Page 84 of A Matter of Time

I was floored.

“Why’re you lookin’ at me like that?”

“You’re amazing.”

The smile was wicked and brought out his dimples. “Thanks.”

“It’s not a compliment,” I clarified for him.

He laughed at me, and I realized how much he was enjoying this.

I hoped my scowl was as dark as I was trying for. “And it was a really crappy thing to do to Christine.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She liked you, idiot.”

He shook his head, putting antipasti on two plates. I was sitting on the counter watching him, the bottle of wine between my legs, trying to work the opener.

“You’re crazy.” He smiled at me, his eyes firing, the laugh lines deepening.

“C’mon, Detective, did you see how upset she was? She is totally pissed off, my friend.”

“Whatever.”

“And Jeff. I hope he’s not, like, a good friend or anything.”

“He’s not.”

“Good.”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t, that was just harsh is all.”

“What was?”

“That for whatever reason, Jeff thought you wanted to meet his sister. What did you say to him?”

“I have no idea.”

“When did you set this dinner date up?”

“Again, no clue.”

“And do you regularly eat veal?” I asked, the disgust clear in my voice.

“No, never.”

“Huh, so Jeff’s over here and⁠—”

“Talking about her, I guess.”

“And you said what? Yeah, cool, bring her on by?”

He chuckled deeply. “Seriously, I couldn’t recount our conversation if my life depended on it.”

“Oh?”