14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
HATTIE
Yesterday had been blessedly quiet. Today too. No flowers or creepy texts. The only weirdness I’d been experiencing came from staying at Dylan’s. Probably because I’d known him for what felt like forever. Domestic tasks like going to the grocery store and cooking dinner together were strangely comfortable. We actually made a good team and liked a lot of the same food, so it came naturally.
Now, I stepped behind the bar at The Dock to retrieve the envelope of cash that needed to be dropped off at the bank.
Suddenly feeling eyes on me, I looked up and scanned the restaurant. It only took a moment to find Dylan, who was watching me while he chatted with Jamie at the hostess stand.
“Did you get more flowers?” a male voiced asked from behind me.
Heart lurching, I spun, finding Michael and his two friends sitting at the bar. “What?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Michael nudged Paul, and they both snickered. “Did your cop boyfriend send you more flowers yet?”
The regulars around here really needed to get their own lives. How they sat here every day for hours and drank was beyond me. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, Dylan stepped up beside me and placed his arm around my waist.
“Nah. I opted to make dinner for her at my place yesterday instead.”
I held my breath and peered up at him. What the hell was he doing? That statement definitely implied something that wasn’t anywhere near the truth.
“You ready?” he murmured, bringing his head closer to mine. “Better get going if we’re going to make it to the bank before they close.”
Crap. Right. And I hadn’t driven today. Dylan had insisted on dropping me off on his way to work.
“Need to get my bag.”
“Okay.” He released me, then lifted his chin, turning toward Paul and Josh. “You guys are fairly new to town, right?”
Paul nodded and launched into a monologue about how much he loved it here and planned to stay indefinitely.
I remained where I was for a minute, noticing that although Dylan’s questions were casual, he was actually subtly digging for information. None of them batted an eye as they spilled all kinds of details about themselves. Of all the people to grill, he’d chosen the three drunks? Did he really think they were capable of anything but drinking and being obnoxious? He better not scare them off. Rhett would lose it. We stocked some of our best beer each week just for these guys.
After a moment, I excused myself and headed toward my offices, and when I came back out, he was still talking with them.
“So you guys are working on the construction of the new hospital wing?” Dylan leaned his forearm on the bar, appearing genuinely interested.
“Yeah, we finished framing it all in last week.” Paul turned slightly to look at me as I approached.
“I’m ready.”
“Okay, babe. Let’s go.” Dylan smiled.
Babe? What in the ever-loving fruitcake had gotten into him?
With a hand on the small of my back, he turned me slightly, then addressed the men again. “Have a good night.”
Once we were sitting side by side in his car, I pinned him with a look.
“Want to fill me in?”
He frowned like he had no clue what I was talking about. That didn’t work on me. I had four siblings who’d all tried to play stupid at one point or another.
“Why did you imply we’re dating?”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “It wouldn’t hurt to let people around here think you’re dating a cop. I would rather the stalker think that than know that we’re together all the time because I’m only protecting you.”
Right. I guess that made sense. “Okay, but why were you pestering them with questions?”
“It’s my job.” He glanced over at me as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Have you dated any of those guys?”
“What? Ew, no.” I cringed. Michael was probably twenty years older than me, and although some people would love that idea, I didn’t. Plus he spent every day at the bar drinking. I definitely wouldn’t categorize him as a catch. “I’ve known Michael since I was ten.”
“How about the other two?”
I found the idea of dating any of them just as disgusting for all the same reasons. “No. Gross.”
He cocked a brow. “You didn’t seem to be picky with the guys you met online.”
Anger flared in my chest. “Don’t judge. You have to cast a wide net to catch a fish.”
“And all the guys from the dating sites?”
I shrugged. Online dating hadn’t worked out like I wanted it to. “They were all guppies.”
His lips curled up as he headed for the bank. “Okay, fine. How long have you known Michael’s friends, then?”
“A few years, I guess.”
“Really? Josh said he moved here early last year, and Paul said he moved here a few months ago. When he got hired to work on the hospital construction.”
Huh. Felt like longer than that. Eyes squinted, I thought back, searching for my earliest memories of them. “That can’t be right. I remember all three of them coming in together over the summer.”
“Yeah. Paul said he visited Michael a couple of times a year until Michael got him the job three months ago.”
A chime sounded through the car, indicating that Dylan had a new text from Aiden. Dylan tapped the notification on the screen, and a robotic voice read the message out loud.
“The company that sells the rare blue lady orchids is sending us a list of buyers. So far, they haven’t asked for a warrant, but we’ll see.”
Confused, I tilted my head and studied Dylan. “Blue lady orchids?”
“Yeah. One of our techs looked into the orchids left at your place. They’re rare and native to Australia. The only company we’ve found that sells them is there.”
Australia? “So what does that mean?”
“It means that if someone on that list is local, the information will be a huge help.”
I stared out the window, digesting the information. Why would someone go through so much trouble to get such a rare type of flower for me? I didn’t think they were that uncommon. I swore I’d seen them before.
“Aren’t blue orchids sold in most flower shops?”
He shook his head. “I wondered the same thing at first. Turns out that the blue orchids sold here in the US are dyed, not naturally blue. The blue lady orchid is naturally blue.”
“You know all this?”
He didn’t seem like the type to have a hidden passion for flowers, but maybe I’d misjudged him.
His laugh echoed through the car. “Nope. Violet explained all of this to Aiden and me this morning.”
I pressed my lips together and racked my brain for a woman with that name. I knew just about everyone in Half Moon Lake. Or so I’d thought. “Violet?”
“Our tech. She’s impressive. Finds the wildest things.”
Oh. I was pretty sure I knew who he was talking about. She was fairly new to town. “Blond hair with black highlights?”
Or was it the opposite? Did she have naturally black hair with blond highlights?
“Yeah. Has a bit of that goth look to her.”
“I think it’s called hipster goth now.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “What?”
“It’s like a cool, modern goth look.”
“Huh.” He shrugged. “What do you want for dinner?”
On cue, my stomach growled. “Do you like sushi?”
“Love it. We can stop by Asian Palace on the way home and pick up carryout.”
“Can we finish Perfect Wife while we eat?”
Chuckling, he twisted his hands on the wheel, making the leather creak. “Sure. Told you you’d be hooked.”
“Intrigued, yes. Not hooked.”
“If you say so.”
After stopping by the bank, we picked up our to-go order from the sushi place, and as we stepped out onto the sidewalk, Dylan yanked me back and pressed me to his side, his arm tightly around my shoulders.
Heart racing, I glanced around, looking for the danger he must have sensed, but nothing stood out to me. His protectiveness was comforting, and his touch heated me from the inside.
Did he feel the same thing from my touch?
I relaxed against him, hoping he did. “What are you doing?” The words came out breathier than I intended as I stole a glance up at him.
He looked one way, then the other, taking in the people milling about on Main Street. “My job,” he whispered as he slowly led me to his car with his arm still secured around me.
Right. This was his job. And I was his friend’s sister. He was protecting me from a stalker. Nothing more.
It didn’t matter that his embrace caused butterflies to riot in my stomach. My body needed to shut the hell up. Nothing would ever happen between the bossy detective and me.