“Why are you still single? You seem too good to be true, so I can’t believe I haven’t run into you before.”
“I spent most of my twenties trying to get my bakery off the ground, and when I finally did—”
“My ex-girlfriend wanted to open a bakery once.” He interrupted. “She said she wanted it to be for the both of us. We wanted to call it Two Toasted Hearts. How creative is that?”
I gave him a blank stare.
“Are you looking at me like that because you’re ready for me to invite you up to my place?” he asked. “After we talk for ten more minutes, I’ll happily show you exactly where my rabbits learned all their moves.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Wait right here.” He stood up from the table and walked over to the barista.
I pulled out my phone and sent Amy a text.
Me: Call me with an “emergency” as soon as you see this.
Me: Amy?
Me: AMYYYYYYY!!!!
No answer.
Carlton returned to the table with two new drinks, scrap paper, and a pen.
“Let’s play a little game,” he said. “I’ll say something I like in bed, and you’ll write it down.”
“How is that a game?”
“Shhh,” he said. “We’ll both win at this in the end.”
As he was tapping his chin, a whoosh of cold air blew in from the open café doors.
I looked over and saw Nathan walking inside, making the first woman in his line of sight blush all over. He scanned the room, stopping when he saw me. Raising his eyebrow, he looked between Carlton and me.
Unbuttoning his coat, he locked his blue gaze on mine, and I couldn’t help but think that the slow, deliberate way that he was undressing was intentional. Wearing his full navy-blue uniform, he looked even sexier than the last time we’d met.
“Your cheeks are red,” Carlton said. “Am I turning you on already?”
I didn’t respond. I kept staring at Nathan as he ordered a cup of coffee, as he clenched his jaw the moment Carlton rubbed my arm.
The moment he received his drink, he walked right over to us.
“My apologies for interrupting your afternoon,” he said. “I’m Officer Benson with CFPU. May I ask you two a few questions?”
“Of course, you can, Officer.” Carlton nodded. “What’s going on?”
“There was a robbery last night.”
“What? Where?”
“The tourist plaza,” he said. “A couple of men broke into The Wish Tree and stole a few things, but I managed to recover everything by this morning.”
“Impressive.” Carlton smiled. “But if you’ve already recovered everything, what exactly do you need our help with?”
“Well, one of the wish ornaments was too damaged for me to figure out who it belonged to, and I’d hate for this person to miss out on his or her chance to win ten thousand dollars. I figured some other residents would be able to help before I posted about it in the paper.”
“Well, here’s a real game for you, Christina.” Carlton leaned back in his seat. “I know a ton of people in Cedar Falls, so I’ll probably be able to guess who it belongs to. Detective Carlton Lewis and Detective Christina Ryan are at your service.”
“Good to know.” He pulled a glittery red envelope from his pocket, and I held back a sigh as I inhaled the scent of his addictive cologne.
“Wish Number One,” he said, looking at the notecard. “I want to finally meet a man who is worthy of my goddamn time, one who won’t look at me crazy when I tell him what I want in bed. And for the record, what I want is for him to devour my pussy for hours (sometimes without me asking), control my body with the strokes of his tongue, and beg me to come in his mouth.”
Oh. My. GOD!
I felt my entire body heating, felt every nerve running wild.
Get up and leave right now. Right now.
“Why would someone ever write a wish like that?” Carlton shook his head. “That is … That is absolutely filthy, and I’m saying that as the king of dirty talk. I don’t think I know anyone who would write a wish like that, Officer.”
“What about you, Miss Ryan?” He looked at me, his lips curving into a smirk. “Do you know anyone who may have written a wish like this?”
Son of a bitch … “No, and I’m not sure why anyone would break into The Wish Tree Plaza and steal some ornaments, let alone break them just to read people’s private thoughts. A real criminal would surely break into one of the actual stores instead.”
“Yeah.” Carlton scratched his head. “Isn’t there twenty-four-hour surveillance on the entire plaza?”
“The criminals did their due diligence in advance.” He smiled as he pulled out a chair and sat between us. “That’s why I’m focusing all of my attention on this far more important element of the investigation.” He looked at the card. “Wish Two. For once, I would like to be fucked out of my mind—so recklessly and passionately, that it takes me a while to recover. I also want it to happen someplace other than a bed, and I want it recorded, so I can watch it over and over again. I want the romance before all of this happens, of course.”