Vigilant

“I think I’ve been a little skittish since the armed robbery,” she confessed.

“Understandable,” he said. She loved the way his forehead creased in concern for her. “I really am sorry.”

Ari breathed in and smelled something yummy. She finally noticed the bag of food waiting on her desk. She peeked into the bag. “What’s this?”

“I knew if I asked you to meet me for lunch you would say you were too busy, so I brought lunch to you.”

“How did you know I would say that?” Calmer now, Ari sat in her desk chair and swiveled it to face him.

“Because when I called earlier, that’s what Rebecca said.”

Ari rolled her eyes. “Oh, did she?”

“She suggested I come here.”

“Uh huh,” Ari said. She opened the bag and pulled out two tacos wrapped in foil. “She happened to tell you that Taco Taco is my favorite place for lunch?”

“Possibly,” he said, with a satisfied grin.

“Thank you,” Ari said and handed him one of the tacos.

He bit into his lunch, attempting not to spill food all over his suit. Ari dug into the bag and gave him a handful of napkins. They ate in silence until he asked, “So how was your weekend?”

“Ugh, pretty good. Someone trashed my car.”

Nick frowned. “What? How?”

“Slashed my tires and keyed the sides. It’s in the shop today.”

“What the hell is going on with you, Ari? The armed robbery and now this? Do you think they’re connected?”

Ari shrugged. Nick didn’t know about Jace. “I’m sure it was just random. I don’t live in the most crime-free community, you know.”

They spent the rest of their lunch break talking about other things and finally Ari said, “I’m going to get in trouble if you hang around much longer.”

“I need to head back anyway,” he said, standing and taking his coat off the back of the chair. Nick really was quite handsome and Ari realized she enjoyed spending time with him. Two “dates” and things felt good between them.

“Let me walk you out,” Ari said, and they walked the maze of her office and past Rebecca who was eating her own Taco Taco lunch at her desk. Ari lifted an eyebrow as she walked by but Rebecca only smirked in return. They walked outside to the courtyard.

“So next time, the food is on me?” she suggested.

Nick gave her a sly smile. “Sounds good. Call you later?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

He leaned over and gave her a gentlemanly kiss on the cheek. Ari smiled when he gave her arm a gentle squeeze before he walked away.

“Bye,” she called.

Ari liked Nick. He was a great guy. Maybe a little straight-and-narrow for her taste but she knew it was time to grow up a little and find a stable guy. Not the type who entertained crowds with backflips in clubs. Plus, that would have been a major conflict of interest now that she and Mr. Davis worked together.

Rebecca pounced on Ari when she came in the door. “I can’t believe he came!” she exclaimed. “I mean, I told him to, but when he asked for my favorite taco I thought he was just joking around. Like, ‘ha ha, I like chicken salsa, extra cheese,’ you know? But then he showed up all windblown and hot and I just didn’t even know what to do, so I just sent him back to your office.”

Ari gave her an amused look. “Are you finished?”

“Not really,” Rebecca said. “Did you make plans for later? Did he kiss you on the cheek or the mouth? I couldn’t see from the window. And don’t even act like you aren’t into him. You should see your face.”

“What about my face?” But Ari knew. She felt the flush and had a hard time keeping the Nick-induced grin suppressed.