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When he knocked, it swung open almost immediately. Adam grinned at him in welcome. “You made my mom smile,” he said, first thing.
Brian grinned and he gave the boy a nod as he stepped inside. “I did. She has a beautiful smile, so I want to see it all the time.”
Adam cocked his head, then nodded. “I think you can do it,” he said, closing the door behind them.
Sage arrived then, looking fresh and delicious. Her hair was back in a low ponytail, and she wore a soft gray sweater over blue jeans and dark boots. Brian’s mouth watered as he looked at her, and he was suddenly struck with insecurity. Should he walk across and kiss her? Had she talked to Adam about them? Hell, what were they to each other?
She decided for him, reaching up and giving him a sweet kiss as she stroked his jaw. “Hey,” she murmured.
“Hey,” he said back, hands on her waist. “You look fantastic.”
She grinned. “Thank you. This is the first time I’ve been able to get my arm high enough to do a ponytail.”
She swished it for him, and he flipped it, laughing.
Adam was staring at them, his head cocked, like he was trying to figure something out. They must have met with his approval, because he grinned and grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch. He stroked Diamond on the face and promised her they’d be back soon.
They loaded up into the truck and Brian navigated them North. Adam talked about his sleepover and Sage promised to look for something different to cook tonight. For a minute, Brian felt like they were a family and it kind of sent him reeling. For a long time, he’d wanted this kind of connection. Yes, it was new, but it felt strong. The three of them were meshing like they were meant to be together.
Maybe that was a stupid sentiment, but it was how he was feeling.
They pulled into the lot of North Market and parked. “Short North is cool, too. Artsy and different. I love the market, though, because it has such a range of things.”
They walked into the trendy, renovated warehouse and Adam immediately went to a vibrant cupcake display. Sage looked around, her eyes wide. “Oh, this is really interesting.”
Brian loved this place. Any time he didn’t feel like cooking he would run up here for something decadent and different. There was a ramen shop, a Vietnamese place, Italian, BBQ; basically, anything he could imagine eating was here. There was a fish market and a regular market, two coffee shops, a spice market, and a candy store.
They wandered from stall to stall, tasting samples and enjoying the atmosphere. They all ordered a gourmet pastry at one stall, then sampled each other’s. It was fun and silly, and they learned what the others liked.
For something different for dinner, they decided on two different types of fish, as well as some scallops. Sage talked to the fishmonger for several minutes, jotting notes down on her phone about how to prepare them. Then they went to the locally grown garden stall. Even in almost-winter, he had a broad variety of vegetables available, and they picked out a couple of things to try with their dinner. On the way out, they grabbed a tender loaf of focaccia with seasonings.
“My mouth is already watering,” he murmured into her ear at one point. He had his arm around her shoulders, and it felt so natural to walk that way. He hadn’t even noticed the pain in his legs today.
Something pricked at his awareness, and he glanced around. Nothing obvious stood out to him, but he had the sense that someone was watching them. They wandered through the rest of the wide store, mingling with the crowd. Occasionally, Sage would stop to handle an item.
Then he felt the pressure again. Just the sense that he was under surveillance.
“Do you feel it too,” Sage murmured.
Brian glanced down. “Yeah. What are you getting?”
She shook her head slightly, giving him a glance. “Not sure exactly. It’s been about the past half hour. I think it might be someone upstairs.”
Brian was surprised, and impressed, but he really shouldn’t have been. Sage was an excellent cop, and she would always be aware of what was going on around her, especially with her son present. Carefully, he glanced around, focusing on the upstairs balcony area. If the food stalls downstairs didn’t have enough seating, there was a broad second floor that did. There were probably a hundred people up there right now, eating and laughing. It was a Sunday, and people were out before the holidays.
“You about ready to go?”
She nodded, and they fell in behind Adam, herding him toward the door. “Mom, I was…”
“I know, buddy, but we have to go.”
He gave her an odd look but headed out the door with the crowd. Brian followed along behind, protecting their backs. If someone was targeting them, he would protect them.
They made it to the truck fine and loaded up. Then they both watched the front of the market. There were two designated entrance and exit doors and maybe they could see who had made them uncomfortable.
Brian already had an idea.
Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages. Yup, there it was, buried in his email. Tim Roe had arrived at John Glenn International Airport two days ago.
