“I never took you for the traditional sort.”
He shrugs and looks at the ground, but I see his cheeks darken. “The lady at the store said this was the best blanket for picnicking.”
“The lady at the store?” He nods. “Why, Aiden Barnes, did you buy picnic stuff for our date tonight?”
The color on his cheeks darkens further. “I wanted to do something different than take you to a fancy restaurant. Google said a picnic is romantic.”
I giggle. He Googled romantic ideas for a date with me? I throw my arms around him. “I love—” I bite my tongue. I was not going to say I love him. I wasn’t. It’s way too soon. I’ve spent more time watching Lola hump Phoebe than I have with him. No, no, no. I can’t love him.
“I love it! Thank you,” I finally manage to say. Great cover, Hailey. Not noticeable at all. Before he can call me out on my fumble, I start pecking kisses all over his face.
He grabs hold of my cheeks. “You’re welcome,” he whispers before pressing his mouth to mine. I sigh and open to him. His tongue sneaks in, and I take the opportunity to suck on it. He groans and pulls away. “Let’s get this picnic set up before we get arrested for indecent exposure.”
I reach down to help him with the blanket, although I’d prefer to rip off his clothes and take my chances with the police. What’s the point of dating a cop if you can’t break a few laws?
I sit next to him and open the picnic basket to see what food he brought. I gasp when I see the contents. “This is not picnic food.”
“What? You don’t like barbeque? Your dad made it.”
I start pulling out containers. “I thought you’d have sandwiches, some chips, and some potato salad. Maybe fruit for dessert.”
“A pulled pork sandwich is still a sandwich,” he points out. “And there is potato salad as well as coleslaw.”
Why am I arguing about this? I must be an idiot.
“And there’s chocolate pudding for dessert.” I moan. Chocolate is way better than any fruit salad.
He grabs the plates and silverware embedded in the top of the picnic basket. I start piling food onto my plate. We sit close together and lean against a tree as we eat. The food is super yummy. Of course, it is. It comes from Pops’ kitchen.
There’s no need to talk as we eat and watch other people arrive. People-watching is one of my favorite things in the world. It’s probably why I’m good at my job. Being a PI means spending tons of time watching people, although I don’t always enjoy watching what my targets get up to. Can you say blech?
“I’m stuffed,” I moan and rub my tummy after we finish the food.
“I told you not to eat a second serving of potato salad.”
I gasp. “Are you kidding me? Carol makes her potato salad fresh every day. We can’t leave it sitting outside in the sun all evening. It would spoil. Talk about sacrilege.”
He chuckles as we pack up our picnic and gather the trash. “You want another beer?” He asks when he stands to go find a waste bin.
“Nah.” Between the food I gorged myself on and the two beers I drank, another beer would put me in a food coma and I don’t want to waste time in a coma when I’m with him.
When Aiden returns, we lay down on the blanket and stare at the blue sky. “Come here,” he says and pulls me until my head is cradled in his shoulder.
My body tingles as it comes into contact with his. I sigh and throw my arm over his waist. This is heaven.
“It sure is.”
Oh crap. I said those words out loud. My muscles pull tight and I debate making a run for it. He’s fast, but I’m sneaky. I could probably outfox him.
“Calm down. I agree with you,” Aiden says and kisses the top of my head.
I force my muscles to relax and cuddle close to him again.
The music starts and we lay there listening to the smooth notes of jazz as we gaze at the sky. I’m not exactly relaxed – not when my entire body is screaming at me to tear off his clothes and lick every single muscle on his body – but I am comfortable.
A jazz rendition of Just the Way You Are starts. I sigh. “I love this song.” When I was younger, I helped Pops ready the pub every day. He’d dial the music up loud and play hits from the 80s. One of his favorites was Billy Joel.
Aiden stands and holds out his hand. “Will you dance with me, Hailey McGraw?”