Since Wyatt’s father had died a decade ago, she’d determined not to let old age stop her from doing things—and it didn’t.
“She would not divulge that information to me.” Norma sniffed, which meant his mother had been rude to his secretary.
“I’m sorry for whatever she said, Norma.” Wyatt looked at the woman, hoping she knew he meant it.
“I am no stranger to your mother, Wyatt.” Normal put a professional smile on her face. “Now get to your meeting. I don’t need to hear how you’re late to everything and that it’s my fault.”
“I am not late to everything,” he said, rolling his eyes. He did go into his office and set his lunch down on the corner of his desk. His coffee cup landed next, and he peered at the piece of paper with at least a dozen bullet points on it.
The first one said Wants to know why you’re dating another blonde.
“This isn’t happening,” Wyatt grumbled. He crumpled up the paper and tossed it toward the trash can. It didn’t go in, and that was fine with him. He picked up the blue folder Norma had put on his desk and left the office. In the conference room, he sat down at the head of the table and flipped open the folder, just as Noel stood up to start.
He read some of the things as Noel recapped them about the case, but his mind wasn’t on topic. Sandi spoke about the ballistics on the bullet casing, and Tom wanted to go over the witness testimonies again. Eli said he’d review Bella’s statement, and the one lead they had was a gun shop on the north side of the bay, in a little strip mall before all the ritzy houses started eating their way up the hill.
“Fine,” he said. “Noel, you and Sandi go work that lead. Eli, you work with Tom on the statements and testimonies. I want to see a timeline for this accident or shooting or whatever it was. Where are we with the suspect?”
“We have his statement, and we couldn’t charge him with anything.”
“He wasn’t drunk? High? Outstanding parking ticket?”
“Came back clean, boss. He said a dog ran in front of him, and he swerved to avoid hitting it.”
Dubious, for sure, as there was a courtyard between the road and the building, and no indication the driver had hit the brakes at all.
Wyatt sighed and looked around the table. “All right. We need to talk to him again. Let’s see if there’s something we can get him in here for.”
The meeting broke up, and Wyatt took his folder with him. Back in his office, he sat down at his desk and fiddled with the mouse on his computer to get it to wake. Anyone coming in or walking by would think him very seriously studying something crucial online. But really, he had a texting app that he could use on the computer, and he opened a thread to Deirdre.
I have the luau tickets. You still in for tonight?
Wouldn’t miss it. Her response came quickly, and Wyatt smiled. He hadn’t seen her since Sunday, and he really wanted to hold her hand. Kiss her the way he had up on the bluff. No, the way he had just inside her door after driving her home. Or maybe the way he had as they leaned toward each other over the console in the Jeep.
The bottom line was, he wanted to kiss her again.
Perfect, he sent her. I’ll pick you up at six.
Deal.
I also have a surprise reservation for next weekend.
A surprise reservation? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
He chuckled to himself. Well, the reservation isn’t a surprise. It’s what it’s for that is.
So you know, but I don’t.
That’s how a surprise works.
Deirdre didn’t answer for several moments, and Wyatt turned his attention to some real work on his desk. He signed paperwork, so that when Norma marched into his office twenty minutes later, he had everything ready for her.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, pivoting to go right back out to her desk. He smiled and shook his head at her. Norma was a real character, and Wyatt sure was lucky to have her. “Wait a second.” She paused in the doorway and turned around. Her eyes zeroed in on the wad of paper lying on Wyatt’s floor. “Is that the list of things from your mother?”
“No,” Wyatt said, practically leaping out of his desk chair. Norma’s heels clicked against the industrial tiles, but he managed to get to the paper first. “It’s not, Norma.” He hid the crumpled paper behind his back. “Go back to your desk.”
“Wyatt Gardner,” she said. “That was twenty minutes of my morning.”
“I’m going to call her,” he said. Behind him, his computer bleeped and his phone buzzed on the desktop.
Norma’s eyes stayed angry, and now her eyebrow drew down too. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your important business, Chief.”
He watched her leave this time, relief mingling with the excitement inside him. Deirdre had finally answered with, Sorry, my boss came in. You better tell me what to expect for the surprise so I wear the right thing.
A smile filled Wyatt’s whole face, and he couldn’t wait to take her up in the hot air balloon, the whole world curving before them on all sides.
But he supposed he better call his mother first.
Chapter Twelve
Deirdre pulled up to the police station, her heart thumping like she’d just run a mile or two. She’d been to meet with Norma a few times over the past few weeks. September had turned into October, and while Deirdre would never call a season winter in Hawaii, it did get a little cooler.
Wyatt was busy dealing with everything from court hearings to the big case with the car that had crashed into the office building to making sure he had enough officers for the Halloween parade in a couple of weeks.
They’d been out several more times, and Deirdre sure did like him. Today, she’d asked Norma to be ready to have people try the food for the department holiday party. Deirdre circled to the back of the van she’d borrowed from Your Tidal Forever and opened the doors to a spread of food she hoped would all get eaten.
She loved crab cakes and profiteroles as much as the next person, but she lived alone and certainly couldn’t eat very many of them. Whatever the men and women here didn’t eat, she told herself, she’d take back to Your Tidal Forever.
After hefting one huge, circular tray into her hands, she started for the front doors. She bumped the handicapped button to get the doors to open for her, and her muscles strained as she waited. She hoped Norma had a spot ready for the food.
Sure enough, the woman met her just inside the door. “You should’ve called me,” she said. “You don’t need to bring this stuff in. Eli, Wally, go get the food from the back of Deirdre’s van.”
“Where am I going?” Deirdre asked, about to drop the heavy tray of lobster tails.
“Trey, take that,” Norma barked, and a man jumped up from his desk and took the tray from Deirdre.
A sigh passed through her whole body, and she smiled at the officer. “Thank you.”
“Over here,” Norma said, leading Deirdre through the desks in the room to a long table that had been set up against the back wall. “You tell him where, Deirdre.”
“Let’s see,” she said, thinking through what else she’d picked up. “Let’s put the seafood down here.” She indicated the right-hand side of the table, and Trey put the lobster down. The crab cakes went beside them, and then the bagel bites with lox and smoked salmon.
“Sandwiches down here,” she said as another tray arrived. “And we’ll put desserts in the middle.” The profiteroles looked divine, and Deirdre smiled fondly at them. She loved delicious food that looked pretty too.
“This looks amazing,” Norma said from the end of the table. “Are you sure we can afford this? Seafood is expensive.”
“All of this is within your budget,” Deirdre said, slipping back into her professional persona. “Now, you can’t have it all. That’s why we’re tasting today.” She moved down to the sandwich end of the table. “We have a bacon turkey club, with brown mustard mayo and heirloom tomatoes.” The sandwiches were probably four-bites big, and they made Deirdre’s mouth water.<
br />
“Your second choice is the Kalua pork, with all the traditional Hawaiian spices, with a red cabbage slaw on top. And then we have a fried chicken option, with all-white meat and pickle relish.”
In Deirdre’s opinion, any of the sandwiches would be amazing. She went through the seafood choices, and then finally, the desserts. “Lemon crème profiteroles,” she said. “With a vanilla glaze.”
“I don’t even know what a profiterole is,” Norma said, her pen scratching across her clipboard.
“It’s a cream puff,” Deirdre said. “Or we can do the doughnut wall we talked about. Or the ice cream sundae bar.” She lifted the lids on the few boxes of doughnuts she’d picked up from Nuts About Dough. “They let you pick six varieties,” she said. “But I brought their twelve most popular flavors for sampling.”
“Wyatt will pick the doughnuts, you just watch,” Norma said with a sigh. “He loves those breakfast sandwiches with doughnuts for buns.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish.” Norma laughed then, and Deirdre joined in. She became aware of Wyatt’s presence in the next moment, and sure enough, she turned to find him standing only a couple of feet behind her.
“I thought I heard your voice,” he said with a smile.
Deirdre wanted to step into his arms and kiss him hello, the way she’d done a few times now. But she reminded herself she was at work right now—and so was he. This wasn’t one of their evening dates or weekend afternoons together. She couldn’t kiss him whenever she wanted, wherever she wanted.
“Hey,” she said, smiling at him.
“Is she teasing me?” he asked, lacing his fingers through hers as he joined her and Norma at the table.
“She said you like those breakfast sandwiches with doughnuts for buns.”
“I totally do,” he said. “Ate one yesterday.”
Deirdre shook her head. “You’re going to have a heart attack by age fifty.”
“I ran five miles this morning,” he said. “I think it evens out, doesn’t it?”
Deirdre leaned into him, happier than she’d been in a very long time. “It probably does.”
“Let’s gather around,” Norma called in a loud voice. She looked at Deirdre. “We’re ready, right?”
“We’re ready,” she said, falling back a few steps so Norma could lead the show. She waited while everyone came over to the vicinity of the table. She explained why the food was there and what she wanted from people. She’d made ballots for what type of food they wanted and everything.
“Now,” she said, her eyes taking on a fierce quality. “Remember, this is for our Christmas party, and that’s going to be a nice affair. Nice.” She stepped back and added, “This is Deirdre Bernard, our party planner. I’m going to let her explain the food.”
Deirdre smiled out at everyone, though a blip of fear moved through her. So many law enforcement officers and detectives, sergeants, and the Chief of Police himself in one room would’ve intimidated anyone. At least that was what she told herself.
She explained the food again, just as she had for Norma, and then she got out of the way so people could take the food.
“You’re not eating?” Wyatt asked as he joined the line.
“I’ve tasted all of this food,” she said. “If there’s some left, I’ll have a pork sandwich.”
“We can go in my office,” he said, picking up a second plate and putting a pork sandwich on it. He took one of everything, and then put a lemon profiterole on her plate too, along with two crab cakes.
Deirdre warmed from the inside. Had she gotten in line and filled her own plate, that was exactly what she would’ve put on it.
Wyatt carried both of their plates into his office and set hers on the front of his desk while he went around it and sat down.
“Thanks,” she said.
He slid a plastic fork across the desk toward her and grinned at her. “I like seeing you here.”
“Yeah?” Deirdre didn’t think she’d ever get tired of hearing something like that.
“Yeah.” Wyatt took a bite of the crispy chicken slider and moaned. “Oh, this is good.” He finished it in three bites and wiped his mouth. “The surprise is finally ready.”
“Ready?”
“Well, it’s happening.” He picked up his fork to try the crab cakes. He didn’t seem to like those as much as the sandwich options, as he didn’t even finish one before turning back to the pork bun. “I just meant, it got postponed a couple of times, and it’s finally happening.”
“Saturday, right?” Deirdre liked the crab cakes, though they did seem a little dry today.
“Bright and early,” he said. “Like, six a.m. early.”
Deirdre paused and looked up. “You never said it would be that early.”
“I just got a confirmation email.” He indicated the computer, as if Deirdre could see it.
“You owe me big time for a Saturday six a.m. wake-up call.” She gave him a mock glare and went back to her pork bun. It was tangy and delicious, the slaw adding a crispness and crunch to contrast the meat and soft bread.
Wyatt chuckled and finished his turkey sandwich too. Four bites. “I know. I didn’t realize what I’d booked, but the ball—” He cut off, and that made Deirdre look up.
“The what?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said, a flush working its way into his face. “I almost gave it away.” He finished the lobster tail and came back to the last sandwich on his plate. “I think I like the chicken the best.”
“It is good,” she said, though she hadn’t taken one this time. She’d eaten at Crispers plenty of times in the past eighteen months, as a good chicken sandwich was one of her favorite things. “I didn’t see you pick up a ballot.”
“Oh, right.” Wyatt got up and left the office for a moment, closing the door behind him when he returned. Deirdre finished her food as Wyatt marked his choices and handed her the paper.
She stood up to take it, and Wyatt pressed in closer to her. “Wyatt,” she whispered. “You’re at work.”
“Yeah.” He took her into his arms. “And I haven’t seen you in two days, and the door is closed.” He took a deep breath of her hair, which made Deirdre feel cherished.
“Two days,” she said, giggling. “You make it sound like years.”
“Feels like it,” he said just before kissing her. Deirdre melted into his touch, because she sure did like Wyatt Gardner a whole lot.
“Chief,” someone said, and Deirdre shrank against his chest as their kiss broke. He’d hide her behind his body, and maybe she wouldn’t have to see who’d walked in on them.
“What?” Wyatt growled, turning to look at whoever stood in his now-open doorway.
“Uh, sorry.” The door closed in the next moment, and Wyatt sighed as he looked down at Deirdre. Their eyes met, and Deirdre couldn’t help laughing. Wyatt did too, and he stepped back.
“Guess you were right.”
“Should’ve locked that sucker,” she said, picking up her paper plate.
“Or stood right in front of it.” He followed her to the door and took the plates from her. “Like this.” He pressed her into the door and kissed her, and Deirdre lost herself to the passion in his touch. Because, wow. Just wow.
Saturday morning, Deirdre woke with excitement bubbling in her stomach. True, it was still plenty dark outside, but the sun would be up soon. Wyatt would be there sooner, and Deirdre hurried to brush her teeth and get dressed. He’d told her to wear something warm, with close-toed shoes and to maybe bring a jacket.
She assumed they’d be doing something outside, and she shimmied into a pair of skinny jeans and put a long-sleeved T-shirt on, and then a zip-up sweatshirt over that. She put on sneakers and had just pulled her hair into a ponytail when Wyatt knocked on the front door.
“I’m coming in,” he said in the next moment.
Deirdre called, “I’m almost ready. Be right out,” down the hall from her bathroom, and she heard the door close. Wy
att had walked into her house after knocking a few times now, and Deirdre sure did like the familiarity of it. They’d been seeing each other for four weeks now, and this time was completely different than the first time they’d tried a relationship.
Thankfully.
Deirdre had allowed herself to like Wyatt, to kiss him. She wondered as she hurried to swipe on a quick layer of mascara and then lip gloss if she could fall in love with him. Studying her reflection in the mirror, she whispered to herself, “Go find out.”
In the living room, Wyatt had found a spot on the end of the couch, and he was frowning at his phone.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He got up and pocketed his phone. “A work thing someone else can take care of.” He let his eyes slide down her body, and Deirdre did the same to him.
“You look great,” she said, the compliment almost sticking in her throat. She wasn’t great at validating a man, she knew that. It was one of the things Dalton had told her during the dissolution of their marriage. You never compliment me. I never know how you feel about me.
Her throat tightened as she waited for Wyatt to say something. He finally said, “Thanks, sweetheart. So do you.” He extended his hand toward her, and Deirdre laced her fingers through his.
He wore jeans too, with a light blue polo with the buttons open at the throat. He smelled like minty toothpaste and musky aftershave, and Deirdre kissed him quickly before he led her to the door with the words, “We really can’t be late, or they’ll leave without us.”
She was dying to know what the surprise was, but she didn’t ask. She had—several times—and Wyatt had refused to tell her.
So she’d just be surprised when they showed up wherever he was taking her.
Chapter Thirteen
Wyatt pulled into the parking lot at Lobster Bay, the rainbow-colored hot air balloon filling the morning in front of him.
“Wyatt,” Deirdre said, her eyes glued to the balloon out the window. “Are we going up in that thing?”
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