Page 2 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Two

Flynn spent a good portion of his day debating what to cook for dinner.

After his shift, he settled on his couch and searched for recipes he thought he could manage.

He was all set to head to the supermarket with his list of ingredients when he questioned what on earth he was doing.

There was no way Lily was expecting him to cook a proper meal.

He’d look like he was trying too hard and make things awkward again.

Finally, their friendship was back on an even keel and he was about to freak her out with his notions of a romantic dinner.

Scrap that idea.

He tidied up, at least. Then hopped in the shower when he realised he’d lost a lot of time searching through recipes.

A flash of nerves hit when the doorbell rang. After buzzing Lily into the building, he left the door open for her and shot back to his bedroom to grab a T-shirt.

“Hi,” she called, wandering into the flat.

“Sorry.” Flynn’s words were distorted by his T-shirt, which he pulled over his head as he walked back from his bedroom. “I only just got out of the shower.”

Smiling lightly, she moved inside, drifting into the living room. “Did you only just get back from work?”

“No.” He grabbed a towel and rubbed it over his wet hair. “But I sat down with my phone and lost an hour of my life scrolling.” He slung the towel over the back of a chair.

“Dinner smells delicious,” she said sarcastically.

Maybe he should have cooked. “I’ll put the oven on now.”

“What are you making?”

“Pizza.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “From scratch?”

“If you call taking the pizza out of the freezer and slinging it in the oven making it from scratch, then yes.”

“I wouldn’t call it that, no.”

Okay, he definitely should have cooked. “You don’t want pizza?”

“Pizza’s fine.” She sank onto the couch with an exasperated sigh. “I just might have got the wrong idea when you said you’re cooking… Are we having a salad with it?”

He grimaced. “Did you want salad?”

“I don’t care.” She slipped her shoes off and put her feet up on the coffee table.

He turned the knobs on the oven, then came to join her on the couch. “It sounds as though you do care. I would like to point out that you’ve made frozen pizza for me before and I’ve never once complained.”

“I’m not complaining.”

“You should really be glad that I didn’t decide to cook a proper meal. I can’t imagine you’re keen for another bout of food poisoning.”

“Pizza’s fine,” she said, her voice clipped. “How was your day?”

He hesitated, debating whether to go along with the change of subject. “As dull as ever,” he said. “How about you? Did the rain put your customers off again?”

“Yeah. The whole day was quiet. Jessica was bored stiff. She kept finding things to clean until I sent her home early. On the plus side, the shop is sparkling.”

“How’s it working out with her?”

“Good.” Lily sank back into the couch cushions. “She’s great.”

While he went to put the pizzas in the oven, she chatted about the few customers she’d had and cheerfully regaled him with a story about a woman complaining loudly about the terrible coffee at the ice cream shop.

By the time he set the pizzas on the coffee table, she seemed much more relaxed.

“Have you seen anything of Glynis yet?” he asked through a mouthful of pepperoni. “Is she up and about again after her poisoning?”

“I haven’t seen her since I visited her last week, so I guess she’s still not up to her morning walks. I spoke to her on the phone a few days ago and she says she’s okay, except for being frustrated that she isn’t recovering faster.”

“I don’t know why you don’t just speak to Maria,” Flynn said, shaking his head. “I’m not sure how all this waiting and wondering isn’t driving you crazy. Why not just confront her and ask if she owns the ice cream shop? And if she knew your parents.”

“I want to catch her alone.” Lily paused with a slice of pizza before her lips. “Which is difficult while Glynis is still housebound. As soon as she’s out and about again, I can go over and speak to Maria.”

“I feel as though you’re putting it off.”

She shook her head. “I’ve also been busy with the shop.”

“And part of you is scared of what you might find out when you speak to her?” he suggested gently.

“I will talk to her. But I could be completely wrong about her. Her wearing a necklace like the one in the photo of the owner could be a coincidence. I’m sure lots of people have necklaces with an anchor pendant.”

“Maybe.” He moved to get more drinks. “You should talk to her and find out for sure. The suspense is killing me.”

“I will,” she said, a faraway look in her eyes.

“You okay?” he asked, sitting back beside her.

“Yeah. Just tired. I think I’ll eat and run.” Mischief flashed in her eyes. “I realise it’s pretty rude of me after you went to so much effort.”

He smiled at her teasing, but his jaw tightened. Why hadn’t he gone with his gut and cooked something?

The answer was obvious and had everything to do with the fact that he was leaving in a couple of months. No matter how much he’d like there to be something more between them, it was unrealistic to think they could be anything more than friends.

While munching on the rest of the pizza, his mind took him back to a conversation he’d had with the sergeant a few weeks ago. He’d told Flynn he’d be happy for him to stay on the Isles of Scilly for longer if he wanted to. Flynn hadn’t known what to say.

Since then, the conversation popped into his head regularly. Mostly when he was around Lily.

With the idea floating around his head once again, he waited until Lily left before sending the sergeant a message.

Realistically, he didn’t even know if it was a possibility for him to stay longer. It wasn’t as though it was the sergeant’s decision.

There was no harm in asking him to look into it, though.

After pressing send, Flynn flopped back onto the couch, trying not to pay any attention to the knot of tension that had gathered under his sternum.