bright and lively, painted in pinks and greens with light maple colored tables and chairs. Orders were placed at the counter and delivered to the table, but with the waitstaff starting to get overtaxed by the influx of customers, Declan and Levi decided to wait for the rest of their meal where the kitchen expediter was grouping the orders by number.
When the men returned with a tray of food and drinks, Declan held out a tall glass of a milky white shake with a cherry on top. “Lychee shaved ice?”
Emma raised her arm and was promptly handed her order.
“Mango’s yours,” Declan put the yellow drink beside Gabby. He distributed a few more dishes. Their table ordered a ton of food.
Gabby thanked him through a mouthful of rice and laughed when grains nearly fell from her mouth.
“Don’t you know it’s not polite to talk and eat at the same time?” Declan teased, settling into the seat beside her.
“Clearly you’ve never been a detective,” Gabby told him after she gulped down the rest in her mouth. “You take and make calls in the middle of your lunch hour which is frequently late. You never know when that one call can blow the investigation wide open.” She shrugged. “I’m not usually this unrefined. Just so happens the food is too good.” She took another hearty bite, just to make a point. She chewed more slowly, but her jaw hurt in an effort not to laugh.
Declan chuckled and nudged her with his shoulder. “Just teasing, Angel.”
“They’re so sweet!” Emma gushed as she bumped Theo with her shoulder, who promptly rolled his eyes.
Gabby’s face heated to the roots of her hair, and it had nothing to do with the kimchi in her fried rice.
“Barf,” Theo muttered, but the corners of his mouth lifted.
She glanced at Declan who had his chopsticks ready to lift a pork belly dumpling out of its milky broth when her own chopsticks made its way to his bowl.
“Ooh, let me try,” Gabby said.
Declan’s chopsticks blocked hers from impinging on his dish. “Nope.”
Gabby gave a mock gasp and turned to the two teens. “Is this what you’re calling sweet?”
“Aw, Dec,” Emma said. “Don’t burst my bubble now.”
The man beside her chuckled and picked up a dumpling and held it out to Gabby. “Is this better?”
Everyone exploded in laughter, but Gabby didn’t waste any time, snatching the tasty morsel with her mouth. “I should have ordered this too,” she said after savoring it with purposeful bites. “Wanna swap?” She waggled her brows.
Declan lowered his chopsticks and sat back in his chair, eyeing her with a not so PG stare. “What’s in it for me?”
Kelso coughed. “Minors in the house.”
“Yeah,” Levi muttered.
“You two are just jealous,” Declan told them, then turning back to Gabby, he asked, “Sure you want this?” He motioned to his bowl.
“Nah.” Gabby winked at him. “Just testing if you l—” she caught herself. She was about to say love. Her face was probably bright red by now. “L-like me more. Me or food?” she finished, giving her attention back to her fried rice.
Kelso cleared his throat again.
Suddenly, she felt a warm breath by her ear. “Well, in case you change your answer, Angel, we can talk about it later at home.”
Declan kissed her temple before finally starting on his meal.
“So,” Gabby said brightly in an attempt to quell the heat that rose between her and Declan. How could that man turn a conversation about dumplings into sex? It wasn’t sex, it was something more. “You all said you took a video of Theo’s fight scene.”
Emma held up her phone and handed it to Gabby.
And with that, the subject was changed.
“I’m such a dork,” Gabby announced when she climbed into the SUV beside Kelso, leaving the others in the restaurant to check out more desserts. Interestingly enough, Theo and Emma didn’t get mobbed. Most of the patrons were the regular LA crowd, not the tourists who were the typical autograph seekers.
“Seems like Roarke’s got your number.”
“He’s just …” She couldn’t put it into words. “He just keeps me on my toes and throws out unexpected innuendos.”
Kelso pulled into traffic and gave a brief snort. “Innuendo? I think you’re past innuendos, partner. That man has branded you as his. Besides, I thought you guys picked up where you left off.”
“Well, not exactly,” Gabby said. “And I’m not a cow to be branded.”
She never got around to having that profound conversation with Declan, partly because after the captain’s funeral there was a shakeup