Page 18 of Must Love Fallen Angels

“Hi, beautiful,” he said.“I know that roses are traditional date flowers, but they die really fast.Carnations stick around.”

“They’re actually my favorite,” she said, taking the vase.“Thank you so much.”

She set them on the coffee table and smiled at the thoughtful gesture.She grabbed her sweater off the arm of the couch.Joining him at the door, she said, “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

He offered her his arm, and she took it, stepping onto the porch and pulling the door shut behind her.

“I’ve never been on a date before,” Venice said.

“Really?But you’re so…” she let the words die before she finished her thought.

“I’m so what?”

“Gorgeous.”

He snorted.“You’re very sweet.”

“It’s true.You have to know how good-looking you are.Plus, you’re a cop, and there are definitely girls out in the world who like a man in uniform.”

“Present company included?”

“It’s not the first thing I noticed about you, but you do look very yummy in your uniform.”

To her surprise, they didn’t go to his truck, but took the path to the beach and walked toward the lighthouse.

“What’s the first thing you noticed?”he asked.

“Your eyes.”

“I noticed your lips first.You have very kissable lips.”

She smiled.“You’re making me blush.”

They reached the end of the path, and he led her to the docks where several boats were tied up.They walked down the main dock, and he let go of her hand, stepping onto a boat and then offering her his hand.

As she stepped down, the boat rocked a bit, and she clutched his hand tightly.

There were two padded chairs by the steering wheel and a long, cushioned seat at the back by the engine.She sat in one of the chairs and put on an inflatable life jacket that he handed her.He turned on the engine, put on a life jacket, and then smiled at her.“I’ll drive us along the shore, and then we’ll find a place to float and have dinner.I picked it up from the diner.”

“Sounds perfect.”

He untied the boat from the dock and pushed it away, then sat behind the wheel and engaged the engine, turning the boat toward the open water.They drove up and down the shoreline.The water was calm, so the ride was smooth, and she enjoyed the trip immensely.

He turned off the engine, and they floated within view of the lighthouse.He turned on the boat’s lights so they’d be visible to other boaters, and then he joined her at the seat in the back.He unpacked a cooler with their dinner: chicken salad sandwiches on croissants and a wild rice salad with feta and cranberries.While they ate, he told her about Brody teaching him how to drive the boat and taking him tubing the previous summer.

“We hit a wave, and I wentflying,” Venice said with a chuckle.“Brody swore he didn’t do it on purpose, but I definitely heard him laugh.”

“He sounds like a really good friend.”

“He is,” Venice said.“He’s my best friend.Before he and his mate Delaney got together, he felt pretty alone, too.He’d been kicked out of his coven and had come to Sable Cove to start over.I was happy when he and Delaney got together, but it made me feel lonelier too, if that makes sense.”

“Yeah, it does.”

“So they’re like family to me since I don’t have family.I’ve fought by Brody’s side when danger has come to town, and I know he’d show up for me in a heartbeat if I needed him.”

That made her heart hurt a little bit.