Actual Stop (Agent O’Connor #1)(24)

“Surprise me.”

I nodded and turned my attention to the waitress. “I’ll have egg whites with peppers, mushrooms, and spinach in a wrap; dry wheat toast; and the largest coffee you can get me. My friend will have a bowl of oatmeal with some brown sugar and raisins, the fruit plate, and a cup of tea with honey.”

“Sure thing,” the waitress said as she wrote. “I’ll be back in a moment with the tea and coffee.”

“What did you get me?” Allison asked when she returned a moment later. I told her, and she smiled almost tenderly. “You remembered.” She sounded oddly pleased.

I shrugged and stood, feeling a tug around my heart. I struggled to keep both my face and my voice neutral. “Be right back.”

I needed the few precious moments the trip to the bathroom provided in order to corral my wildly careening emotions. When I returned from washing my own hands, Allison was looking out the window at something with great interest.

“What’s up?” I asked as I slid into my side of the booth.

She grinned at me wickedly. “You should’ve seen the woman who just walked by. She was stunning.”

I tried not to let my annoyance and hurt show, but I must’ve failed because Allison gave me a look that said I was being silly. As if pangs of jealousy at the thought of the former love of my life openly ogling someone in front of me were a ridiculous idea.

She looked over my shoulder. “That’s her,” she whispered.

I whirled around to find Lucia standing just inside the door, talking with the hostess. Of course it was. Why wouldn’t it be? And I agreed with Allison. She did look gorgeous. But Allison’s appreciation of any woman’s beauty still hurt me. That it was Lucia somehow made it worse. How much longer until I was over this?

I waved to catch Lucia’s attention, and she said something to the elderly woman before heading our way. These next few minutes were going to be the most awkward of my life. My face got hot again, and I silently cursed my fair skin. Perhaps I should visit the tanning salon.

Lucia gave me a strange look. “You okay?”

“Yeah, why?” I said, probably a little too quickly.

“Your face is red.” Lucia affectionately touched my hair as she smiled down at me.

“Is it?” Not knowing what else to say, I opted to play dumb.

“I’m Lucia.” She offered her hand to Allison and gave me a look equal parts puzzlement and scorn.

Allison accepted the handshake gracefully and favored me with an almost-matching expression. “Allison. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

I scooted over a bit on the bench, feeling like a moron. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten the simple courtesies of introductions. What were the odds I’d be capable of coherent speech any time in the near future? Somehow, I suspected they were slim.

“Do you want to join us? Do you have time?” I asked Lucia. There. Those were sentences. I was proud of myself. I was also secretly praying she didn’t have time because I was positive prolonging this experience would kill me. But it’d seemed polite to offer.

“I can’t.” Lucia sounded truly sorry, which made me feel like an even bigger *, especially since my immediate reaction was relief. “Jessie’s in the car waiting for me. We have our firearms requalifications this morning and need to hustle.”

The mention of Lucia’s ex-girlfriend, who she still sometimes had to work with, gave me pause, and bile rose in the back of my throat, thick and cloying. Talk about irony. Apparently ex-girlfriends were running around all over the place today. Oh, goody.

With an extreme effort, I kept my expression neutral and successfully hid my distaste for the woman. I’d met her only once, but she’d made no secret of her instant dislike for me. Which had been fine with me because there was something about her I didn’t quite trust either. I suspected she wanted Lucia back and saw me as an obstacle, but Lucia had laughed at me the one and only time I’d suggested it.

Lucia took my phone out of her pocket and handed it to me with a smile while staring directly into my eyes. Her expression of tenderness and affection was lit with an underlying spark of desire. My heart skipped a beat and my mouth went dry. I was aware of Allison watching us from the other side of the table but forced myself not to look away. Lucia was my…well, something. She deserved to have me return her attention. I favored her with what I hoped was a passing imitation of a similar look. I didn’t want to hurt her.

“I’ll see you later,” Lucia told me, her voice soft, her tone intimate. I’d apparently done a pretty good job covering up my discomfort. She turned to Allison. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you, too,” Allison said.

Once Lucia was gone, she sat still and studied me, her countenance serious and thoughtful.

“What?”

“Nicely done, Ryan.” Allison winked at me.

“Thanks,” I muttered. I shifted my attention to the number of water spots on the spoon lying on the table in front of me.

“How long have you been seeing her?” Allison laced her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands and her elbows on the table, her expression intensely curious.

“About six months.”

She cocked one dark eyebrow at me and gazed at me for a long time. “Do you love her?” Her voice was low and even as she spoke, but I wasn’t sure whether she was just making conversation or if my answer mattered.