Page 96 of It Runs in the Family

“That’s her.”

“She must be one hell of a Twilight fan.”

“She doesn’t believe in watching television or movies. She read the books.”

“And Edward, the kid who kept hexing everyone⁠—”

“That’s him.”

A huge grin spread across his face. “He’s going to a haberdashery? What does that judgmental brat need a suit for?”

I chuckled. “He’s preachin’ at their Wednesday night church service.”

“Isn’t he about five years old?”

“Seven.”

He was quiet for a moment. “You sure have an eclectic family.”

I made a face. “That’s one way to put it.” Then I thought about Trinity’s comment about her brother. “Why were you with Billy on Sunday?”

He turned serious. “Billy’s a bully and a wannabe bad boy.”

“There’s no wannabe about it,” I said dryly.

“I met him after I’d been here about a week. I thought he might have a connection to the cartel, but it only took a few hours of drinkin’ beer at Bueller’s to realize he didn’t know shit. But while he was drinkin’, he told me about your grandmother’s Sunday dinners. So, when you told me the same thing at T-Birds, I figured it had to be the same grandmother. After I dropped you off, I texted him and asked for an invite, claimin’ I wanted a home-cooked meal.”

“So you could see me again.” It wasn’t a question. “You knew where I lived. You could have just come by my apartment.”

“That seemed creepy as hell.”

“Showin’ up at my grandmother’s with Billy wasn’t?”

He made a face. “It wasn’t my smartest move.”

He sounded believable, but I wasn’t sure I bought it.

“Why not just come back to my apartment and tell me you were a cop and ask me questions about my cousin?”

His face went neutral, and he swallowed before he answered. “Because I wasn’t lyin’, Iris. I really did like you.” He turned to look at me. “Do like you.”

There went my stomach, doing cartwheels again.

“That seems unprofessional,” I said curtly.

His grin was back. “There’s no doubt about that, but I’m hopin’ to wrap this up in a day or two. Then it won’t be.”

“That’s pretty presumptuous, thinking you’d stand a chance with me.”

His eyes sparkled. “Good thing I have the day to win you over.”

I nearly told him there was little chance of that, but I’d already told him enough lies. No reason to add one more to the heap.

Besides, he’d promised to spend the day with me, which meant I’d find out everything he did. I wanted to believe that was a good idea, and his word meant something, but I’d learned the hard way that attraction and good judgment weren’t always on the same side of the coin.

A few minutes later, he turned onto Frontline Road and headed east.

My phone continued to vibrate with calls. I was about to block Trinity for the rest of the day, but one of the calls was from Garrett. When I hadn’t answered, he’d sent a text.