Read Ever After (Love to the Rescue Book 3) for Free Online Page B

she’d mastered, using calm, deep breaths to banish her temper and frustration.
    Then she filled Pete’s Dr Pepper and carried it to his table. “Here you go.”
    She turned to walk away, but he placed a big, warm hand over hers, his eyes suddenly serious. “The videos bothered me, okay? I am not, nor do I intend to become, a vegetarian, but I don’t like to think I’m supporting that kind of abuse when I buy my lunch.”
    So he did care. Well crap. Now she was really in trouble.
    * * *
    Pete saw surprise flicker in her eyes, covered quickly with more of that smartass temper he apparently enjoyed way too much for his own good. No other explanation for why he’d been needling her since he got here.
    Sure, he could say it was for the case. He’d been trained to read body language, and sometimes it paid to push a little, helped him get a better gut impression on whether a person was guilty or not.
    Olivia Bennett was guilty all right, but she’d made no attempt to hide it either.
    “Your meal should be out in a few minutes,” she told him, then walked off toward the kitchen.
    He turned his attention to his cell phone, scrolling through messages. His eyes caught on the most recent email: the results from his detective exam. He’d scored an 86.34.
    A thrill passed through him. Even if he was passed over for the promotion, that was a score to be proud of. This was what he’d been working toward since he was a little boy. More than a deputy, he’d wanted to become a detective. Solve crimes. Maybe even leave Dogwood behind once and for all and join a larger department somewhere else.
    Charlotte, perhaps. But he’d never leave North Carolina, not with his mom and sister living here in Dogwood.
    Sheriff Linburgh had hinted that Pete was his top choice to make detective at the end of the year, but it was far from a done deal. Three other deputies had tested with Pete, and there were several fine officers in the bunch. He slid his phone into his pocket, as Olivia approached with his lunch.
    “Eggplant parm, as you wish,” she said, as she placed a plate in front of him. The sandwich bulged with breaded eggplant, complimented by potato chips and a pickle wedge. The aroma made his mouth water. He’d always heard the food here was good, but he’d had his reasons for not visiting.
    Reasons he’d overlooked today for the chance to see Olivia at work.
    “Thanks,” he said.
    She didn’t immediately walk away, so he decided to take advantage of the moment and keep her talking a little longer. “So you’ve been crusading against Halverson Foods for a while.”
    She nodded. “Over a year. I’ve even been able to get some national attention. There was a pretty big stink after those undercover videos came out, but still nothing was done to stop it.”
    “Seems hard to believe.” With that kind of evidence, he would have expected charges to be filed. He made a mental note to look further into the case when he got back to the office.
    Her brown eyes gleamed with emotion. “Well it’s like you said, they’re there to be slaughtered anyway. No one cares how they’re treated beforehand.”
    All done up for work, with her makeup perfect, her blond hair long and straight over her shoulders, in black slacks and a snug pink top, she was absolutely stunning. He’d found himself attracted to her on that ladder in the sweltering sun, and today the pull was even stronger. Though he did kind of miss the shorts…
    And he admired her passion. Stupid as she’d been to spray-paint that factory, her heart was in the right place. There were far too many people in the world who were inclined to let things slide instead of taking a stand for what they believed in or what was right. Olivia Bennett was not afraid to stand up for her beliefs, even if it made her a laughingstock, and he respected that.
    “People care,” he answered her. “But we can’t enforce a law that hasn’t been written. You seem fairly eloquent about the issue.