I smiled and reminded him, “I just did, like three times.”

Chace Keaton did not smile.

So I stopped smiling then started quietly to say, “I think you now that I know –”

Chace interrupted me. “Do me a favor, Lexie, and don’t talk about it.”

I shut my mouth.

“Move on,” he stated. “It’s a small town but big enough that you and Walker can go your way, I’ll go mine.”

“I can’t do that.”

He dropped his pen, sat back and lost what I suspected was one of his many cop faces, this one was carefully composed to look polite, mildly interested but mostly detached and communicating the minute you were done with him, he’d move on and not think about you again. What came up was impatient and annoyed which I suspected was not a cop face.

“Why?” he asked.

I leaned forward and explained, “Because I have a husband whose power was stripped from him and I lived a life that offered limited choices and the ones it offered weren’t very good so I kinda know what you’re going through.”

“You have no clue.”

“I do.”

He leaned forward too. “All right, Lexie, then how’s this? No offense, but I don’t give a f**k if you do.”

To that, I informed him, “She was staring at you.”

He did a slow blink at the change in subject, the anger that had edged into his annoyed impatience changed to mystification and he asked, “What?”

“Faye Goodknight,” I answered and then I got surprise then more than an edge of anger.

“Don’t even –” he began but I cut him off.

“My guess? Romance novels. My guess? She started reading them early. My guess? She started them at a time where they made a huge impression on her and changed her perceptions. She isn’t cocooned, she pays attention and she knows there are no men out there like the men in those books she reads so she prefers being with them than trying to find someone like them which, she thinks, is a fruitless endeavor. That fantasy is far better than any reality and, you know what? She’s right. Men are a pain in the ass and a lot of them are dicks who cause heartbreak. And her, a girl life Faye? Well, she knows she’s the kind of girl men like that will chew up and spit out. So she’s smart and she’s not going to go there. But you know something else? Lady Luck can sometimes be generous to people who deserve it and right in her hometown is a man who she doesn’t know but he gave up everything to look after his father but what she does know is he was brave enough to put his ass out there to save an entire… fucking… town. And, bonus, he’s hot, dresses nice and has a great body. So don’t piss away your life, Detective Keaton, because I learned, no matter how shitty it is, no matter how many times you got slapped back, no matter how much that shit stings, you have to keep reaching for what you want. Never give up. If you don’t, you’ll find happiness. I know. I got slapped back so many times it isn’t funny. Now I’m in love and pregnant and the sun shines on me all the time. Even when I’m asleep. If you don’t give up and keep reaching, you can feel that sunshine too. But better than that, you ask her out and find out she’s the one, you can give her that sunshine and she’ll make sure you’ll never regret you did it.”

He stared at me without a word.

Well, there you go. I didn’t get through but at least I tried.

It was time to cut my losses.

I turned my head and shouted, “Poppy!” which got her attention as anyone would, shouting across a diner so I shouted again, “Take that back, it’s going to be takeaway.”

“No it isn’t, Poppy,” Chace called after me and my head shot around to look at him. “Serve Lexie’s lunch here.”

“You got it, Chace,” Poppy shouted back.

Chace looked at me. “Sit. Eat your lunch. But please, f**k, no more life lectures. Can you do that for me?”

I grinned and said, “Sure.”

He stared at me. Then he shook his head.

Then he went back to scribbling on his paper.

I watched.

Then I asked, “So, are you gonna ask Faye out?”

His neck bent so just his head tipped back and he skewered me with his blue eyes.

“Okay, okay,” I muttered. “Yeesh.”

He looked back at his papers and kept scribbling.

Poppy served my cheeseburger, curly fries and diet at the table.

I squirted an enormous mound of ketchup on my plate while commenting, “By the way, you’re hot but you’re super hot when you get angry.”

His neck bent so his head tipped back again and he scowled at me.

“Just sayin’,” I muttered, digging a fry into my ketchup, popping it into my mouth and deciding against telling him his scowl proved my point.

I continued to do this and after I picked up my burger and took a big bite, Chace spoke and he did this to his papers.

“Walker gonna lose his mind, find me and rip my head off when he finds out you were sittin’ here with me?”

“Nope,” I said through half-munched burger.

His neck bent and head tipped back again. “Nope?”

I shook my head, swallowed and grinned. “Well, he might not invite you to our child’s christening but, like me, he’s grateful for what you did. If you’re not thinking that and instead thinking he’s jealous, nope again. You’re not my type. I’m not into blonds. But you know who is?” I asked.

“Lex –” he started.

I finished quickly, “Faye Goodknight.”

He sat back again but this time his eyes rolled to the ceiling.

“You do know I’m on a mission,” I informed him then took another bite of burger.

His eyes came back to me.

I chewed, swallowed and explained, “When women get all loved up, they do this. They want to spread the joy.”

He just stared at me.

“They get obsessed with it,” I went on.

Chace sighed.

“So you should probably just give in,” I finished.

He shook his head then bent it back to his papers again but I could swear he did it while his lips twitched.

Good.

I finished my lunch in silence while Chace Keaton scribbled and moved papers around and studied some photos and scribbled some more. When I was done, I opened my purse, pulled out money to cover my lunch and the tip and tucked it under my plate.

Then I announced, “Well! Off to get a library card. See you later, Chace.”