I gave him a skeptical look, one of my eyebrows quirked. “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Jo looked indignant. “It happens all the time in books and movies. It’s even a trope.”
My eyebrow went higher. “Give me one example, then.”
With a smirk, he moved a few steps closer. “I can do more than that. ‘And then There were None,’ by Agatha Christie. Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter. Frank, the master swindler from ‘Catch Me if you Can.’ Need more?”
Rolling my eyes, I put my hands on my hips.
“Fine, point taken. Do you want lunch or not? This is a one-time offer.”
The corner of his mouth lifted the tiniest bit as he thought about it. Shifting his weight to his opposite foot, he gave one curt nod.
“Okay, fine, ‘nice girl.’ We can meet up for lunch. Where do you want to go?”
I kept my stare level with his. “I’m still pretty new in town. What do you suggest?”
His eyes moved upward as he thought about the question.
“How about Mama Mia’s? It’s a little pizza place at the other end of town. They make a pretty mean pie.”
“Fine. Does tomorrow at noon work for you? I can close shop for about an hour.”
A calculating gleam crept into his eyes. “Sure. I’ll see you then.”
Jo turned and walked slowly out the door. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, my heart hammering.
As the adrenaline wore off, though, I started to feel stupid. Why had I offered to buy him lunch? He was a total jerk. I had to prove my innocence somehow, but the thought of sharing a meal with him made my stomach churn. I probably wouldn’t even be able to eat.
And yet…something about the way his shoulders had slumped when he talked about Theresa, the desperation in his voice, the dullness in his eyes, all made my heart twinge a little. I reasoned that he was young, and he could just be frustrated that the case wasn’t going well. But somehow, it felt deeper than that. This case was personal to him.
He might just be grieving, wondering if she was dead. I had to admit that the thought made it a lot harder to keep hating him.
Chapter Sixteen
My shoes felt as if they had filled with lead as I walked up the pathway to the little Italian restaurant. Would Jo show up? Or had he pretended to accept my offer just to humiliate me?
The sour thoughts drifted through my mind despite the pity I’d felt for him the day before. When I mentioned Jo’s name, however, the hostess took me straight back to him. Feeling distinctly awkward, I sat down in the booth.
“You made it.” I almost laughed as I realized he thought I would bail on him, too.
“Yes, I did. I don’t make a habit of not showing up for appointments.”
Jo’s eyes twinkled as he picked up his menu. I tried to focus on my own menu but found myself feeling flustered. The restaurant had all the usual Italian fare like pasta and salads, but Jo had recommended the pizza, so I turned to that page.
“What do you like on your pizza?”
I looked up, surprised by his conversational tone. He wasn’t acting as horrible as he usually did.
“Um…pepperoni, sausage, black olives. I’m pretty boring, really.”
He raised his eyebrows, nodding. “I approve. I thought you might be one of those barbarians who enjoys bell peppers or anchovies on your pizza.”
My face twisted into an expression of disgust. “I can’t understand people who enjoy eating whole, tiny fish.”
He laughed. “At least we have that in common.”
We lapsed into another silence, interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with our drinks. She eyed us for a few moments, smiling an annoying cutesy smile that set me on edge.
“First date?” she asked. My cheeks burned, and I looked away from Jo.
“Business meeting.”
My voice came out stilted. I was very aware of Jo’s gaze lingering on me, even though I kept my eyes glued to the menu page in front of me.
“Oh, okay.”
The waitress winked at Jo, and I felt gratified to see him turn an equally vivid shade of red. She took our orders at last and walked away, much to my relief. Jo gave a brief, uncomfortable smile.
“That was delightfully awkward.”
I couldn’t suppress my laugh. Some of the tightness in my chest eased as Jo began to laugh, too. It felt good to be lighthearted around him, though admitting the fact to myself made me cringe.
“Things like that happen in small towns,” he explained. “Everyone wants to know everyone else’s business. It gets pretty tiresome.”
I grimaced. “No kidding.”
Jo cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at me. I wondered if he felt shy, and I realized with a shock that I did too.
