Page 20 of Possess

“Who cares about them?”

Allyson rubbed her forehead, and a part of Zeke wanted to drop this, but he couldn’t. It was too important. If they didn’t get past this hurdle, he’d have to make some major changes.

“I’m trying to understand.” Zeke mentally moved heaven and earth to avoid revealing any of the frustration he was feeling right then.

“I know you are, and thank you. I’m being cautious.”

“Is there a department policy that says we can’t be seen outside of business hours?”

“Zeke, I’m sure you’re aware of the conflict of interest here. I’m inspecting your building sites. This is going to get complicated.”

“I understand, but we can figure it out. Let’s get through dinner tonight and go from there.”

She started to say something and then reconsidered and nodded.

Zeke relaxed in his chair. Crisis averted for now. Tonight would be a good starting place. “Why don’t you tell me more about Allyson Young.”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Not the best dinner topic.”

Interesting response. He’d find out what she meant later. For right now, he’d let it slide. “How about if I talk about me?”

“Now that’s a topic I can get behind.” She grinned, and Zeke’s dick jumped.

Down boy. She smiled. She didn’t ask to touch you.“Let’s see. I’m the oldest of three. I have a younger brother and sister.”

“I’m an only child. So that’s nice you have a brother and sister. Are your parents still living?”

“Yes.” Allyson’s must be dead for her to ask it that way, and the envy in her voice told him her childhood had been different from his. “Mom is a retired schoolteacher, and Dad is a retired electrician.”

“You didn’t follow in your father’s footsteps?”

He chuckled. “Nope. From the time I was little, I liked to build things. I’d make things from blocks, later Legos, anything I could get my hands on.”

“Sounds interesting. Tell me more.”

* * * *

Allyson watched Zeke’s face as he talked. So laid-back and happy. She was envious of his childhood. What memories she had of hers were anything but fun. She pushed them away. She was finally relaxing, and she didn’t want old memories to intrude. Zeke did that for her. Helped her decompress and let go of the workday tensions.

In the back of her mind, the issues at work still nagged her, but not as bad as before. She’d left Wes a follow-up message because he’d left before she could talk to him. Tomorrow, she’d talk with him because things were not adding up.

As they ate, Zeke talked more about his teenage years and then college time. Then moved on to things such as books and movies. She was surprised to find they both loved action/adventure movies. Well, what man didn’t? But he also liked those cheesy disaster films she loved to watch on late night TV.

“That was delicious,” she said, pushing her plate away. “The prime rib was perfect.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I did, and thank you for not lecturing me on how I like it cooked. I can’t stand to have my meat mooing at me.”

His husky laugh sent a shaft of awareness through her. It wasn’t fair that his laugh could make her so aware of him and how sexy he was. Zeke hadn’t put the kibosh on having a fling. She could be professional on the job and leave the personal out of it. She’d talk to Wes about it, because city regulations were a little vague. They talked more about accepting gifts.

“Dessert?” he asked.

“No, thank you. I’m full.”

“Coffee or after dinner drink?”

“I’ll never sleep if I have coffee, and the drink with dinner was enough. But don’t let me stop you.” He should enjoy whatever he wanted.

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