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Sydney reached across the table and took his hand. “What? Your brow is furrowed.”
Gage rubbed his forehead. “That’s just old age creeping in.” He shook his head. “What if—”
“Stop. It’s in the bag.”
“Which is just as scary.”
“You can do this.”
He nodded. “Okay. I can do this.” He straightened up the cheese and red pepper containers, then stacked their plates and used napkins on the pizza pan.
“You’re doing Lisa’s job.”
He smiled. “We better get out of here before I bus the whole place.”
As they left the restaurant, Gage took Sydney’s hand. It was time to let the world—and by that he meant Calaway Crossing—he and Sydney were together. They had both driven, so Gage walked Sydney to her car.
She smiled at him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He put his hands on her waist and pulled her in close. “I want to send you home with a little something to remember me by. He kissed her. Sydney put her arms around his neck and they kissed again. The world dropped away, and it was just the two of them.
They were brought back to reality with a “Whoa there.”
Gage stepped back from Sydney and found Booker a few feet away. He grinned. “Sorry.”
“Um…just saying goodnight.”
“I see that.” Booker nodded toward the building. “I’m picking up a Hawaiian pizza for your sister.”
“She hates Hawaiian pizza. Calls it non-pizza.”
“It’s her newest craving.”
Gage laughed. “Okay. That figures.”
Booker took a step back. “So, I’m going to go pick up my non-pizza. You two…carry on.”
“Goodnight, Chief.”
Booker left them, and Sydney smiled. “Whoops.”
Gage shrugged. “You heard the man. Carry on.” He pulled her in for another kiss.
Gage knew Booker would tell Clementine what he saw in the parking lot. She, in turn, would probably tell Elaina and Brynlee. Maybe a cousin or two. By noon on Tuesday, the whole family would know he and Sydney were together. By nightfall, the rest of town would know. But that was fine. Gage was ready to explore this new facet of his life. A relationship. It’d be an interesting adventure and one he was looking forward to. Now he just needed to not blow it.
He got to the office early to make sure the papers were printed and ready for Dale to deliver. Then he poured himself a second cup of coffee and went to his office. Sydney would be there soon, along with Dale, and they’d fold and box the papers.
When Sydney arrived, she looked through the opening between his door and the door frame.
“Good morning.”
He waved her in. “Good morning.”
She walked up to his desk. “How’d you sleep?”
“Pretty damn good.”
“Any family blowback from our encounter with the chief?”
