Page 29 of Daddy's Pursuit
“Why are you looking around?” Iris asked him.
She shoved a big spoonful of her sweet concoction into her mouth and stared at him as she awaited an answer.
Damn, she was cute.
He picked up a napkin and came out of his seat as he reached across the table to dab the ice cream from her lips. She smiled at that.
Once he was seated again, he said, “You’re pretty observant.”
“Thanks. But it wasn’t hard to miss. Your eyes have been darting everywhere. It’s like you’re scanning everybody in here or something.”
He nodded. “Comes with being a cop.”
“Ooh. Are you worried you’ll see someone you arrested and they’ll want revenge or something?”
“That’s part of it,” he conceded. “But I’m also surveying the crowd to make sure no one is about to start any trouble. Obviously, I can’t tell a hundred percent just by looking at them. But there are certain signs you can spot if you know what to watch for.”
Iris nodded thoughtfully. “You have to be hyper-vigilant, huh?”
Jack shrugged. “I guess I don’thave to be, when I’m off duty. But it’s hard to turn off.”
“Same.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
She seemed uncomfortable. Shifting in her seat, she took another bite of ice cream. Once she’d swallowed it, she said, “I told you there were some times I was on the streets. You have to be vigilant out there, too.”
His heart hurt. The thought of his precious Little lying on some cold sidewalk or hard park bench was enough to make him nearly cry.
And he never cried.
If only he would have known her back then. There’s no way he would have left her out there to fend for herself. But there wasn’t anything he could do about her past.
But he could build her future.
Was what had led to all that was behind her, though? Now probably wasn’t the time to ask. While he wanted to get to knowher—everything about her—this was only their first date. It was about fun. There would be time for the other stuff later.
“You piled that ice cream high,” he noted. “What do you have on it? Gummy worms? Sprinkles?”
“Don’t forget marshmallows and chocolate syrup!” Her nose crinkled as she giggled, and it was all Jack could do not to come across that table and scoop her into his arms.
“We could never forget those. But you’re going to have a sugar rush. Athena is going to wonder what on earth I did to hype you up!”
She laughed again. “She’ll probably make you take me to your house.”
Mmm. Jack liked the sound of that. He didn’t have a spare room at his place, but that was fine.
One bed was all they’d need.
“Do you ever get into car chases?” she randomly asked.
He chuckled. “Not on the regular. But I’ve been in two.”
“Whoa! Was it like in the movies?”
Shaking his head, Jack said, “Nope. In real life there’s tons of traffic and pedestrians and it’s dangerous for everyone involved. In fact, one of them was so dangerous that we backed off and let the chopper follow the suspect in the sky.”
Iris ate more ice cream. “I’ve never been in a helicopter. That would be so much fun!”
