“Great. Excellent. We’ll take my truck.”
“No.” Chay spoke quickly. Everyone, including Bianca, looked at him. “No,” he said again with what he hoped was a smile. “If we go to the restaurant separately, you guys can go straight to your hotel afterwards. Besides, I, ah, I’m meeting Sanchez on the beach for a run in the morning. At zero dark hundred. I’ll probably want to call it a night before you do.”
He could tell that Tanner wasn’t buying the excuse, but Tanner was his blood brother. Blood brothers stood up for each other.
“Sure,” Tanner said. “That makes sense.”
It did, but what happened next sure as hell didn’t.
Tanner put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Ready to go, sweetheart?”
“Ready,” Alessandra said. “Bianca?”
The Tigress took a breath so deep it was audible.
“You two go ahead. I’ll ride with the lieutenant.”
Three heads swung toward her. Three pairs of eyes focused on her face.
“Really. I need the change.” Her smile was big and bright and, Chay knew, as phony as his had been a few seconds ago. “I’ve been riding in that truck for so long, I’m starting to think I need to buy cowboy boots.”
“Yeah,” Tanner said, “but—”
“Tanner?” Alessandra grabbed her husband’s arm. “Honey, I’m starving. You promised me a meal, remember?”
Her smile was as artificial as Bianca’s.
Tanner shot Chay a What in hell’s going on? look. Chay shot the same look right back at him.
“Lieutenant?” Bianca said. “Is that okay with you?”
What could he do except nod his head in agreement?
“Well,” Tanner said, “if everybody’s cool with the arrangements—”
“For heaven’s sake,” Alessandra hissed. She flashed another smile, slid her hand into her husband’s and all but dragged him toward the door.
Chay waited until they were out of sight. Then he turned towards Bianca.
“Kind of sudden,” he said, because why pull any punches now that they were alone? “Your change of heart.”
“I haven’t had a change of heart. Not about you, Lieutenant.”
“Then why ride with me instead of Tanner and your sister?”
“We were making them uncomfortable.”
Chay folded his arms over his chest. “Isn’t that a specialty of yours? Making people uncomfortable?”
Color stained her cheeks. “That’s quite a statement from a man who went out of his way to make me uncomfortable just a few minutes ago.”
“What are you talking about? I never…” The comment he’d made about knowing a way to remind her of the last time they’d met danced in his head. “Oh. That.”
“Yes. That.”
“Yeah, well, you can only push me so far.”
“I pushed you?”