Page 100 of What Started In Deception
He shrugged, hooking his arm around her waist as they pushed through the door. “I’m not in any hurry.”
“Let’s go get some ice cream, then.”
Ty sat next to Lydia on one of the benches by the ice cream stand, watching as the warm winds rushing in off the water blew the hair escaping from her ponytail around her gorgeous face. “How’s the strawberry cheesecake ice cream?”
She nodded as she ate more of her double scoops. “Really good. Do you want to try it?”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug.
She held the waffle cone up to his mouth.
He took a generous sample, finding the strawberry flavor to be extra creamy as he chewed a chunk of cheesecake. “Wow. That is good.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said as she nodded. “I think it’s my new favorite.”
“Do you want some of my Moose Tracks?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to accidentally eat a peanut butter chunk. It’ll mess with the delicious flavors I have going on in my mouth.”
He laughed. “We wouldn’t want that.”
She grinned. “No, we wouldn’t.”
“Lyd…” He chuckled as he shook his head, forever finding himself amused by her many quirks. “I’ve got nothing for that one.”
She laughed as she bumped her arm against his. “Thank you again for helping today.”
He nodded as he captured her free hand, holding it in his. “It was fun. It was also really busy. There were a lot of people there.”
She nodded. “It seems like there are more every time I volunteer.”
“You busted some serious ass.” And she had, doing all the stuff and things. At one point, he’d spotted her sitting at one of the computers, helping some of the other volunteers with intakes. She’d also stocked shelves with him and visited with several of the community members as they shopped the aisles. It hadn’t been a surprise that she’d done all of it with kindness and a smile.
She shrugged. “We were pretty understaffed.”
He bumped her arm this time. “You’re an awesome person, Lyd.”
She shrugged again. “I’m just trying to do my part.”
“Because you’re awesome.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded as he ate more of his ice cream, chewing one of the chocolate peanut butter chunks that Lydia hadn’t wanted. “So, I got a text during our shift. I need to meet with my contact agent tomorrow.”
She frowned. “On the Fourth of July?”
He shrugged. “We’re meeting in the afternoon, so I’ll be back long before the fireworks start.”
“Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “As far as I know. Nobody’s said otherwise, so it’s probably just a check-in.”
She ate more of her ice cream. “So, the guy who’s sort of your boss but not really came to Massachusetts, too?”
He shook his head. “Danny, the case agent, is down in DC for the time being. My contact agent, Nick, came up from the New York office.”
She shook her head. “Your job is so complicated.”
