Page 89 of Perfection

He concentrated on getting the food on the table.

Every part of him was aware of her as he sat across from her at the counter. He heard each clink of a fork against the plate as they ate the deep-dish pizza. “What else did you do besides sailing?”

“You don’t have to entertain me, you know.”

“Food is the complement of conversation.” He flashed a smile.

“Are you quoting a very wise person or something?”

“Yeah.” He snorted. “Me.”

She laughed, a soft warble from deep in her throat. The sound made him want to draw her into his arms. He had to look away.

“Is police work demanding?” she asked, taking over the questions.

“Not normally. For the most part, the worst traits in society have been bred or engineered out of us. When we have a problem, it’s usually in the older populations—As, maybe Bs who have some kind of issues.”

“And Coders?”

“Yes.”

“What happened with your partner?”

“Vi? We don’t know for sure yet. Her death could be related to the virus case. Or something personal I wasn’t privy to, or another criminal case. There isn’t much to go on right now, and our resources are pretty stretched working on the virus case.” He purposely hid the truth from her. It was police business and she didn’t need to know someone else had died at the hands of this killer. She had enough to worry about.

“I’m sorry. It must hurt to lose someone. I’ve never really experienced that.” She paused. “Just Brianna today. But I’ll get her back. I’m sure of it.”

He met her eyes. He wished he could be as confident about the future, for the sake of all those children.

She sat back, her shoulders slumping a fraction. “I miss her.”

“That’s to be expected.”

He removed the plates and put them in the dishwasher.

“How about a game before we turn in?” Perhaps that would take her mind off her daughter.

“Lead the way.”

He poured them each another drink to take along and led the way to the game room. “Pool or ping-pong?”

“Ping-pong,” she said.

Good choice.Its high energy level would give him a good workout and burn off some of the energy that crackled between them.

He held out a paddle to her. “Have you played before?”

“Yes, with my brother.”

“Ah, see? I learned something new.” He bounced the ball a few times on the table. “How long ago was that?”

“Police detectives sure ask a lot of questions.” She let loose another one of those sexy laughs. “Quite a while ago. His name is Kyle. We’re not close. Not like your family.”

He served the ball, and she returned it. For a GEI, she moved with athletic grace, which he should have expected, but she missed the second volley.

“Just getting warmed up,” he said.

He started the next point. This volley progressed for a long while until she slammed it to the corner and shut him out. “Terrific play,” he said.