tossed the bags inside, closed the trunk and climbed in the passenger’s side. The interior was soft black leather and her seat was toasty warm.
She took off her gloves and held her hands in front of the heat vent.
“Where to?”
She told him her address, and how to get there, but as he pulled out of the lot he went in the opposite direction. “Hey, genius, my house is the other way.”
“I know. But dinner is this way.”
She blinked. “Who said anything about dinner?”
“I just did. If I don’t eat something soon I’ll go into hypoglycemic shock.”
“You really think I’m going to fall for that?”
His grin said that she didn’t have a whole lot of choice.
Damn it. She should have known better than to get in his car. But she was too exhausted to argue. She let her head fall back against the seat rest.
“You can’t tell me that you’re not hungry. I know for a fact that you didn’t get to eat your lunch.”
Of course she was hungry. She was starving, but he was the last person she wanted to be seen with in a social setting. The way gossip traveled in the town of Royal, people would have them engaged by the end of the week.
“No offense, but I really prefer that we not be seen together outside of work.”
“So, not only do you not date coworkers, but you don’t dine with them either? Is that why you always eat lunch alone?”
“That’s not why I eat alone, and no, I have nothing against dining with coworkers. It’s just something I don’t do often.”
“So then having a meal with me shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”
She was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that question. And as he pulled into the parking lot of the Royal Diner, the number one worst place to go when trying to avoid the prying eyes of the town gossips, she found herself wishing that she’d called a cab instead.
“I can’t risk someone seeing us and getting the wrong idea.”
“We’re just two colleagues sharing a meal while you wait for a tow. Not to mention that I’d like to talk about Janey. Bounce a few ideas off of you. Think of it as an offsite work meeting.”
Well, if it was a work meeting...
“Just this one time,” she said. “And I mean that.”
He grinned, shut the engine off and said, “Let’s go.”
Since he was the type of guy who would insist on opening a car door for a woman, she hopped out before he could get the chance. And when he reached past her to open the diner door, she grabbed it first. She didn’t want anyone getting even the slightest impression that this was a date.
The hostess showed them to a booth near the back. It was after eight so most of the dinner rush had already cleared out. Which could only be a good thing. “What would you two like to drink?”
“Decaf coffee,” Clare said.
“Make that two,” Parker told her.
“Enjoy your meal,” the hostess said, laying their menus on the table.
As they sat down Parker said, “See, it’s not so bad. There’s hardly anyone here.”
He was right. The subfreezing temperatures must have kept people inside tonight. But it would take only one nosy person to see them together and draw the wrong conclusion.
Their waitress, Emily, was someone Clare knew well. She often brought her autistic daughter to the free clinic on the weekends when Clare was volunteering, and her husband worked at the auto-repair shop. She set their coffees down and Clare didn’t miss the curious look as she said, “Hey, Clare, Dr. Reese. Looks cold out there.”
“So cold Clare’s car wouldn’t start,” Parker told her.
“Are you still driving that old thing?” Emily asked her.
“I know I need to get a new one,” she said, warming her hands with her coffee cup. “I just haven’t had time.”
“Do you know what you’d like to order or would you need a minute to look at the menu?”
“I know what I want,” Parker said, eyes on Clare. From his mischievous grin, Clare knew he wasn’t talking about the food.
“Caesar salad with the dressing on the side,” she told Emily.
“Would you like chicken on that?”
Would she ever, but she was only five pounds away from her high school weight and she wanted to hit that number by swimsuit season. “No chicken.”
“My usual,” Parker told Emily.
“One Caesar, one bacon cheeseburger and fries, comin’ right up.”
When she was gone Parker said, “She knows what car you drive?”
“Everyone around here knows what everyone drives.”
His brows knit together. “That’s weird.”
Not for Royal it wasn’t. “You’ve never lived in a small town, have you?”
“Nope. I’ve always lived in the city, but I like the slower pace. Though it has taken some getting used to.”
“You must eat here often if you have a usual,” Clare said.
“Several times a week at least, and sometimes I come in for breakfast.”
“You eat a burger and fries several times a week?”
“I’m a carnivore. I eat meat.”
“There’s this thing called vegetables...”
He shrugged, sipping his coffee. “Sometimes I order a side salad.”
He was a doctor, for God’s sake. He should have known better. “What do you have the other four days?”
“That depends on who I’m with,” he said, and his cheeky smile said that once again they were no longer talking about food. But she’d sort of walked into that one, hadn’t she?
Why did he have to be so damned adorable, with his stubbled chin and dark, rumpled hair? The soft waves begged to be combed back by her willing fingers and his hazel eyes smoldered, though they looked more whiskey-colored in this light. He’d loosened his lopsided tie and opened the top button on his dress shirt...
“Have you lived in Royal your whole life?” he asked her.
Jarred by the sudden change of subject, she realized she was staring
