*I’ll be at the diner in 30 minutes. Meet me for breakfast*
Thirty minutes later, Boone entered the diner the two had eaten lunch in the day before. He looked around for Delilah but did not see her. But then Boone heard her voice. “My partner is here,” she chuckled in amusement. She could smell his scent. The wall of men turned revealing Delilah sitting at a table. “Sorry, they just wanted to meet the woman who took Walters down. I am becoming quite the legend around town.”
Boone sauntered through the crowd and towards Delilah. “We would like to eat in peace before we head home,” Boone growled as Delilah’s male admirers quickly dispersed.
“Possessive?” Delilah smirked.
“Private,” Boone rebutted. “I like my privacy.”
“Understood. By the way, the coffee is quite good here. I have already ordered for the both of us. Steak Omelet?”
“I do like my beef,” Boone joked and smiled big.
“See we have something in common,” Delilah laughed. “I like good food and lots of it.”
“How do you stay so thin?” Boone asked.
“Genetics. And you?”
“Genetics. I have a very high metabolism.”
“Good, because I ordered enough food to feed a small army,” Delilah confessed. “An army of two.”
“Sometimes that is all it takes,” Boone boasted as the waitress arrived with only a portion of the food Delilah had ordered.
“Breakfast is on me since you bought dinner last night,” Delilah stated. Then she sweetly smiled as she surveyed all the food she had ordered; juice, three egg omelets, toast, hash browns, and sliced tomatoes.
“But I lost the bet,” Boone countered with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“The bet was null and void the moment we teamed up.”
“And when exactly was that?” Boone queried.
“The moment you ruined my coat.”
“Oh that,” Boone suddenly remembered, his jaw clenched.
“I have already ordered a new one. I will send you the bill.”
“How much is this going to put me back?”
Delilah pursed her lips to keep from laughing. “More than you can expect.”
Boone paused and took a long sip of coffee. “This is good. I was thinking...it is a long drive home, and I thought maybe you could tell me more of the story. We could keep each other company on the road; in separate vehicles, of course.”
“Sorry, but it is a conversation to be had face to face. If Daddy hears us revealing top secret information over the phone, he will ensure eight hours of zero cell phone reception.”
“Who the hell is your father?” Boone demanded. “He sounds like either one scary ass guy or one very powerful one.”
“Yes,” Delilah replied in a word. “But we can talk about other things; share our music. We just cannot talk about our secrets.”
“It is gonna be a long day.”
“It is going to be a long day regardless.”
“So where exactly do you live?” Boone asked.
“Raven Hill,” Delilah replied.
“You have a house on Raven Hill?” Boone asked his eyes wide and his jaw hanging.
“Yes.”
“Damn. I always heard it was some old recluse who lived up there. I laugh about it every time I pass the gate on my way home.”
“Well,” Delilah smirked drawing out the word for several syllables. “An old recluse does live up there; me.”
“I don’t believe old. And I do not understand the recluse part. Damn woman, you are gorgeous. I would imagine men beating down a path to your door twenty-four hours a day.”
“I have my reasons for being a recluse. I am not lonely. I like my life. I like my home. Daddy built it for me. I have lived on Raven Hill for a very long time.”
“Your daddy gave you a house? You are a daddy’s girl?” Boone sneered in disgust.
“It is nothing like that,” Delilah tried to explain as she reached across the table and patted the back of Boone’s hand. “He has bought a house for all of his children.”
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“Too many to count. And trust me, I have never counted. I cannot even name them all,” Delilah smirked. She tried to laugh, but the smile failed to reach her now veiled eyes. “I will have you over to the house. I will make you dinner.”
“You cook?”
“I can. I am not a world-class chef. But I promise you will live through it.”
“It is a date,” Boone quipped and then realized what he had said. “Not a date...I mean...I mean I will come over.”
“Definitely not a date, Huxley,” Delilah concurred calling him by his English name. “I like you, but only as a friend; nothing more. I don’t do relationships.”
“How about as a partner?” Boone suggested. “We make a great team.”
“That we do,” Delilah smiled. “Partners. I like it. We can talk about it on the way home.” Delilah pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “Give me your number Hooxei Bo’ooneih.”