“Thank you for dinner,” he said in return. “It’s not that late. How about a nightcap?”
Keeping the evening going a bit longer would be oh so nice, but the only places open at this hour would be one of the pubs, and that would dash my little bubble of the perfect evening. We’d most certainly run into people I knew, and I didn’t want to tarnish this memory by cluttering it up with other locals. The lights from Main Street shone on us as I turned toward him and shook my head.
“Wish I could, but it’s a school night.”
“You’re not a teacher anymore.”
“I know, but I’m the mayor. I can’t be seen cavorting with strange men at all hours of the evening.”
He chuckled and said, “It’s not even eleven o’clock.”
“I know, but they fold the streets up at midnight. You’re not in Chicago anymore, Mr. Walker. And I do have an early meeting tomorrow with some of the store owners. They have a list of demands they’ve been dying to present me with, and I have some prep work to do before that happens.”
His sigh was big and sad, although not very convincing. He’d survive. “A mayor’s work is never done, huh? Too bad. Another time, then.”
We stood for an awkward second, and the undercurrent of attraction nearly pulled me closer. I let myself believe he was feeling it, too, but a foghorn sounded out in the distance, spoiling the moment.
“Another time,” I said.
He smiled. “Okay, this is where we would normally get in a car, and I’d drive you home. Or you’d get in your own car and drive yourself home. What’s the protocol here? Do I walk you?”
I laughed. “Not necessary. I rode my bike.”
“You rode a bike? That’s adorable.”
“That’s how we do things around here.”
He shook his head. “Damn, I wish I had a horse tied up nearby so I could do one of those running and jumping and landing in the saddle moves.”
I bit back a smile. “Is that something you know how to do? Because I’m picturing it right now, and I have to be honest. In my mind, you don’t actually make it onto the horse.”
His laughter rang out, followed by mine. A nice blending of sounds in an otherwise still night. “No, I can’t say I’ve done that, but I’d be willing to give it a try. I’m not above making a fool of myself to impress a girl.”
I fluttered inside. Again. “Well, consider me impressed. Good night, Leo.”
“Good night, Mayor Callaghan. Pedal safely.”
Chapter 8
“I have a problem, and I need the two of you to take care of it.” Gigi plopped her big red leather purse down on the pink laminate table at Link & Patty’s Breakfast Buffet, where my dad and I were having breakfast. I’d called him after my early meeting and invited him to join me so I could fill him in on everything Dmitri had said about the jewel thief staying at the Imperial Hotel. He was as dubious about the whole story as I’d been.
“Didn’t you always teach me to take care of my own problems?” Harlan said to Gigi, stabbing at a piece of ham without even looking over at her as she slid in next to him.
“Don’t talk back to your mother, dear. No one likes a wiseass. And all I need is one tiny favor. I need you two to push something through lickety-split with the city council.”
I took her purse off the table and set it on the seat next to me. “If there’s something you need, we can ask, Gigi, but we can’t do something for you that we wouldn’t do for other members of the community. That wouldn’t be right.”
She caught Patty’s eye and pointed at my coffee cup, indicating she wanted some of the same. Patty nodded as Gigi looked back to me and said, “Oh, please. Every person on that city council has done favors for people, and what good is it for me if I have a son who is the chief of police and a granddaughter who is the mayor, if I can’t get a special favor once in a while? I can’t believe you two call yourselves politicians, and anyway, this is a very unique set of circumstances.”
Harlan’s expression remained dour. “I have never once called myself a politician.”
“What is it you need, Gigi?” I asked, sensing this conversation could wander off in a multitude of useless directions.