More, he’d given her a memory.
When they’d ordered, she propped her chin on her hand. Yes, things were different now, she thought. She was hardly embarrassed at all that she went gooey over him. “Did you buy this place?”
“No. Some things should remain constant. But we’re keeping an eye on it, in the event the owners decide to retire or sell off.”
So it could stay as it was, for her, she thought, even if years passed before she came back.
“It seems to be the day for people to give me presents. I’ve got one for you.”
“Really? What would it be?”
“There’s a cookie in my file bag—a really good cookie with your name on it. Figuratively.”
“What kind of cookie?”
She grinned at him. “Mega chocolate chunk. Nadine came by. It’s her own fault she got the bullpen used to being bribed with baked goods, but she comes through.”
“She wanted info on the investigation?”
“Actually no.” The beer came in bottles, which made it a much safer bet than the wine. Eve picked hers up when the waitress set it on the table. “She did say she’d had Bart on the show a couple times, and I think she might’ve pushed there if she hadn’t been so whacked.”
“Her book hits this week.”
“Exactly. And when were you going to remind me about this party deal tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow.” He smiled, sipped his beer. “Giving you less time to fuss and fret about having to go to a party when you’re deep into a case.”
“I don’t fuss and fret.”
“No, you bitch and complain, but it’s such a nice evening I used code.”
She eyed him over a swig of beer. There was no point in denying what was truth. “I suppose you’ve already decided what I’m wearing.”
“There woul
d be suitable attire earmarked, though naturally you might decide you’d prefer something else.” He brushed his hand lightly over the top of hers. “You could always go through your closet tonight and give it some thought.”
“Yeah, that’s going to happen. I have to go. I mean, if the case breaks I can work around it and put in an appearance.”
“If the case breaks, assuming you’re right about it being one of the three, you’d hardly be facing down a career criminal or fighting for your life. At the core of it, they’re still geeks.”
“One or more of them killed a fellow geek in a really creative and ugly way,” she reminded him. “But yeah, I think I can handle him, her, or them.”
“So tell me why you have to go, which is not your default statement when it comes to events like this.”
She blew out a breath as the pizza landed in front of them. “Because I meant it when I said Nadine was whacked. She’s got herself all wound up, wrapped up, twisted up about the book thing. How maybe it sucks and all that. Lack of confidence isn’t what you call her default setting either.”
“She put a lot into it, and it’s, for her, a new area.”
“I get it.” Eve shrugged with another sip of beer. “So I’ve got to at least show my face, do the moral support deal. Which is one of the annoyances of friendships.”
“There’s my girl.”
She laughed, picked up a slice, then took a bite. Closed her eyes. She could see herself, with absolute clarity, taking that first long-ago bite by the window while New York and all its possibilities rushed, pushed, and bitched along on the other side of the glass.
She opened them, smiled into the eyes of her friend, her lover, her partner. “It’s still damn good pizza.”
He’d been right, she thought as they walked outside again. The hour had cleared her head, settled her mood, geared her up for the next steps and stages.