L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series, Boxed Set: The Deceived, The Taken & The Silent by LINDA STYLE Read Free Book Online

perspective. Her imagination. She shifted in her seat, so out of practice in social situations with men that she didn’t know how to respond. “Looks are deceiving,” she finally said. “More often than not.”
    “You a vegan?”
    Laughter bubbled up. “Oh, no. I’m not that disciplined.”
    He took a bite of his sandwich, and after he finished chewing, he said, “Must be some birthday party.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Well, you got all dressed up for it.”
    “Oh.” Some birthday party was right. All women and she didn’t know why she’d chosen to wear a dress.
    Or maybe she did. “I’m not all dressed up.”
    He took another bite of his sandwich and studied her as he chewed. Then he said, “Sorry, I forgot. You’re a California girl.”
    “Which means?”
    “You have the look.”
    The look.  And he had a line of bullshit a mile long. What she didn’t know was if it was just usual cop talk or if he was hitting on her. And she had so little experience in the single world, she wouldn’t know if he was or wasn’t.
    “Then I guess it’s okay for me to say you have the cop look,” she returned.
    He glanced at his clothes. “No uniform, no visible badge or weapon. What?”
    “It’s not what you’re wearing, it’s the way you walk and talk and how you check everything out. Your RoboCop attitude.”
    “You’re an expert in body language?”
    “My father was a cop.” At his look of surprise, she narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t check me out?” She didn’t believe that, not for a second.
    Instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own. “You said was? Is he retired?”
    “He’s dead.”
    “Sorry.”
    “We weren’t close. And he died a long time ago.”
    “LAPD?”
    “No. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to see those photos now.”
    His hand went to his back pocket, and in that flicker of a second, she wanted to take back her words. Did she really want to do this? She wanted to prove to herself that the man in the photo couldn’t be Rob, and up till this very moment, she was sure she’d find something to cement that belief. But what if she found something else? Something she didn’t want to know.
    Filled with a rush of sudden panic, she shoved her chair back and bolted to her feet. “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back. I-I’ve got something in my eye.” She reached to touch her eye and headed for the restroom.
    As she brushed past him, he caught her hand.
    “Here, let me see.” Still holding on to her, he stood. “I’m usually pretty good at this kind of thing.”
    He lifted her chin, and at the touch, she felt suddenly breathless. As he reached up with his other hand, she shook her head and blinked. “Wait,” she said, stepping back to put some space between them. She blinked a couple more times. “I think it might be okay.”
    “You sure?”
    She nodded. “Yes. It’s fine now.”
    As they sat, he frowned, his expression puzzled. He nudged his plate toward her again.
    This time she took a fry and poked it into her mouth. Then she grabbed another and when she finished that, she sampled an onion ring. Before she finished chewing, she reached for her drink and gulped that down, too.
    He gave her a lazy grin, as if to say he’d been right, she didn’t worry about calories, after all. But he was too gallant to mention it.
    She blotted her mouth with the corner of the napkin and then wiped the grease off her fingers. “The photos, Detective?”
    He kept his eyes on her, reached for a folder on the chair next to him and then pulled out a small envelope. He took out both pictures and laid them on the table between them. It was still light enough for her to see the photos clearly.
    Her hand shook as she picked up the wedding photo, held it up and searched for something to prove it wasn’t Rob. Couldn’t be Rob.
    But what? Most of the things she thought of wouldn’t show in a photo, especially when he was wearing a suit. The hairstyle was a