Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Phin didn’t know how she could sit through an entire lunch and not get a single answer from Rhaz about his department. Of course, the fact that Dr. Blackstone, who now insisted she call him Anon, kept interrupting and steering the conversation elsewhere didn’t help.
It was all well and good. He’d asked Rhaz questions about Dubai, or rather his homeland, not so much the city itself, and his language, because apparently he was good at speaking more than a few.
Of course, a lot of what they discussed was well above her mental pay grade, but the gist of it was that Rhaz Stormfyr was wicked smart.
He was also handsome, well-built, and every woman’s dream. Plus there was the accent. She wasn’t sure what to call it, but she liked it a lot.
“Well, are we ready for dessert?” Anon asked. He smiled as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin.
Quill pushed himself back from the table. “I could use some. Then I need to get back to work.”
Phin had to ask. “What do you do?”
Quill froze.
“He’s a self-employed scientist,” Anon volunteered. “He has a lab down in the basement. Sounds rather ominous and creepy, I know, but it’s quite fascinating. Now, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll fetch dessert.” He rose from the table and left the dining room.
Quill followed him.
At long last, Phin had Rhaz alone. “Good heavens, he can talk.”
Rhaz laughed. “He certainly can. And he talks faster when he’s nervous.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed that. He seemed very nervous during lunch. Do you know why?”
Rhaz sat back in his chair and rested his hands on the table. “I’m sure he has his reasons. Maybe he’s nervous about a lot of things. I don’t know.”
“Are dentists usually nervous?” Phin laughed at her own question. “No. I imagine it’s usually his patients.” She collected herself, rested her hands in her lap, then gave him a shy smile. “So, if you were to give me a tour of your station, what would you show me first?”
For just an instant, she saw a flash of panic in his eyes. Did he not like talking about work? What brought him to the United States? Was he taking a sabbatical? Had he been fired?
“You are still working there, aren’t you?” she blurted. Phin sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business. But it is if Chief Morrison is thinking about hiring you. But that’s only if you’re planning to move here.”
Rhaz held up a hand. “Phin, it’s all right. I’m simply trying to rest while I’m here. My life is all about duty, doing the right thing, looking out for and being responsible for many people.”
“Oh. So you have a really big department, then?”
He shrugged. “You could say that.”
“Is it stressful?” she asked.
“Very.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Being here has, despite the circumstances, been good for me.”
She was dying to know what those circumstances were, but she didn’t want to pry. “I see. Well, vacations are like that. Especially unexpected ones.” Yes, she was fishing for answers. Her curiosity had always been a vice.
Anon returned carrying a bowl of something that looked suspiciously like tiramisu.
She loved tiramisu.
“Here we are. A new recipe.” He set the bowl down while Quill brought in plates. Soon they were all served and eating dessert while sipping coffee.
Everything was wonderful.
“Anon,” Phin said, “you’re certainly the cook.”
“Yes, I do love to dabble.” He poked at his dessert, and Phin noticed he hadn’t eaten much of it. Maybe he was full from lunch.
“Are you going to be selling your goat cheese at the farmers market tomorrow?” she asked.
Anon looked up from his food. “I am. Are you coming by?”
“I might.”
Anon smiled. “I haven’t seen your mother lately, but your dad’s been by to buy cheese.”
She smiled and looked at Rhaz. “My parents love Anon’s goat cheese. Especially the cranberry.”
“Goat cheese?” Rhaz arched an eyebrow and looked at Anon. “You sell goat cheese at a farmers market?”
“Yes. You should come. You could help me. In fact, I think it would be good for you.”
Phin couldn’t help but giggle. Everybody loved Anon’s goat cheese. Probably because they loved Anon. He was hilarious as a salesman and told all sorts of interesting stories while he worked his little stand.
“Is that so?” Rhaz eyed Anon and chuckled low in his throat. “This I would like to see.”
“Anon selling goat cheese at the farmers market?” Phin asked with a giggle.
“Both,” Rhaz said. “I have not been to a market in, well, far too long. It would be nice to see one.”
“I would think a man in your position,” Anon said, “would frequent his people’s farmers markets and other such places to get a feel for, how should I put this, what they think of their leader?”
They were speaking funny again, and Phin debated whether to tune them out and check her phone. The meal was over, and she really should get going. She had a few chores waiting for her at home.
Still, she didn’t want to leave Rhaz quite yet. It was nice having lunch with a drop-dead gorgeous man, even if it was a little strange eating dessert in front of her dentist.
“What are you looking at?” Rhaz asked, his eyes on her phone.
“Oh, just checking my email.”
His eyebrow shot up. “Email?”
“Yes, Rhaz,” Anon said feigning exasperation. “Email. You know, email.”
Phin caught the odd tone in Anon’s voice and looked at him. Then she looked back at Rhaz. “You don’t have email?”
“Oh, you know,” Anon said, waving a hand, “he’s one of those types who doesn’t have a phone. Silly man. Backward, if you ask me.”
Anon drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “Well, look at the time. I have work to do, and Rhaz is going to help me. So, Phin, if you would be so kind as to...”
“No,” Rhaz said.
Anon blinked. “No?” he repeated as his eyebrows slowly rose.
Rhaz looked Anon in the eyes. “I would like to speak with Phin. Alone.”
Anon’s eyebrows shot up even higher. “That might not be the best decision you’ve made today.”
Rhaz gave him a look that clearly said too bad.
Part of Phin was thrilled that he wanted to spend more time with her and that he wanted to get rid of Anon to do it. It was clear her dentist had been steering their conversation throughout lunch. She’d hardly gotten a word in edgewise.
Maybe Rhaz felt sorry for her.
“Very well, then.” Anon rose from his chair. “I’ll go do the dishes. You two behave yourselves.”
Phin sucked in a breath. “Anon! Good grief. We’re not fifteen years old.”
“No, you’re not. But call me old-fashioned. I can clearly see there’s something there.” He giggled and hurried from the room.
“Oh, good grief.” Phin blushed furiously and tried to look at anything but Rhaz. When she finally risked a glance his way, he was studying the ceiling.
He must be every bit as embarrassed as she was. Yet was he attracted to her? She had to admit she was attracted to him. If Anon noticed it and voiced it, it must be so obvious it hurt.
At least it hurt her, anyway. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “Maybe I should just go.”
“No.” He placed a hand over hers. “Please stay. Let us go sit on the front porch. I like it out there.”
She hesitated, unsure what to do. Good grief.
If he was attracted to her, this could become really awkward.
What if he did become her fire chief? She had a personal rule about dating coworkers.
It always led to trouble. It would be just her luck for him to become chief.
And there would go any possibility of dating.
He led her out of the house to a porch swing, and they sat down together. He gave it a push with one foot and set it gently swaying.
A cool breeze blew a few strands of hair across her face. She brushed them away.
The day was warm. She was thinking about going swimming later in one of the nearby lakes. Maybe Silver Lake. Betty didn’t mind if she or Jessica swam there as long as they called ahead.
“So, will you go to the farmers market tomorrow?” Rhaz asked.
The question made her jump. Her entire body jerked, and a tiny yelp escaped.
He chuckled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Well, that’s what I get for being lost in thought.” She laughed softly. “I’m sorry too. I’ve been asking you questions all through lunch, and you never really got a chance to answer any of them.”
He shrugged. “That’s all right. I’ll get around to it.”
Rhaz then glanced at her and smiled. “Perhaps I want to ask questions about you.”
“Me?” A hand flew to her chest. “Well, okay. What do you want to know?”
He smiled again. “How is it that someone as beautiful as you is not married?”
Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked the question, but Rhaz couldn’t help himself. Phin was adorable, beautiful, and possessed a quiet strength he wasn’t sure she realized she had.
Yes, she volunteered for the fire department. A dangerous profession in any realm. And she was female. The idea had appalled him when he’d first arrived. Now he found himself intrigued.
More than that, he wanted to understand why she did it.
He took in her beet-red cheeks and smiled. “My question has shocked you.”
She nodded. “You could say that.”
“Well?”
“Well, I’m only twenty-two. That’s sort of young to get married. I haven’t lived my life yet.”
“Live your life?” he repeated with a laugh. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She made a scoffing sound. “What do you mean, what does it mean?”
“You said you wish to live your life before taking a husband.”
“Exactly.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “So you do wish to marry one day.”
“Of course.” She shrugged. “Kids, a house with a picket fence, a husband. You know, the whole package.”
“But?”
“But I don’t even know what I want to do yet.”
He cocked his head. “What does that have to do with marriage?”
“Everything.” She laughed softly. “That’s the problem when you have a degree in communications. There are so many things you can do that it’s hard to decide where to start.”
“What’s the most obvious choice?”
“That’s the problem. They’re all obvious choices, sort of.”
He frowned.