"You expect to be there be there when I talk to Tessa?" when I talk to Tessa?"
Melissa nodded. Glanced at her watch. "Nearly two o"clock. It would be entirely reasonable for us to go out on a coffee break right about now," she said. "We"ll head over to the Sunflower, and when Tessa comes to the table to take our order, you just say something like, "There"s a dance this Sat.u.r.day night and I was wondering if you"d like to go with me.""
Tom considered long and hard. It was a measure of how much he really liked Tessa, maybe even loved loved her, that taking such a small risk scared him. her, that taking such a small risk scared him.
"All right," he finally said. He whistled for Elvis, who got to his feet and crossed the office. Holding the office door open for Melissa, Tom added, "After you, counselor."
"I"m proud of you," Melissa said.
She ducked into her office for her purse-Andrea still wasn"t back-and ducked out again.
"There"s a catch," Tom informed her, when they were both strapped into the squad car and Elvis had taken up his post in back, behind the folding grill.
Melissa"s stomach fluttered slightly. "What kind of catch?"
"Fair is fair," Tom said. "If you get to hang around when I ask Tessa to go to the dance, then the reverse is true. I have to be there when you ask Creed."
Awkward, Melissa thought. Her most recent exchange with Steven hadn"t exactly been a friendly one. And, anyway, there was a big difference in situations here-she"d Melissa thought. Her most recent exchange with Steven hadn"t exactly been a friendly one. And, anyway, there was a big difference in situations here-she"d slept slept with Steven Creed. Recently. There had clearly been no such intimacy between Tom and Tessa. with Steven Creed. Recently. There had clearly been no such intimacy between Tom and Tessa.
Still, how could she refuse without explaining? And she certainly wasn"t about to admit that she"d spent the night with the man, even though Tom had expressed his suspicions.
"You"re on," she said finally. She"d think of a way out later.
Tom nodded and started up the cruiser, and they headed for the Sunflower Cafe and Bakery. Alice McCoy was out front on her three-wheeled cart, putting tickets on windshields, and she waved merrily to Tom, one crime fighter acknowledging another.
Tom smiled and waved back, but he looked a little pale around the jawline, and Melissa knew he was nervous.
She felt fairly sympathetic toward him, even-until they walked into the cafe that is. There was Steven, sitting on the same stool as the first time she"d laid eyes on him, sipping coffee and going over plans with Alex Royce, an architect from Indian Rock.
Steven turned immediately to face Melissa, and his eyes sparked when he looked at her. The corner of his mouth quirked up, too.
Tom was so pleased to see Melissa put on the spot like this that he must have forgotten his own mission, at least for a moment.
"We"re on a coffee break," Melissa said, perhaps a touch too loudly.
Conversation ceased all over the small eatery, and everyone looked in their direction. A few people smiled to themselves before going back to their late lunches, early suppers or afternoon snacks.
Steven spoke to Alex, who nodded, and then rose from the counter stool to walk over to Melissa and Tom.
"Have you calmed down a little?" Steven asked, unsmiling, gazing deep into Melissa"s eyes. She felt as though she were being undressed, undressed, and her cheeks flamed. and her cheeks flamed.
She flushed, too tongue-tied to speak, while Tom grinned down at her, plainly enjoying her discomfort.
Steven"s gaze held hers. "Evidently not," he said, apparently in answer to his own question.
Melissa glared at him. How was she supposed to ask this obnoxious man out on a date, date, for heaven"s sake, and in front of half the town, too? for heaven"s sake, and in front of half the town, too?
"I"m fine," she managed.
"That"s good to hear," he said.
At the same moment, Tom gave Melissa a light poke with his elbow. "Go ahead," he said, in a stage whisper that probably carried clear past the jukebox and down the short hallway to the restrooms. "Ask him to the dance."
Melissa tallied up her chances of getting away with murder and decided they weren"t good. Too many witnesses, for one thing.
So she had to let Tom live. For the moment.
Steven"s grin was even more crooked than before. He might have thrown her a lifeline of some sort, said something, something, but not a word came out of that highly kissable mouth. He simply stood there and waited. but not a word came out of that highly kissable mouth. He simply stood there and waited.
Melissa cleared her throat, painfully aware that everybody in the place had an ear c.o.c.ked that way. "There"s a dance at the Grange on Sat.u.r.day night," she said, because there was no way out. "And I was wondering if you"d like to go." She paused. "With me, I mean."
"Is it Sadie Hawkins" Day?" some redneck joked, from one of the booths.
"Say what?" someone else called.
Steven leaned in, not touching her, though his breath made her lips tingle. "Yes," he said. "I"ll go to the dance with you, Melissa O"Ballivan, but only if you agree to pick me up in the roadster."
The tension subsided slightly.
"What"s going on?" a customer yelled to a friend on the other side of the cafe.
"Melissa asked that Creed fella to the Grange Dance!" the friend boomed.
"It"s about time she had a date," commented someone else.
"Good," Melissa said. Then she turned on Tom and glowered up at him. At the edge of her vision, she saw Tessa coming out of the kitchen, looking lovely in her jeans, sleeveless white top and blue cobbler"s ap.r.o.n smudged with flour. "Now it"s your your turn." turn."
Steven, after one lingering look of sheer appreciation, excused himself quietly and went back to the counter, where Alex waited with the plans.
The clientele was still being unusually quiet.
"Have a seat," Tessa said, her glance moving questioningly between Melissa and Tom. "Ella will be right with you." Ella was the other waitress.
Melissa flashed Tessa a bright smile. "We were hoping you could wait on us personally," she told her friend. "Would you mind?"
"Not at all," Tessa replied, dusting the flour smudge off her front with a few slaps of one hand. "On my way."
As soon as Melissa and Tom had seated themselves at a table in front of the window, Tessa was there, order pad in hand, pencil at the ready.
"Coffee for both of us, please," Melissa said.
Tom sat directly across from her, brooding. He wouldn"t look at either Melissa or Tessa.
Melissa kicked him under the table.
Tom started, as though he"d been off in some other world and had just come in for a crash landing.
He looked up at Tessa, his hands so tightly interlocked that his knuckles showed white, and blurted out, "I guess you wouldn"t want to go out with me or anything."
Melissa sighed.
Tessa"s cheeks turned pink. "I-I mean-"
And n.o.body in that cafe, except for Steven and his architect that is, made any pretense of minding their own business.
"See?" Tom said to Melissa.
"Are you talking about-a date?" Tessa faltered.
"Probably wants you to go to the Grange Dance with him on Sat.u.r.day night," said that same helpful redneck who had spoken up before.
"Oh," Tessa said.
Tom ears turned bright pink.
Tessa spoke again. "Tom Parker," she said, "look at me."
Surprised, Tom did as he was told.
Tessa leaned down, so that her nose was almost touching his, and said, "Now, say whatever it is you want to say. I want to hear it from you."
A sunburst of a smile broke over Tom"s face, a mix of hope and cautious joy. "Will you go out with me? To the dance on Sat.u.r.day night?"
Tessa straightened. Her face revealed nothing whatsoever.
Tom didn"t move.
Melissa didn"t breathe. If she"d thought for one moment that Tessa would turn Tom down, she wouldn"t have opened her big mouth in the first place.
"Yes," Tessa said, at long last. "I think I will will go to the dance with you." go to the dance with you."
The whole place erupted in cheers and whistles then, and Tom went even redder than before.
Melissa let out her breath and sneaked a sidelong look at Steven. By then, even he was caught up in watching the saga unfold, just like everybody else in the cafe.
"That"s good, then," Tom said. Now that he"d made his pitch, he seemed to be at a loss for t.i.tillating conversation. "That"s real good."
Tessa smiled, her own color a little high, and turned to go behind the counter for the coffee order.
"Thanks for kicking me," Tom said to Melissa. "I think you broke my shin."
"She"s going to the dance with you!" Melissa whispered, thrilled that her good friend hadn"t been shot down, especially with the whole town looking on. It would have been her fault, at least in part, if that had happened.
"And you"re going to the dance with Creed," Tom replied very quietly, grinning. "Not that I thought for one second that he"d turn you down."
Melissa looked toward Steven, just to make sure he was still out of range and, seeing that her Sat.u.r.day night date was busy shaking hands and exchanging parting words with Alex, turned back to Tom. Raised both her eyebrows. "What made you so sure?" she asked, under her breath.
Tom bent toward her. His eyes sparkled. "Because you"re already involved with him," he said slowly, and with a note of c.o.c.ky triumph. "That"s why." why."
"Says who?"
"Says you. Do you think I can"t read simple body language, after all these years as a cop? h.e.l.l, Melissa, you might as well have hired a skywriter-the pulses in your throat and wrists are pounding so hard, they"re visible." He paused, spread his hands in that way he had. "Case closed."
"Oh, shut up," Melissa said, just as Steven started toward their table.
She loved the way he walked, the way he moved, easy in his skin.
She loved the way he did a few other other things, too, but that was beside the point. things, too, but that was beside the point.
He was trouble-the way they"d b.u.t.ted heads in Tom"s office that morning should have been proof enough for anybody, including her.
So what was she doing?
"I"ll be looking forward to Sat.u.r.day," Steven said, when he reached them.
"Me, too," Melissa said, without intending to say anything of the kind. She definitely needed some s.p.a.ce, a chance to figure things out, at least a little bit, but she also wanted to get up from that booth and follow him home.
Steven checked his watch. "Time to pick Matt up at school," he said.
Melissa"s heart slowed and warmed at the thought of the little boy. "Tell him hi for me," she said.
"I will," Steven told her. Then he nodded to Tom and walked out into the midafternoon sunshine.
Melissa must have stared at the empty s.p.a.ce where Steven had just been standing for a beat too long, because when she met Tom"s eyes again, he was grinning like a fool.
She made a face at him.
Tessa brought the coffee. Along with two slices of fresh peach pie and forks rolled up in napkins. She blushed when she set Tom"s down in front of him.
"Thanks," he said, turning shy all over again.
Tessa turned and hurried away.
Melissa unwrapped her fork. She"d had a carton of designer yogurt for lunch and it wasn"t enough. Suddenly, she was starving.
GIVE HER SOME ROOM, warned a voice in Steven"s mind, as he walked around to the side parking lot and unlocked his truck with the key fob.
He wanted to turn on his boot heel and go right back inside the cafe, grab Melissa by the hand and take her home with him. Smooth over the awkward stuff. Hear her laugh. Watch the late afternoon sunlight glinting off her hair. And, yes, he wanted to make love to her again.
Steven sucked in a breath and got into the truck, started it up. Slow down, cowboy, Slow down, cowboy, he thought. he thought.
She was a complex woman, that was for sure. In bed, she"d been a tigress. Ditto that morning, when she"d showed up at the jail. And yet asking him to a country dance had made her turn pink from her collarbone to her hair.
Easing out of the lot and onto the street, Steven shook his head, marveling at the things that were going on inside him just then. Not that he could identify any of them-the fact was, he"d never felt quite this way before. Never wanted to know everything there was to know about a woman, and more besides.