Page 61 of Last Date

Hanging her head, she said, “I’ve known them all my life. Dad feels like he’s lost a son with the passing of Allister.”

“God, I’m so sorry.”

Wrinkling her brow, she said, “Well, I should get going.”

“Sure. I just wanted to be sure you were okay. You looked… emotional.”

Her cheeks tinted pink. “All I seem to do is cry these days.”

“No harm in that. Grief takes time.”

“It really does. Dad and I, we’d doanythingfor Allister.” She winced. “We… we would have done anything, I mean.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, take care, Kip.” She turned and walked away, pushing her cart quickly toward the checkout area.

I watched her go, wondering why she’d seemed so flustered at the sight of me. Maybe I reminded her of one of the worst nights of her life. It was obvious she’d adored Allister. I probably was an unwelcome reminder of how he’d died.

After getting my allergy medication, I picked up a dozen donuts and returned to the office. When lunchtime rolled around, I was surprised by the appearance of Merrick. He knocked on the doorjamb of my office, and my pulse raced at the sight of him.

“Well, this is a surprise.” I stood, feeling flustered. “Did you have more questions for me about the attack?”

“No.” His smile seemed tense. “I thought I’d take you to lunch.”

I blinked at him. “You want to take me to lunch?” We’d never gone to lunch before, just the two of us. Thomas had always been there too. “Today?”

“Yes.” He grimaced. “Unless you don’t want to go?”

While I was nervous at the idea of going with him, I wanted to. “Lunch sounds good. Uh… did you mean now?”

“Well, it’s lunchtime.” He sighed. “I should have called first. This was kind of impulsive.”

“No. It… it’s fine,” I said quickly, grabbing my jacket. “Just us, or did you mean Helen and Charlene too?”

His gaze flickered. “Oh, did you want to bring them?”

“I just wasn’t sure what you had planned.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, giving a gruff laugh. “I was thinking just you and me, but if you’ll be uncomfortable with that, we can invite Helen and Charlene.”

Excitement nudged me. “No. I’m fine with just us.”

“Great.” He smiled, looking more relaxed. “How does the Golden Spoon sound?”

“Perfect.” The Golden Spoon was a family restaurant, so that would make the lunch feel less formal, which was a good thing. I was surprisingly nervous at the thought of being alone with Merrick. But I wanted to go to lunch with him because, while I found him aggravating at times, lately, I also found him very attractive. I was tempted to explore those feelings.

We stepped out of my office, and Merrick announced to Helen and Charlene, “I’m dragging Kip out to lunch.”

“Are you?” Helen smiled. “That’s wonderful. He has a habit of skipping lunch.”

“No. I eat a healthy lunch every day.”

Helen sighed. “I don’t consider a microwave burrito a healthy lunch.”

Merrick raised his brows. “That’s what you usually eat?”

Avoiding Merrick’s gaze, I said, “Sometimes I have a microwave breakfast sandwich.”

“Good Lord.” Merrick shuddered.

“It’s food.” I frowned.