Page 5 of Unburied

“Hey!” She lightly backhanded him, and he laughed.

She was quirky, but he found that he was enjoying himself. He was acutely aware of his hand resting along the curve of her hip, and he fought the urge to curl his fingers into her flesh. “All right. So now that we’ve broken the ice with talk of homicide, I think I should at least know your name.”

She paused for a moment, then— “You can call me Viv.”

Curiosity piqued, he turned to face her more fully. “If you don’t want to tell me your real name⁠—”

“It’s not that,” she said, flustered. “Viv really is my name.”

He nodded. “Is it short for something?”

She bit her lip. “It is. It’s just… My name is kind of strange.” She must have seen his confused expression, because she grimaced. “My name is Virginia.”

His brows drew together. “Like the state?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a long story.” She let out a beleaguered sigh, and her pretty face twisted as she peered up at him.

Well, he definitely wasn’t going to let her leave him hanging like that. “By all means, I have all night.”

Most of the night, anyway. She intrigued him on a level he’d rarely experienced, and everything else was pushed to the back burner as he focused his attention on her.

“Okay, so… my parents were kind of nomads.” She paused. “That’s not true. I think even nomads have a purpose in life. Mom and Dad were groupies when they were younger, following some eighties band around on tour. They lived in a camper and dragged it from town to town, picking up enough work to pay for their drugs and beer before moving on to the next place.”

“That sounds… exciting.” In truth, he couldn’t begin to imagine. His mom passed when he was young, but his father was the seven-to-three, hard-working, blue-collar type. He didn’t have time for fun, let alone his twin boys.

“They hit every major city, and my parents named each of us after the places where we were conceived.” Her cheeks burned bright pink. “I guess I’m lucky it was Virginia and not, like, Columbus or something, right?”

“Virginia.” He lifted his arm and spread it over the back of the booth, away from the temptation of her mouthwatering curves, and studied her for a moment.

Thick, dark hair hung in long waves, framing her beautiful heart-shaped face. Her skin was lightly tanned, or perhaps just naturally olive-toned, and it made her expressive, big brown eyes appear even larger and brighter.

His gaze skated downward over her high cheekbones and full mouth. Her bottom lip was fuller than the top, but it suited her. She was cool and classy but definitely more than a little peculiar. “I like it.”

She rolled her eyes. “No one likes my name. It’s a stupid name.”

He rolled a lock of that glossy dark hair between his fingers. “I think it’s beautiful. Just like you.”

She stared at him for a second before a laugh fell from her lips. And not a little giggle, or a chuckle. Oh, no. She let out a loud, bold laugh that penetrated his body and wound around his heart. It was unrepentant, as if she wanted nothing more than to just enjoy life and wouldn’t let anything or anyone take that joy from her.

She wiped her eyes as she turned back to him. “Does that work for you?”

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her question about the ridiculous pickup line. He grinned and lifted a shoulder. “Occasionally.”

“Uh huh.” Her gaze swept over his body once more before taking another sip of her drink.

He scooted closer and extricated the glass from her hand, setting it on the table. “What⁠—”

Capturing her jaw in one hand, he turned her face toward his. Deep in those huge doe eyes he saw wariness and hesitation, but he also saw desire. With the pad of his thumb, he traced her full lower lip. “So, Virginia. Now you know my secret.”

Her lashes fluttered several times as she blinked up at him. “What secret?”

“That my cheesy pick-up lines don’t work.”

“Clearly, Romeo.” She grinned.

“Are you from around here?” He had to know. From time to time he thought he’d caught something of a northern accent, but there was always a chance that she was local. Even if she lived in her namesake of Virginia, that wasn’t too far away…

It didn’t escape his notice that he was already planning to see her again, but he had a feeling this girl would be worth more than just one visit. Many more.