money.
The diner door opens, and the sheriff strides in, his hat cocked to one side. When he sees Liza, he makes a beeline for us.
I tense. I’m not a fan of the law to begin with, and I absolutely despise the way this guy is looking at Liza. If I were back home, I’d get up and knock his fucking teeth out. As it is, I stay seated.
“Liza, fancy meeting you here.” He gives her a hat tip, then looks at me. “With our newest resident, too.”
“Sheriff.”
“Oh, everyone calls me Clark.” He smiles, but it isn’t meant for me. It’s for Liza.
I reach behind me and pull out my wallet, then toss down a couple of twenties. “We were just on our way out.”
“That’s too bad. I was hoping I could have a word with you.” He smiles at Liza.
“I’ll drive you home. The roads are supposed to get icy tonight.” I stand and hold out my hand.
She takes it and gets to her feet. “Okay. Sounds good.”
“I can take you home, Liza.” Clark rests one hand on his belt.
“Oh, no, that’s okay, Clark. I’ll go with Crane. He’s right next door.”
“All right.” The sheriff’s tone tells me that it is, in fact,notall right, but I don’t give a shit.
“Good to see you again, Mr. Douglas,” he calls as I walk Liza out of the diner.
I give him the two-finger wave as we walk out into the cold evening.
“Thanks.” She digs around in her bag. “I’ll see you later.”
“What?” I pull her gently toward my car.
“You don’t have to keep pretending. I can drive home. Clark can be sort of insistent sometimes, so I appreciate you helping me out.” She pulls her keys from her bag.
“You think I’m pretending?” I pull her to me, pressing her close as I look down in her eyes. “Nothing about this is fake, Liza.” I glance at her lips and lean closer.
Her breath hitches.
