Chapter 28
Fiona POV
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Nolan’s table is at least four tables away from ours, and his back is somewhat to us, so he doesn’t see me. I don’t know how to feel
about that, but when my eyes land on his date again, a sour feeling turns my stomach.
Are they really sleeping together like the news says, or are they just friends out for dinner? I want to ask, but I hook my feet
around the bottom of my chair to anchor myself. It would be ridiculous for me to go over to his table and ask.
We aren’t in a relationship. I have no say over who he sees or what he does.
Sighing, I turn my eyes back to the menu in front of me and try to listen to the story Billy is telling. He pauses every now and then
to see if I’m listening. He can probably tell that my attention is divided, but thankfully, he doesn’t comment on it.
“You know, you’d look pretty good in a hat,” Billy says, lifting his hat off his head and setting it on mine. I come back to my
senses as he grins. “Yep, looking like a proper cowgirl.”
The compliment has me paying more attention to his body language. The way he’s leaning in, smiling, and the way his eyes fall to my lips has me wondering if he likes me.
“Now, if I could get you out on the dance floor, I’d be able to see if you can move like a cowgirl,” he chuckles, and I laugh a bit too. He continues to flirt after we order our food, making it more obvious that he has a crush on me.
Despite the bad first impression, Billy is funny and considerate, ordering me more water when I finish mine, telling me jokes and stories about his detective adventures, and smiling broadly at me every chance he gets.
I’m comfortable around him even though he’s a bit odd and different than anyone I’ve ever come across. But no matter how sweet he is, I still find my eyes moving across the room to look at Nolan.
They keep straying over to his table before I have to force myself to bring my attention back to Billy. I can’t pine after Nolan. We’re from two different worlds. He and Tara are more suited for each other than he and I are.
When I look back at Billy, his pinched face makes me realize what I’ve done. I didn’t mean to ignore him, so I take a cleansing breath and ask, “What made you want to become a detective?”
“Oh, that’s easy. When I was in high school, there was a girl who went missing,” he says, resting his elbows on the table and leaning in. “She was one of the only people who’d ever been nice to me, on account that I dressed strangely, and I wanted to help find her. Everyone told me to leave it to the police, but I began digging through her social media and asking questions. It took me a few days, but I found a post she’d made that seemed suspicious, so I looked further into it.”
“What happened?”
“I found out that she’d been online dating, and she disappeared when she went to meet that online boyfriend,” he explains, and I nearly choke on my water.
Chapter 28
“Really?” Holy crap. That’s terrifying. “Did you find out who he was?”
Billy nods excitedly, leaning even further in. Out of curiosity, I lean in too, ignoring the half–eaten dinner on my plate.
“I took the information I found to a friend who is really good at hacking, and he tracked down the online boyfriend.”
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I hold my breath, waiting for him to keep going, but we’re interrupted by the waitress who asks if we want a bottle of wine. As she passes the menu to Billy, I balk at the high numbers. I want to refuse the wine because I certainly can’t afford it, but then Billy winks and orders a bottle that has a name that’s too fancy which I’m sure matches the high cost.
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