Murders & Romance: A Psychic Detective Romantic Mystery (Isaac Taylor Mysteries Book 5) by Lashell Collins (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📗

She’d said she loved him, and that she had for a long time. Gavin wasn’t sure what to do with that information, but he knew he didn’t want to take it for granted or take advantage of it. She was trusting him with her heart, and he took that responsibility seriously.

“You need to go?”

Her question pulled him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the now.

“What?”

“Well, it’s dinner time, and I know Trey is staying with you.”

“Oh.” He shook his head. “Trey has gone out with some of his old high school buddies tonight. About ten of them were doing pizza and movies at Mark’s parent’s place.”

“Ah. So that’s how you’re here past dinner time.”

“Speaking of dinner though… did you eat?”

“No.”

Gavin sighed. “You’ve got to take better care of yourself.”

“I just haven’t had much of an appetite.”

“Well, if you don’t eat, you’ll let the grief run you down. We can’t have that.”

Gerri smiled at him. “Are you going to feed me again?”

“That depends. You got anything besides soup in that kitchen of yours?”

She appeared to think about it, and then made a face.

“I haven’t shopped in a while.”

“Where do you keep your take-out menus?”

9

Isaac:

My girl better not have a

scratch on her this morning

Pete:

Who dis?

Isaac:

The man who’s gonna kick your

ass if you hurt my car

Pete:

No hablo ingles

Isaac:

Don’t forget to pick me up

or you won’t hablo at all

Pete:

Yeah yeah

Isaac ended the text conversation with his partner and then stuck his head out the doorway, checking to make sure Sidney was still in the kitchen. She was cooking their breakfast, and Isaac knew he only had a few minutes. He needed to do this fast. He found the contact in his phone and dialed.

The phone rang only a couple of times before she answered, and Isaac could barely make out her words through the decidedly un-lady-like yawn.

“It’s a little early, Ike. I’m only halfway into my first cup of coffee.”

Isaac rolled his eyes. His little sister was famous in their family for not being a morning person.

“How do you run a business if you hate mornings, Em?”

“The beauty of running your own business is being able to set your own hours. My hours don’t begin until my second cup of coffee.”

“Well, sip fast because I need your help.”

There was a slight pause, and Isaac could hear that Emily perked up when she responded.

“My help? With what?”

“Picnics.”

“Huh?”

“I want to take Sidney on a little backyard picnic, and I was…”

“Aww!” She interrupted him with a loud girly squeal. “That’s so sweet. Where’d you get such a romantic idea?”

“I looked up romantic date ideas on the Internet.”

All the girly excitement quickly left her voice.

“Oh, my God, Ike. The Internet?”

“Hey. I found some really good ideas that way. And you just gushed all over the first one.”

“All right, all right. So, what do you need help with?”

Duh. Hadn’t she been listening?

“Picnics.”

He could hear the exasperation in his own voice.

“What about them?”

Emily sounded just as irritated with this conversation as he felt.

“Well, what kind of food goes into one?”

“What? The Internet didn’t tell you that part?”

Isaac let out an overly exaggerated sigh.

“You know what? I started to call Bree instead, but I figured she’s busy with the baby and all. But what the heck, I’ll take my chances. Thanks anyway.”

“No! Don’t bother Bree. I got this.”

Isaac smiled. He knew pitting her against their sister-in-law’s prowess in the kitchen would trigger her competitive streak.

“Now let’s see… picnic food. Hmm,” Emily hummed. “Well, there’s always the basic sandwich and chips route. Or even the old standard fried chicken and potato salad route. That’s always a good one. But if you’re going for romantic, you need sexy foods.”

“Sexy food?”

“Yes. You know… foods that you can eat with your hands and feed each other. Little nibbles, like an assortment of cheeses and crackers, grapes. Oh! And strawberries with cream or even chocolate sauce.”

“Cheese and crackers? Really?”

“Well, not just plain cheese and crackers, Ike. It’d be a variety of cheeses, and fancy crackers. Maybe a couple of meats, like salami and prosciutto, or even smoked salmon.”

“You’re talking about like one of those antipasto things.”

“Well, I was actually thinking more of a charcuterie, but yeah. Same principle.”

Isaac’s head was starting to spin.

Was he getting way out of his depth here? He just wanted a simple little picnic in his backyard with the woman he loved.

“A char what?”

“Breakfast is ready, baby!” Sidney yelled from the kitchen.

“I’ll be right there!” he yelled back. Then to Emily he said, “I gotta go. Listen, thanks for the um… ideas. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. Hey! Have you heard from your friend lately?”

“My friend?”

“Yeah. Special Agent Dork. What’s his name?”

Isaac’s lips twisted. He knew that she was well aware of his name.

“I thought you were into that dork. What happened?”

“Nothing happened. We flirted at your place on game night; made a date to go out. And then he canceled on me, citing work reasons. Never called me back. Totally ghosted. I guess he wasn’t into me.”

She tried to hide it, but Isaac could hear the genuine disappointment in her voice.

“That is not the vibe I got from him, Em. He’s interested in you. If he said he’s working, then he probably is.”

“I don’t know.”

“Isaac?” Sidney called again.

“Yeah, I’m coming, Sid.” To Emily he said, “I gotta go, Em. Thanks for your help.”

“Yeah. You too. Say hi to Sid for me.”

“Will do.”

He ended the call and hurried out to the dining table where Sidney sat eating her breakfast.

“Your pancakes are getting cold.

He took his seat and poured syrup on his pancakes and fruit.

“Sorry. I was talking to Emily on the phone.”

“Oh. What about?”

Isaac took a bite of his food and glanced at her.

“She thinks a certain FBI agent is trying to give her the brushoff. She wanted my take on it. I told her that wasn’t the vibe I got from him. In fact… I saw them kissing in one of my futuristic visions.”

“Really? Intrigue