Page 26 of Love at First Sighting
I lean into the window. His arm retracts into the car as I take the space from him.
“License and registration, please.” He feigns reaching over to the glove compartment before I scoff. “What are you doing here?”
The quips are gone and his blue eyes harden with urgency. “I needed to talk to you. It’s important. You hungry?”
Fifteen minutes later, we pull into the parking lot of a beat-up old diner I’ve only ever passed while wondering who even eats there. I have my answer. The Men in Black eat there, apparently. We step out of the car and Carter holds the door open for me. He slips his hat off, and a few strands of blond hair stickup from the static until he pushes them back with a smooth swipe. It’s just us and an old man perched at the bar, and the waitress offers a knowing nod to Carter when he enters.
Ah, he’s a regular.
We take a booth near the back and slide into opposite sides. Everything in this diner feels sticky—from the linoleum flooring to the cheap countertops to the menus, with pages undoubtedly plastered together by Coke. The melodious hum of fifties music floats out from the jukebox in the corner.
Carter sheds his suit jacket and places it over the hook beside the table. He combats the greasy bacon smell in the air with the scent of crisp sandalwood and the mint gum he brings everywhere he goes. He loosens his tie and rolls his sleeves up to the middle of his forearms.
“Are you going to totally undress…?” I ask. I mean, not like I’dcomplain.
“No,” he huffs as he ruffles his blond waves and sets his hat in front of us on the table. “You try wearing a suit every day.”
“What? There’s no leeway with the dress code?”
“There are no casual Fridays in government cover-ups.” He keeps his voice low, sinking into a warm rasp I feel in the pit of my stomach. I’m hyperaware of each close encounter of our bodies.
“I…Right. What did you want to talk about?”
Carter nods with enthusiasm, but the waitress smacks down two menus and asks what we want to drink. We order two waters, but truthfully, I need something stronger if I’m going to sit this close to Carter.
“We’re all clear,” I say as the waitress walks away after dropping off our waters.
Carter sets his glass down and glances around the diner. The man at the bar has wrapped up his meal and left. We’re the only ones here now, but Carter clears his throat and leans over. His knees bump mine beneath the table. His body’s warm and there’s more chemistry in a single leg touch than there was in my entire relationship with Alaka-Sam. When Alaka-Sam says he can make magic happen, he clearly does not mean in the bedroom.
Carter makes secrets feel so sexy.
“I talked to my uncle—Marcus—before I left tonight, and he told me he’s been ordered by someone higher up to purge the personnel files of any deceased or inactive agents from our archives to make room for new ones. That includes my dad’s file.”
“Your dad was an agent, too?”
“Yeah. I wanted to be just like him when I was a kid. My hat was actually his.”
“Does everyone wear a fedora at piss?”
Carter gives a hefty sigh. “Trilby, andP-I-S, but yes. Most other agents have newer ones, but…he told me he wanted me to have this one.”
Despite the frayed strings and poor stitching, the hat is well cared for and well loved. Maybe I can stop bullying his fedora if it’s got such sentimental value.
“But he didn’t die on the job, right?”
“No, but he diedwhilehe was employed, so a full investigation should have been done. I’mtoldthe conclusion is that it was a simple hit and run. But…now more than ever, I’m not sure. I need to get my hands on that file before time is up. Otherwise…”
“You never will…Well, where do we find them?”
Carter’s brows rise at the wordwe. Whatever we find out about his dad could answer my own mystery. Helping Carter helps me.
He thrums his fingers on the table. “If I had to guess, it might be in that archive we found.”
“How do we get inside? Who’s got access?”
He lets out a huffy breath, running his hands over his face before succumbing. “People withmuchhigher security clearance. My uncle most likely can.”
