Totally, Sweetly, Irrevocably(30)

“I know a great place for noodles not too far from here. Hungry?” he asked.

“What about the truck? If Tony was fully loaded with a bag of frosting…”

“Let him have the truck tonight.”

“What?”

Yeah. He knew she wouldn’t like that idea. “Look, I seriously doubt he is going anywhere near the truck tonight. A mugger who knifed a cop was just arrested across the street. Not exactly conducive to an illegal rendezvous. And if I’m wrong and he breaks in, I’ll help you clean it up and camp out on that roof every night for the next month. Whatever it takes. As long as we get some food first. I think my stomach is trying to eat itself.”

Gina’s smile was like the first sip of coffee on a cold morning. Smooth and delicious and warmed him through and through.

“Fine. Lead on, Officer.”

Rick wanted to hold her hand the whole way to the restaurant, but that seemed to be pushing things a bit. Gina wasn’t a public affection kind of girl from what he’d seen so far. Or an affectionate person at all, really. At least until after the mugger. With him.

She let go of his hand as soon as they got to the car and didn’t make a move to take it again. That was okay. He could be patient. For the moment. Though what he was being patient for, he had no idea. His head was a mass of confusion where Gina was involved. Part of him wanted to drag her back to his apartment and not let her go. Maybe ever. The other part of him knew they’d probably kill each other within a day.

They had amazing chemistry. Obviously. The mere thought of their impromptu make-out sessions made his jeans grow uncomfortably tight. He wanted her as he’d never wanted another woman. But he’d never been a casual sex type of guy. If you weren’t going to have casual sex, you were in a relationship. And there was a lot more to a relationship than sex. While the sex with Gina would no doubt be phenomenal, what happened then? He’d have to put all his valuables in a locked drawer every time she came over. Just in case.

Interesting choice of woman for a cop to be mixed up with. But man, she made him laugh like no one had…in a long time. It felt good to laugh. Gina didn’t seem to take anything too seriously. Where he, on the other hand, went a little overboard in the other direction. At least according to his mother.

They found a place to park up the street from the restaurant. When they got there he held the door open for Gina. She gave him a surprised look, her lips twitching with amusement as she went inside. It was probably a faux pas to open the door for a woman nowadays, but that was the way his mother had raised him.

Within fifteen minutes, they were seated at his favorite table by the window and were slurping big bowls of incredible noodles like there was no tomorrow. One of the many reasons Rick loved the place so much. It was fast, and the food was always delicious.

Gina shoveled another load of noodles into her mouth, her eyes rolling in admiration as she chowed them down.

“Oh my God,” she said once her mouth was clear. “I don’t know how I’ve never eaten here before. This is incredible.”

She took another huge bite and Rick nodded, shoveling in his own noodles. He was glad to see she was not only enjoying the food, but actually eating it. The last date he’d brought here had sipped a bit of the broth and declared herself completely full. Gina was one refreshing surprise after another. If it weren’t for her slight criminal tendencies, she might be the perfect woman.

“Come to this place a lot?” she asked.

Rick nodded, taking a break from the noodles for a quick sip of water. “At least once a week.”

“I can see why.” She speared a piece of pork from her steaming broth.

He opened his mouth to ask her where she usually liked to eat, but before he could get the words out, someone rapped on the window by his face. He glanced up, startled, to see Jenny waving madly at him. She grabbed her friend by the hand, towing her inside.

Shit.

Gina looked back and forth between him and the young woman barreling toward them.

“Ricky!” Jenny said, giving him a hug. Of his four sisters, Jenny was the perkiest. And that was saying something. “What are you doing here? And who’s your friend?” she asked, turning wide, curiosity-filled eyes to Gina.

Gina, he was happily surprised to see, was frowning, her gaze zeroed in on the hand that Jenny still had on his shoulder. Was she actually jealous? As much as he wanted to torture her, his sister was nearly vibrating with excitement at his side. He’d better introduce everyone quickly before she took matters into her own hands.

“Jenny, this is my friend Gina. Gina, my sister Jenny and her friend…”