Page 31 of Her Noble Protector

“This is more than I ordered.”

“They had a hell of a menu, so I couldn’t resist. You should see what’s for dessert.”

Lisa’s eyes shot to his. “Dessert? Raiden, breakfast this morning is the most I’ve eaten in one day in weeks.”

“Honey, just eat what you can, and put the rest away for tomorrow. But I want to tell you, there is tiramisu and chocolate layer cake for dessert, your choice, so you might want to go easy on the eggplant.”

“Chocolate layer cake?” She didn’t know if her stomach would revolt or savor that treat. She picked up a fork and noticed that even her fingers looked thin. Goddammit, she sure should try to eat a little of everything.

“Oh, before you cut into your eggplant, I forgot the soft breadsticks.” Raiden rummaged through the big bag and pulled out a smaller bag. He placed one breadstick on her plate and three on his. Her mouth watered.

Lisa put down her fork, let go of her sweater, and broke apart the breadstick so she could dip it into the marinara sauce, and took a bite.

“This is wonderful,” she said after she swallowed.

He smiled, huge.

“Glad you like it. Now, what beverage can I pour you from the selection?”

She looked over all of the bottles and pointed to the lemonade. He poured and she took a sip of her drink, then took another bite of marinara-coated breadstick and grinned. She looked around her patio and enjoyed the cool air floating around her.

“This is nice. It’s not as scary as I thought. The last time I’ve been in the backyard was when I installed the padlock.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. When did you do that?”

“I ordered it online and installed it a week and a half ago. It was right after the sheriff came and did a perimeter check.”

“Perimeter check? Were you in the military? That sounds official,” he frowned.

“That’s what the deputy called it.”

“Why did you call the sheriff?”

“I called nine-one-one, and they sent the sheriff. I was sure someone was outside. It was the second time I had heard someone.”

“What did the sheriff say?”

“They noticed that the dirt was disturbed, but they said that it could have been some kind of animal because they didn’t see any human footprints. I didn’t let them into the house, and I know what I was acting like, so they probably thought I was some kind of crazy lady. What’s more, this wasn’t the first call.”

“It wasn’t?”

“I called once after I got home from Mexico.”

“When was that, honey?”

“I really can’t remember exactly, dates have gotten away from me. Do you know that I just realized it was December?”

“I don’t need a date—can you remember if it was in the first or second week when you got home?”

“It was almost immediately after Paula brought me home.” She looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly. “I was a mess.” Then she huffed out a laugh. “What am I talking about, I’m still a mess, aren’t I?”

“Stop it,” he chided softly. “Be nice to my friend.”

“So it was about ten days ago that you called in the last time?”

She nodded.

“Did they find anything the first time? Anything disturbed?”