Page 38 of Hot Response
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Gavin kept his mouth shut for a few seconds, until he could work through what had just happened. He was having one of the best days he’d had in a long time, but right now he felt like he was leaning out over a cliff and Cait was deciding whether she’d reach out a hand to pull him back in or not.
“I was just asking if you guys hang out when you’re not working. Like, Grant was at my place yesterday before you got there. And I had dinner with Rick and his wife, Jess, a few weeks ago because I helped him do her closet shelving stuff. We all hang out at Kincaid’s and shoot pool. Like, are you friends in addition to being partners?”
Her face relaxed and he hoped that was a sign he’d given the right answer. “Okay, I’m sorry. You’d be surprised how often people say shitty things to one of us, with the wholewink wink nudgething. I can get a little cranky about things.”
“No, you don’t say,” he said, laughing and squeezing her hand so she’d know he was messing with her.
“I was going to say I can be a little touchy, but I know you’d turn that into an invitation.”
He grinned. “Absolutely.”
“Anyway. Tony is married, and he and his husband have two kids who call me Auntie Cait. We’re friends, and I go to the kids’ birthday parties and their barbecues and stuff, but he and I don’t generally hang out apart from his family just because we work together all day. There are more of you, so you can switch up who you’re drinking and playing pool with, you know?”
“That makes sense. The important thing is that you have such a strong working relationship. Makes the job easier, for sure.”
Somehow they were leaning toward work talk, and he didn’t really want to do that. They were both first responders so they had that in common, but it also meant work talk could become all they talked about. He’d dated a dispatcher for the PD once and the relationship conversation had gotten stale very quickly.
But he didn’t really want to talk about their families, either, because he didn’t want her thinking about her mom and brother right now. She’d had a relaxing night and a fun day, so far, and he’d seen the emotional toll worrying about them took on her.
He wanted her to keep enjoying herself because he wasreallyhoping she’d go back upstairs with him when they got back to his place, rather than getting in her car and going home.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been here,” he said, for lack of anything else he considered a safe subject.
“I guess I’ve probably heard the name, but I don’t come down this way a lot and when there’s good pizza less than two blocks over, you don’t feel a need to broaden your pizza horizons.”
“I really hope today doesn’t ruin your usual pizza place for you forever.”
She laughed. “There you go, being cocky again.”
“Confident,” he corrected.
When the pizza arrived, she looked at it and groaned. “I might actually have to go for a run to work off those calories and I really hate running.”
“I hate to tell you this, but there’s no way you’re going for a run after you eat this pizza. We’ll probably have to sit here a few minutes before we can even walk to my truck.”
“Look at this thing. I have to dosomethingto offset these calories.”
Even though he could think of a lot of ways they could burn a few calories together, Gavin kept his mouth shut. But the struggle must have shown on his face because she looked at him and rolled her eyes.
“You’d have to be really good to work off a slice of this.”
“Go ahead and have two slices,” he said with a grin.
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Is that confidence again?”
“No, that’s cocky.”
He knew as soon she took her first bite and made a low sound of appreciation that his spur-of-the-moment idea to bring her here had been the right decision. Just getting to spend the extra time with her in the truck had been enough, but the jolt of pleasure he got at seeing her enjoyment was a sweet bonus.
“Good, isn’t it?” he asked when she’d practically inhaled a few bites.
“It’s okay.” Her eyes crinkled with amusement, though, because she knew it was a hell of a lot better than okay.
They each had two slices, and Gavin was tempted to go for a third, but then he’d be uncomfortably full and he really hoped he had plans for the evening.
“I invited you,” he pointed out when she reached for the check. “So it’s my treat, if that’s okay with you.”
