I couldn't very well tell him. "It's nice here, isn't it?"
"Yes, but that's not what you were thinking about."
I smiled at him softly. "So, you're a human polygraph all of a sudden?"
He blushed slightly, something that I found charming. "There's nothing all of a sudden about it."
"Let me guess, you have the power to read people's thoughts."
I'd said it jokingly, but he simply nodded. "It comes from years of training, and experience working in the field. Some people call it good instincts, but I think it's trainable, and I've been honing my skills ever since I first became a cop."
I took a sip of wine, then I said, "What made you join the police force?"
He shrugged. "My dad was a cop, and his dad, too. It seemed like a natural thing to do."
I'd been watching his face, and it was obvious there was more to the story than he was willing to share. "But that's not the only reason, is it?"
Jake paused a moment or two, then he said, "I'm not the only one who can read people, am I?"
I laughed out loud at that. "And to think that I haven't had any training at all."
"What can I say? For some people, it's a natural gift."
"You didn't answer my question," I pressed him.
"No, I didn't, did I?" There was a twinkle in his eyes as he replied, but no further information was forthcoming, so I let it drop and focused on enjoying this rare treat, a night out with a man who wasn't just a friend marking time.
The salads were good, but nothing spectacular, but then our main courses came. My ravioli, white and pristine under a layer of lush red marinara sauce, looked just as good as it always did, but I had to admit, Jake's dinner looked good, too.
"Enjoy," Tianna said.
"We will," I replied.
Jake put some freshly grated parmesan cheese on his spaghetti, and I added a bit to my ravioli, as well. I didn't take a bite, though. I wanted to see what Jake thought of his meal. I knew Angelica and two of her other daughters were working the kitchen, creating their magic out of the most basic ingredients, and I wondered why the place wasn't even more popular than it was. I supposed too many people let the exterior fool them, and didn't dig deep enough to find the gem within.
Jake's face transformed as he took his first bite. His look of sheer pleasure had been worth delaying my own meal.
"This is incredible," he said. "I've been to Little Italy in New York, and I've never had anything this good."
"Angelica is a wizard with pasta," I said. It was time to take my first bite, as well. I cut one of the
hand-formed raviolis, dipped its exposed edge in sauce, then I took a bite. The cheeses inside, melted perfectly, exploded in my mouth, and the pasta shell, lightly enhanced by the marinara, danced across my tongue.
"That looks good," Jake admitted reluctantly.
"It's cruel, but I'm going to give you one bite, and one bite only," I said.
I grabbed a clean fork, speared one of the ravioli squares, and handed it to him.
As he ate it, I watched him savor the bite before he said, "Okay, I was wrong. Yours is even better than mine."
"Too bad, because that's all you're getting."
"I could always add some to my order," he said, smiling.
"If you do, you'll have to share it with me."
Jake said, "I admire that."
"What, my ability to eat?"
"No," he said, "your willingness to stuff yourself in front of me."
That generated a laugh he deserved. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's nothing coy about me. Mind if I snag a bite of yours?"
"I guess it's only fair," he said. I didn't know if he was feigning his reluctance, or if it was real, but I didn't care. He had to make up for my lost pasta he'd sampled. The spaghetti and meatball combination was good, but not as good as mine, I was happy to see.
"You really enjoy your food, don't you?" he asked.
"I do when I'm eating here. It makes a great change from donuts, not that I don't love them, too.
It's a constant battle between my waistline and my appetite."
"How'd you happen to get into the donut business?" he asked. "Is it a family tradition like mine?"
"No," I said with a smile. "I bought the place as a part of an overhaul of my life. I never had a bit of interest in donuts until the day I bought the shop."
"So, what was so bad about the way things were before?" he asked, his big brown eyes showing a real interest in what I had to say.
"I'd just gotten a divorce from my husband, and I'd moved back in with my mother. I had a job I didn't really like, and a bad taste in my mouth about the world. So I took my settlement--which I earned every penny of, believe me--and bought the shop."
"Do you mean that it was a donut shop before? Surely it wasn't called Donut Hearts then."
"No, it was Murphy's. I liked the idea of having my name in the title, though, so I added an 'e' and changed it to 'Hearts.' You wouldn't believe how many people come in expecting to find heart-shaped donuts."
"Could you do that? It might be a nice addition to what you're offering now."
"I've thought about it, but I've never looked into how much trouble it would be to make a donut cutter in the shape of a heart."
He took a sip of wine, then said, "I've got a brother in Hickory who's good with his hands. Should I ask him to take a stab at making you one?"
"No, thanks, but I appreciate the offer."
After a while, I noticed his pasta was gone. "How was your dinner?"
He smiled. "I have a new favorite restaurant. I just wish it wasn't so far from home."
"That's right," I said. "I keep forgetting that you live in Raleigh."
"That's where I get my mail," he said, "but I travel all over the state, so I'm not there as much as you might think."
"I guess we're getting too close to our forbidden topic," I said.
"I don't mind if you don't."
"Let's not, though. We've done so well all evening." The place was starting to fill up as Tianna presented the bill. Out of habit more than anything else, I reached for the check, but I was a second too late.
Jake took it and said, "You're not going to insist on paying, are you?"
"No, sir, you asked me out. I'd never dream of stealing that privilege from you."
He nodded. "Good. I guess if you go deep enough, I'm just an old-fashioned kind of guy."
I put my hand on his, and said, "Then you might not like this. I'd like to see you again, and since I'm asking, I should be the one who gets to pay the next time. Do you have a problem with that?"
He studied me a moment, then asked, "Which part? You asking me out, or the fact that you're insisting you'll pay?"
"Either one, I guess," I said with a smile.
As he took out his wallet, he said, "I'd love to go out with you again, and I've got no problem with you paying."
"That's two right answers in a row," I said.
Before we could leave, Angelica came out of the kitchen, and I marveled that the woman had four daughters in their late teens and early twenties. She was more my size than her daughters', but somehow, on her the pounds just added to her attractiveness, whereas I didn't think mine did anything for me at all.
After I made the introductions, Jake finally got his wish and received a warm hug from one of the DeAngelis women.
She broke free, then Angelica looked him straight in the eye. "You'll do."
Jake grinned. "I'm glad I passed the test."
Angelica said, "You passed it long ago. I've been watching you from the kitchen. I like a man who enjoys his food."
She dropped his hands and hugged me. "Suzanne, it's always so nice to see you. We must get together sometime."
"I just wish our schedules allowed it," I said. With my killer mornings, and Angelica's afternoons and evenings at her restaurant, it didn't allow us much free time that overlapped.
"One of these days, we'll make the time."
"Excuse me," I said as I nearly bumped into another couple on the way out of the restaurant.
"Pardon me," the woman said. The man with her was tall and swarthy, but I was willing to bet that when they were together, no one spent much time looking at him. She was drop-dead gorgeous, but there was something familiar about her. I knew we'd met before, especially when her pupils dilated upon
recognizing me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out who she was, but then it hit me once they were gone.
I grabbed Jake's arm and said, "That was Deb Jenkins. She's beautiful!"
"She's a little too flashy for my taste," Jake said.
"Come on, you've got to be kidding me. There's no way."
"No way what? I like my women more subdued in their appearance. Now, my brother always liked that type, but I think they're trying just a little too hard, don't you?"
"That's not what I meant, and besides, I saw your eyes light up, so save the snow job for somebody else. I can't believe that she could look as bad as she did when Grace and I spoke to her, at least not without a conscious effort."
"Maybe she just likes to get dressed up sometimes," Jake said. "She looked fine when I spoke to her."
"So, you admit that she's a suspect in the case?"
Jake stopped in the middle of the sidewalk outside the restaurant. "Suzanne, I'm doing my best to ignore the fact that you and your friends are interfering with my ongoing investigation. Don't make it any harder on me, okay?"
"Fine, we won't talk about it," I said.
But that didn't mean I couldn't think about it. Reconciling the Deb that Grace and I had met with this glammed-up version was too much to take. I knew some women who let themselves go when they were by themselves, but never to that extent.
She'd been purposely trying to throw us off her trail, which meant she had something to hide.
And who was that man she'd been with? For someone supposedly still in grief over the death of her paramour, she'd rebounded awfully fast.
There was a distinct chill in the early evening air as we walked back to Jake's car. I tried to put all thoughts of Deb out of my mind and enjoy the evening. It had been just about perfect. I'd nearly forgotten how good it felt to be out on a date again, and I realized that I was hoping we could have the second one soon.
I couldn't believe it, but I actually felt butterflies starting to flit around in my stomach as I contemplated the first good-night kiss I'd gotten in a long time.
Then I sensed Jake tense beside me.
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't speak, just pointed to the tires of his car. All four were flat against the ground.
"Could all of them have gone flat all at once?" I asked.
Jake said, "I can't imagine it happening," as he leaned down to check.
When he stood back up, he said, "This was no coincidence, someone did it deliberately."
"Do you mean that somebody slashed your tires?"
He shook his head. "No, the rubber looks fine." Jake held a small black cap up to me. "They let the air out of all four tires, though. I'll call a garage to come take care of this."
As he made his calls, first to Information, and then to the garage, I kept wondering who might have done it.
Once he hung up, he said, "It's going to be a few
minutes. Would you like to go back inside the restaurant while we wait?"
"And explain what happened to Angelica? She'll feel responsible, I know her. No, if you don't mind, I'd rather just wait out here with you."
I didn't want to say what I was thinking, but I couldn't help myself. "I think I know who did this."
"It was probably just kids out making mischief," he said.
I looked at some other cars parked near us. "And they just happened to target you? I don't think so."
"Then who did you have in mind?"
I admitted, "As we were driving through April Springs, I saw my ex-husband, and more importantly, he saw me."
Jake shook his head. "I can't see a grown man doing this."
"Then you don't know Max. Jake, I'm sorry this has spoiled our evening."
He surprised me by taking my hand. "Suzanne, it doesn't have to. Let's not worry about why it happened. I don't want the evening ruined, either. It's been quite a while since I've felt like this."
He was going to kiss me, and I was more than happy about the prospect, when a pair of bright headlights pinned us in the darkness.
An overweight driver in greasy overalls got out of the tow truck's cab.
"I was just around the corner," he said.
Lucky me, I thought.
He studied the deflated tires, then said, "I've got a tank of compressed air here. I'll have you on the road in no time."
As the tow truck operator filled the tires, I kept looking at Jake, hoping that what I'd seen in him hadn't been a mistake. He'd been leaning in toward me to kiss me, I knew it.
But that's where it had ended. I couldn't help wondering if he'd try again once we got back to my place, and I'm afraid my conversation skills suffered a little because of the suspense.
But I never found out.
As Jake walked me up the sidewalk to my house, I saw a figure looming on the porch.
If the killer had decided to come after me, he'd picked the wrong time to do it.
I had a state police escort with me, and I was suddenly very glad that I'd agreed to have dinner with Jake after all.
"Hang back a second," Jake said, as he pulled a gun from under his jacket. I hadn't even realized he'd been armed during our entire date.
"Come out of the shadows," he barked.
