Freaks in the City (27 page)

“Gio still talks about that ‘lovely boy” who
took my shifts and asks why I haven’t snapped you up. ‘Such a hard
worker. So polite. Such a good-looking boy.’ It’s nauseating.”

“So that’s a yes.” Tyler crossed his
fingers.

There was a pause—probably while she checked
the reservations. “I’ll squeeze you in at eight forty-five—there’s
a couple of regulars booked in at six but they’ll be gone by eight
thirty max. And with any luck, perhaps seeing you with the
‘something that just came up’ will finally get Gio off my
case.”

“You’re the best, Toni. And please thank Gio
for me, too.”

“You can do that yourself,’ she said, and
disconnected.

Tyler ducked back inside and beckoned Jay to
follow him. As they exited the café he said, “I’ve booked a table
for eight forty-five. Not too late I hope?”

“You know I don’t mind late nights.”

Tyler glanced at the time on his cell phone
before shoving it back in his pocket. “Want to introduce me to
Allen?”

She surprised him by saying, “Not
particularly.”

“How come?”

A crease appeared between her brows. “I…
don’t know, exactly. But the thought of introducing you to him
makes me feel… uncomfortable.”

That made him stop and think. Jay had never
intruded on his work life. Sure, she’d been to a few performances
at the auditorium when he’d been rostered on, but she’d never
suggested he introduce her to his supervisor. She might know more
about him than any other person save his parents and his sister,
but she gave him at least the illusion of having a part of his life
that was completely separate from her. Perhaps this deliberate
distance she had given him was similar to what she felt she needed
now… only she couldn’t formulate it clearly.

“It’s probably be a bit awkward, me seeing
naked drawings of my girlfriend and talking to one of the guys
who’s been drawing them—a guy who also happens to be your boss.
Might change the dynamic of your working relationship.”

The frown relaxed into smoothness. “Yes.
That’s exactly it. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No. Well, the artist in me is disappointed
because I’d love to check out their work. But I’ll get over
it.”

She took his hand and squeezed it. “Thank
you. Perhaps later I may feel differently.”

“No drama either way,” he assured her. “So
whaddya feel like doing now?”

She peeked up at him from beneath her
lashes. “I’d like to go for a walk in the park. In all the months
I’ve lived here, we’ve never done that.”

“You’ve jogged through it plenty of
times.”

“Yes, but it’s not the same as walking
through it with someone you care about. I believe I’ll see
everything in a different light while I’m with you.”

Tyler pressed a kiss to her temple. God. She
was beautiful inside and out. No one who knew her like he did could
ever believe she was soulless.

~~~

Tyler shifted his weight from foot to foot
and glanced at his watch. Again. If she didn’t get a move on they’d
be late and Toni would be POed. Perhaps even POed enough to give
away their table. Jay didn’t primp and preen and angst over
lipstick shades like other girls. What the heck could be taking her
so long?

And then she materialized in the stairwell
and his brain went AWOL and all he could do was stare. She had on
this short, silky, deep blue number that made her look like some
sexy Roman goddess… whose handmaidens had run out of material for
her dress so they’d hemmed it mid-thigh.

Wow. Just…. Wow.

And then his gaze slid down to her feet
and—

Wait a minute. Were those—?

Yep. And he had to cross his eyes and bite
his lips so he didn’t commit the mortal sin of offending her by
laughing. Because his goddess wore black Nike street sneakers with
a discreet pink swoosh. Apparently whoever had talked her into
buying the dress—his money was on Nessa—hadn’t thought to suggest
suitable shoes. Oops.

“Am I overdressed?” Jay’s anxious voice
pulled his gaze to hers. “Perhaps that is a ridiculous question
considering how little there is to this particular piece of
clothing.” She tugged the hem of the dress out to the side and let
it float back down. “I’m not certain about the footwear but my
boots didn’t appear to flatter the outfit, and these are the least
worn-looking sneakers I own.”

“No, they’re perfect.” She was perfect. If
she’d swanned down in super-high heels, looking perfectly put
together, he’d have been overwhelmed. This? This was so very Jay.
Beautiful but quirky.

He loved it.

He held out a hand and she ran the rest of
the way down the stairs. “C’mon he said,” his voice gruff because
damn, he was one lucky guy.

~~~

Jay leaned back in her seat and watched Tyler
polish off the last piece of
mandorlata
, homemade almond
crunch, that had been served with their coffees.

“Bel Cibo.” It rolled off her tongue, as
delightful and delicious as the food they’d been served. They’d
started with
antipasto miso
, a variety of tasty appetizers.
Then had come
primo
, the first course of pasta, soup, or
rice dishes. She had chosen
Brodo con Popettine di
Carne
—Meatball Soup—while Tyler opted for
Matriciana
, a
pasta dish with onion, bacon, ripe tomatoes and a dash of chili.
For
secondo
, the second course, they’d both gone with
Osso Buco
, tender, slow cooked veal shanks served with
Risotto Milanese
. And
dolce
, the dessert course, had
been
Zuccotto
, a special dessert from Florence that was said
to resemble the dome of the Duomo, Florence’s famous church.

After a meal such as this, humans would say
something like, “I couldn’t eat possibly eat another thing for at
least a week!” Jay suspected she wouldn’t
need
to eat for at
least a month. It was just as well she could muster a hearty
appetite when needs be. At least Gio, the matriarch who ruled this
restaurant, wouldn’t be displeased by Jay leaving uneaten food on
her plates.

Jay had been conscious of Tyler’s liking for
Gio the instant the woman had greeted him by taking him by the
shoulders and planting a kiss on both cheeks. So she’d worked hard
to earn Gio’s approval—no easy thing when the woman had obviously
harbored fond thoughts of Tyler and Toni as a couple. Jay thought
conversing with Gio in fluent Italian might have helped smooth the
way.

Tyler’s friend Toni, who’d taken it upon
herself to serve their table tonight, wandered over to check on
them. “How’re you both going? Was everything to your taste?”

“Everything was delicious,” Jay told her.
“I’ve never eaten such a wonderful meal in my life. And believe me,
I’ve eaten some very fine meals.”

“Superb, Toni,” Tyler said. “Angiolo outdid
himself.”

Toni beamed. “He’ll be rapt to hear that.
Would you like anything else?”

Tyler glanced at Jay, who shook her head.
“No thanks,” he told Toni. “It’ll be all we can do to waddle home
after all this. Can I have the check, please?”

Toni returned a few minutes later with the
check, and Tyler gave it a cursory once-over before handing her his
credit card. He glanced sideways at Jay, as if daring her to say
anything.

She knew better than to protest. If Tyler
insisted on paying for their meal, she wasn’t going to embarrass
him by arguing. But she did issue a challenge of her own. “I’m
handling the tip, if that’s okay with you?”

“I’m all for equality,” he said.

Jay made small talk with Toni, and when
Tyler excused himself to go to the bathroom, she fished out the
fifty dollar note she’d tucked into her bra and slipped it to Toni.
“Thank you for squeezing us in at the last minute and helping make
this such a special night.”

“You’re welcome, Toni said. And then glanced
at the banknote and did a classic human double-take. Her eyes went
round as she tucked it in her apron pocket.

Jay smiled. “Please. It’s the least I can do
after tonight. And your service was exemplary.”

“Well, thanks! And Jay?”

“Yes?”

“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.
You’re good for Tyler. Even Gio thinks so. She also said any girl
who could rock sneakers with a dress like that, and enjoys her food
as much as you do, has her stamp of approval.”

Jay had noticed Gio’s startled reaction to
her footwear—and the smiles of some of the other patrons as Gio had
shown them to their table. “She didn’t exactly say it quite like
that, though, did she.”

“Nope. Not quite.” Toni winked as she headed
off to see to another table.

Jay’s phone chimed with an incoming
text.

It was from Nessa.
guess who I met at
work today?

Jay texted back,
No idea.

tyler’s roommate.

Mmm. Interesting.
Chandler or Pete?
Jay was betting on Chandler. Café Au Lait didn’t seem like Pete’s
cup of coffee.

chandler. he’s giving me a lift home.

Thanks for letting me know.
One less
problem to be concerned about. Nessa and Chandler. Hmmm. It would
make for an interesting pairing.

Jay intercepted Tyler as he left the
bathroom, and after saying their goodbyes to Gio, and receiving the
obligatory kisses on cheeks and pleas to come again, they exited
the restaurant. It was pushing midnight. A taxi would be prudent.
But Tyler had made it quite clear that he was in charge of this
date, and Jay was happy to walk because she didn’t want the evening
to end.

Tyler slung his arm about her waist as they
strolled along the footpath. “So how was your first date?”

“Wonderful.”

“Good.” His body language radiated pleased
smugness.

They walked in silence for a while, neither
feeling the need to ruin the evening with needless chatter. It was
a good silence, the warmly contented kind that couples who were in
sync with each other frequently enjoyed. They didn’t need to speak.
They showed their affection with occasional glances, secret smiles,
and small but meaningful gestures. Such as when Tyler tucked her in
close to his side to protect her from the breeze that had whipped
up, even though it wouldn’t affect her in the slightest.

It was the acrid combination of sweat and
fear and excitement oozing from his pores to soak into his clothes
that brought the man to her attention. And with her enhanced vision
it was easy to spot him lurking in the shadows beside the Dumpster
that served the large stationery and office supplies store they
were approaching.

Interesting. This was an affluent area of
town with a solid police presence. Late-night muggings were rare
occurrences, but given the current economic climate, perhaps not
unexpected. Of course this could be something else entirely.

She nuzzled Tyler’s ear and whispered a
warning. “We have a mugger.”

Tyler tensed but didn’t break his stride.
“Shit, “ he muttered. “You sure that’s all he is?”

There was little point worrying Tyler with
baseless suspicions. She skirted an outright lie by saying, “He’s
an amateur—an opportunist. Sixer is a professional.”

“Okay, I’ll buy that. What do you want me to
do?”

It felt as though her heart was swelling in
her chest. He trusted her to handle this situation, had implicit
faith she could do so without either of them coming to harm. And
she
would
handle this. “You’re going to tie your shoelace.
I’m going to keep walking.”

He squeezed her hand. “Don’t hurt him too
bad.”

“I won’t.”

He did exactly as she’d asked, and stooped
to fiddle with his shoelace. Jay strolled a little way further and
then turned to glance over her shoulder at him. “Hurry up! I’m
freezing.”

He picked up on her cue. “Shit. The lace is
in a knot. You go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Jay detected the rustle of clothing rubbing
against a hard surface as the mugger positioned himself to leap out
at her. A more experienced felon would have let her pass and snuck
up on her from behind. Too, he would have noticed she carried no
purse or bag of any kind, and was hardly a “catch”. Definitely an
amateur.

Jay scanned the vicinity for any electronic
surveillance that would force her to moderate her reactions. She
had no desire to be caught on camera again.

Fortunately, because this suburb suffered
little in the way of crime, there were no CCTV cameras in
operation. There was, however, a surveillance camera positioned out
front of the store. She identified it, ran the specs through her
databases, and concluded it was an inferior model with limited
range. Barring passing cars or late-night pedestrians, she could
act at will.

He jumped out at her, waving a knife that,
while it looked impressive, would be useless for throwing. He
opened his mouth, presumably to say something pithy like, “Give me
your purse,” and then he frowned.

“Would it make you feel better if I shrieked
a bit and pretended to look scared?” she asked him.

He stared at her, momentarily nonplussed,
and then waved his knife in what he doubtless believed was a
menacing fashion. Jay folded her arms across her chest and waited
for him to realize she had nothing worth stealing save for the
clothes on her back and the thumb drive on the chain around her
neck. She’d give up her clothes without a blink. The thumb drive
was another matter entirely.

Finally he mustered a growl. “Shut up. And
tell your boyfriend, if he knows what’s good for you he’ll stay
right where he is.”

“Or?”

“Who’s that you’re talking to?” Tyler
called.

“Oh, just a friend,” she called back without
taking her gaze from her attacker’s face. “You go on without me.
I’ll catch up with you shortly.”

“Smart thinking, girly,” the man said.
“’Cept I might want your boyfriend to empty his pockets before he
heads off.”