Under His Cover-nook by Lyric James Page B

I’m determined to make sure it stays open and funded so they can still have a safe place to go to after school and during the summer.”
    “Wow… I never knew.”
    “I know. You thought I was just some rich jerk with a job title but no substance behind it.” Humor glinted in his charcoal gray eyes. “I’m used to it. Sometimes, when people think they know you, expect certain things from you, it can leave them at a disadvantage. I use that to get what I need for my kids.”
    Jade was learning a whole lot about Rhys Cunningham that she really didn’t want to know. Not because she wasn’t interested. She was. But because it threw her off. And, unfortunately, left her at the disadvantage. She’d had him all wrong. He was not the person she’d assumed him to be.
    He reached into the basket sitting on the table and broke off a piece of bread. “So, tell me about you, your family. Any brothers or sisters?”
    “Yes. I have two brothers, no sisters.”
    He smiled. “The only girl, huh.”
    “Well, yes. Except my mom of course.”
    “How long was your dad a police officer?”
    Jade squirmed. He was too close to her. Every time his leg or his elbow brushed against her, her pussy throbbed. “He um…retired after thirty years on the police force about three years ago.”
    Rhys leaned back against the seat, so composed, too relaxed, when her body screamed inside. “And your brothers are cops also, right?”
    She nodded. “My older brother, John, has been a cop for about fifteen years, and my younger brother, Justin, about seven.”
    Under the table, his leg moved back and forth, which made his pants leg sweep against her bare skin, like a caress. Little tingles of desire skittered around her calf muscle.
    “Oh, so you’re a middle child as well?”
    She needed to keep her mind on what they were talking about. She was having a hard time formulating coherent speech. “What about your family?”
    He shrugged. “Only child.” A brief hint of longing slid across his face, and his voice lowered when he said, “I used to crave a brother or sister when I was growing up, but my mom had such a hard time when she was pregnant with me, she didn’t want to try again.”
    Jade laid her hand on top of his forearm. “I’m sorry.”
    As she watched him shake off the unpleasant emotion, he took a sip of his champagne and smiled. “Thanks. I think that’s one of the reasons why Jackie and I are so close, you know? She was an only child too. I think our parents secretly harbored wishes, still do I think, that she and I will fall in love and get married, but well, you know the answer to that already.”
    “Where is your mom now?”
    “In Florida. After my father died, I don’t think she could bear living in that huge house anymore without him. She has a sister who lives in Destin, so, she’s not alone. I try to get down there and visit her at least once every few months.” He reached for his glass and took another sip. “Where is your family?”
    “Serving and protecting the great city of Nashville.”
    The conversation stopped for a minute when their waiter brought their food. After Rhys took his first bite, he asked her, “Why didn’t you become a cop like your father and your brothers? How did you end up a private investigator?”
    Jade was quiet for a minute, her fork hovering between the plate and her mouth. She tended to shy away from asking herself that very same question.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    “I’m not upset,” she said a bit too defensively.
    Rhys reached over and with his thumb, smoothed the space above her nose, between her eyes. “When you get upset, this part right here always crinkles.”
    “It’s just…”
    “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
    She took one bite of her food, then set the fork down.
    “You didn’t want to follow in everybody else’s footsteps,” he stated plainly.
    “When I was a kid, even though I was a