Page 78 of Fate and Fortune

He was far more relaxed on the drive to Tate’s and even when they were seated at a table. She ordered the cheeseburger, but as he’d predicted, he had the French dip. The server had disappeared back into the kitchen with their order when Tate waved from the bar.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but what happened on the call that caught your attention so firmly?”

For a moment, she wasn’t sure he was going to answer, but then he leaned forward as if he was about to tell her a huge secret.

“The investigator thinks he might have a new lead in my mother’s disappearance.” He took a deep breath, his fingertips rubbing at his temples. “Tate doesn’t know about the call yet. I’m going to have to tell him, and my other siblings, very soon. The funny thing is, I’m not sure why he called me. Cooper and Zack have taken the lead on this, but I guess they weren’t answering their phones tonight.”

“You don’t want to tell them?”

“I don’t want to raise their hopes,” he confessed. “I don’t want them to be disappointed if this doesn’t pan out.”

He didn’t say the quiet part out loud.

Like so many of the other leads.

“That’s exciting news, though. Did he say what the lead was?”

“He said he’d found some people that might have seen her a week after she disappeared. He’s going to talk to them. I’m not going to get my hopes up too much. We’ve been let down before. In the years after my mom vanished into thin air, there were a lot of so-called sightings, but none of them panned out.”

“If you find out something about your mother, then the sacrifice of the steaks was well worth it.”

“Is that what it was?” he asked, his tone amused. “A sacrifice to the gods?”

“Maybe it will work. You never know.”

“Let’s set that subject aside and talk about you. Your new job. I’m so proud of you. You went out and made it happen. You didn’t need me at all.”

“It wasn’t your responsibility. It was mine.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that,” he replied. “Technically, we had a problem, and it was a problem we shared. I was responsible for this, too.”

She had to be honest with him.

“Frankly, I don’t think I could have been happy in a job that I knew I only got because of you. I would never have the confidence that they hired me for who I am. I had to go out there and get my own job.”

“Well, you did it, and I am proud. How long do I have you before you start? I was hoping you’d help me interview, maybe even show them around a little if I find someone quickly.”

“Two weeks. I told Gabe I wanted to give you time to find a replacement. Not that I think you’ll have any trouble with that. I’m sure you’ll have many applicants, and let’s face it, it’s not like I worked for you for years. I’m still learning the job myself, so you’re not losing much.”

“I’ll miss seeing you every day,” he said, his voice deepening.

Damn, he was sexy when he talked like that.

“I’ll miss that, too, but it will make it even more special when we do get to see each other.”

Their food arrived, and they happily munched away until they had full stomachs and empty plates.

“There’s no way I could eat chocolate cake right now,” Sam declared. “How about we walk off some of dinner? The park is pretty this time of year.”

It sounded like the perfect plan. The evening was chilly, but not downright cold. Autumn was Alli’s favorite season, and she was all for enjoying some of it before winter took over.

The brisk air hit her when they walked outside, and she snuggled further into her coat and wool scarf. Sam took her hand in his, and she immediately felt the heat from his body warming her own.

“Is this okay?” she asked. “People might see.”

“We just had dinner together. I think the cat is officially out of the bag.”

“We could just have been having dinner together to discuss business,” she reminded him.