heat flowed through his veins, as if someone had removed the blood and replaced it with lava instead. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “I hope I’ll get to know you better another time.”
“You know enough for now,” Dot said. “He’s been tormenting me about the men I date my entire life.”
“Someone has to watch out for you, Dot,” Tyson said with a chuckle. His eyes danced with delight as he met Ward’s again. “You two have fun.”
Ward tipped his hat at the man and finally moved to follow Dot. She wove through a couple of parked cars before arriving free of them so they could walk side-by-side. She said nothing, and questions piled up behind Ward’s tongue.
“How long has he lived in town?” he asked, thinking he’d seen him at Ida and Brady’s wedding.
“Same as me,” she said. “He got appointed to the Three Rivers Police force as their Deputy Chief six years ago.” She glanced up at him, her silver blonde hair swinging as she then reached forward to open the door.
Ward’s manners had failed him, but his mind still reeled from so much new information. “Does your sister live here too? How old is she?”
“She lives in Amarillo,” Dot said. “Kassie’s thirty-five and married. They have an eight-month-old baby.” She smiled then, and Ward sure did like the way it filled her face with joy and light. He’d seen that gesture without those emotions too, and Dot had a wicked sarcastic smile that made his stomach quiver.
“Any other secret siblings I should know about?” he asked as he held the door for her to enter. “Secret diseases? Anything like that?”
Dot filled the doorway but didn’t go inside. Her eyes widened, and Ward’s heart kicked out an extra beat. “I lied earlier,” she blurted out.
He settled his weight on his back leg, shifting away from her. “About what?”
“Can we get a table first?” She turned away from him and walked inside the restaurant. He let her hand slip away, frowning at the way she got to dictate everything.
“She lied to you,” he grumbled to himself, thinking of the text that had semi-ended things between them weeks ago. That had been a lie too. Was he opening a chamber in his heart that she’d completely destroy?
Still, he followed her, because she’d left a wake of flowery perfume that made his male hormones fire like they never had before. He remembered the way she’d kissed him back, and the touch of her lips against his had initiated an entire fireworks show that was still exploding through his body.
Plenty of spark there, that was for dang sure.
She stood at the hostess station, and she glanced at him as he joined her. They didn’t speak as they followed the woman to an intimate booth in the corner with windows on two sides and a circular table with a curved bench that went around it.
Dot slid in first and sat with her back to the corner. Ward entered the booth on the other side and moved all the way around to sit directly beside her. He took the menu and pretended to study it while the hostess said Marc would be their waiter.
“Thanks, Bentley,” he said.
“Are you gonna need any seasonal help this winter?” she asked, leaning her hip against the tall side of the booth’s seat.
“Always,” Ward said, smiling at the woman. “You want me to call you?”
“For anything,” she said, returning his grin. “I think I showed you I can handle the work.”
“That you did,” he said. “I’ll be sure to put your name on my list.”
She nodded and turned to leave. She nearly hit the man approaching the table, and he looked at her with a massive smile and stars in his eyes. Ward had great vision, and he could see something going on between Bentley and Marc.
“What was that about?” Dot asked, but Marc had arrived at the table.
He tossed down two cardboard drink coasters and said, “I’m Marc, and I’ll be helping you out tonight. Anything to drink? Have you had a chance to look at our appetizers?”
Ward had eaten at Small Plates several times, as the women he’d gone out with sure seemed to like it. He could admit he did too, because it was fun to sample lots of different things with just a bite or two.
“I want the biggest Diet Coke you can bring me,” Ward said. “Lots of ice.” He looked at Dot, who wore a line between her eyebrows. “What?”
“Nothing.” She buried her