“What the fuck?” I squeaked. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
I pressed the heel of my palm against my forehead. “Do you think he knew?”
“Don’t know the man, but I’m gonna guess yes.”
“He’s nice, but his daughter’s a cunt,” I hissed, and Shadow laughed.
“Not used to hearin’ a woman call another one a cunt.”
“Sorry,” I grumbled. “But she is.”
“Wait, was she the nasty one the night of the fire huddled with her friends?”
“The one with fake blonde extensions, lips out to Mars, and a face that didn’t move?”
Shadow grinned. “Yeah, that one.”
“That was her.”
“Yeah, she’s a cunt.”
“Told you,” I retorted.
“Then her dad’s an asshole. You can’t have one without the other.”
“Sure, you can.”
“Not really,” he countered. “Not unless they’ve broken all ties with one another.”
“He pays for her kick-ass she-pad and Lexus. Pretty sure she’ll hold on by her acrylic nails to make sure he continues to support her.”
Shadow sighed. “Okay, give me a couple of days to figure out next moves.”
“What? Why?”
“Because he’s doin’ shady shit, Posey, and I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it, Shadow. But it’s my problem.”
“Yeah, it’s not your problem anymore, because if these ranges continue to start fires, the fire marshal will make it his problem.”
I sighed. “You might have a point.”
“What’s your schedule this week?”
“I’m pretty much working ten-hour days. I have Thursday and Sunday off.”
“Okay. I’ll text you when I get some details.”
I didn’t want him to leave and that thought shocked the hell out of me.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yep.” I nodded. “Right. You’ll text me.”
He grinned. “I’ll text you.”
“Do you need me to write that down, so you don’t forget?”
He chuckled. “You busy right now?”
“Well, now that I don’t have a shiny new to me range, I can’t cook, so no.”
“You were going to cook?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
“You wanna go grab somethin’ to eat?”
My stomach did somersaults. I’d like to eat you.
Of course, I didn’t say that… “With you?”
He just smiled.
I forced my stomach to calm and asked, “What did you have in mind?”
“Thai?”
“I’m picky about my Thai, so it all depends on where,” I admitted.
“Fat Phat?”
“Oh my god, I love Fat Phat.”
He chuckled. “Me too. You in?”
“Yes, absolutely. I’ll grab my purse.”
I made my way back to my room, brushed my teeth and spritzed a little perfume on, then grabbed my keys and purse and joined Shadow back in my foyer.
“Ready.”
Shadow grinned and preceded me out the door so I could lock up, before leading me down to a big Ford truck.
“You need help getting in?” Shadow asked.
“I can do a handstand, at will, in the middle of an empty room, I think I can haul myself up into the cab of a truck.”
“You can do a handstand that easily?” he asked once we were both in the truck.
“And hold it for more than five minutes,” I confirmed.
“Jesus.”
I grinned as I secured my seatbelt, then flexed my bicep and said in an eastern European accent, “I’m strong as a bull.”
“I believe you mean, ‘I’m strong like bull,’” he corrected, pulling out of my complex parking lot.
“Tomato, tomahto.”
Shadow laughed.
Lordy, he had a nice laugh. And a beautiful profile. He was pretty much the best-looking man I’d ever seen, and I wanted to peel him out of his clothes—
“You okay?”
I jumped a little, forcing my mind out of the gutter and smiling at him. “Yep.”
“You went silent on me. You sure?”
“Yes. Good. Sorry. It’s just such a pretty night,” I improvised.
“Wondered if you were imagining me naked,” he retorted.
“How the—?” I stopped my confession and shook my head. “I wasn’t.”
“Too bad.”
“Oh, stop it,” I growled, and he laughed, pulling into a parking space, and shutting off the engine.
We climbed out and headed into the popular restaurant, and I was surprised when we were led to a table right away.
“It’s packed,” I whispered.
Shadow smiled. “Got some pull here.”
“You do?”
He didn’t respond as we took our seats, and the waiter handed us menus.
“You want somethin’ to drink?” he asked.
“Possibly,” I hedged. “What are you getting?”
“Beer.”
I smiled. “Then I’ll have wine.”
“Red or white?” our server asked.
“Red,” I said, before giving him my order, and he nodded.
“Your regular, Shadow?”
Shadow smiled. “Yeah, Brent, thanks.”
“You have a regular?” I whispered after Brent walked away.
Shadow leaned in. “I do.”
“You really do have some pull.”
He chuckled. “Told ya.”
“How often do you come here?”
“Couple times a week, at least. Depends on work.”
“So you can’t cook either, huh?”
He laughed. “I can cook. It’s just not much fun doing it for one. I cook for the firehouse, and when Willow lets me, I cook for the club.”
“I wish I could cook. Mom tried to teach me, but I just couldn’t get it.” I blushed. “Obviously.”
“Is your mom a good cook?”
“God, no,” I said, and immediately regretted it. “I mean, she can cook, she just isn’t a gourmet. She has half a dozen things she makes well, and we ate all of those things every week.”
“Was it just you and your mom?”
I nodded. “My dad fucked off when I was four.”
Jesus, why did I just tell him that?
I blushed. “Sorry, too much information.”
“No, it’s not,” he countered. “We’re gettin’ to know each other.”
The waiter arrived with our drinks, setting them in front of us, so I took the reprieve to sip the wine.
“What about you?” I asked. “What’s your life story?”
“Born and raised in Cleveland, moved down here when my dad died. I kind of lost my mind for a few years but met Doom and he set me right.”
“I’m sorry about your dad.”
He smiled slightly. “Long time ago.”
“Who’s Doom?”
“VP of the club.”
“I don’t remember him.”