He picked a peanut butter cookie from one of the containers, took a bite, and let out a moan that sent her mind straight to the gutter. “Damn, these are good. You never told me you could bake.”
Fiona flushed at the praise. “You never asked.”
Joe polished off the peanut butter cookie and sampled one of the chocolate mints. “Holy crap, these remind me of those Girl Scout cookies. What do they call them? Oh yeah, Thin Mints, but these are way better. If you ever decided to sell them, you could make some serious bank.”
She watched him eat another chocolate mint before sampling one of the gingerbreads. “How can you eat like that and look like that?”
“Like what?” he asked around a mouthful of cookie.
“Like…” Flustered, Fiona made a vague gesture with her hands. “I don’t know. Like somebody carved you out of marble. If I ate like that, I’d have to buy new clothes every month.” As it was, just looking at all these cookies was making her feel puffy.
Joe’s gaze swept over her body. His mouth curved up on one side. “I’m sure we could find a way to work the calories off you.”
A few suggestions sprang to mind and sent a flush of heat through her body. Was he flirting with her? Because it sure as hell seemed like he was flirting with her, and she liked the way it made her feel.
She was seriously considering flirting back when the sound of Dennis’s ringtone sent her crashing back to reality.
“I take it your ex is still being a dick,” Joe said, his voice carefully controlled.
“We had words earlier today.” She reached for the phone and sent the call to voicemail. There was nothing more for them to discuss, and she refused to let that jerk intrude on the good time she was having with Joe. “He was waiting for me in the parking lot when I came out of the store this afternoon.”
Joe’s eyes iced over. “How did he know where to find you?”
“I have no idea. It’s like he has some sort of sixth sense when it comes to my whereabouts.” Her eyes widened as she thought of one possibility. “Do you think he installed some sort of tracker in my phone or on my car?”
Just thinking about it creeped her out. For all she knew, he could have done it back when they were still living together. But considering some of the other things he’d pulled, tagging her like a rhino on the Serengeti seemed fairly tame by comparison.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Joe said. “Has your phone’s battery been draining faster than usual?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Any weird apps that you don’t remember downloading?”
She shook her head.
“Do you have any apps that have access to your location data?”
“Um…I’m not sure. Does Google Maps count?”
He nodded and extended his hand. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take a look and see if I can find anything suspicious.”
She gave him the phone without hesitation, and then placed the cookies on the cooling rack into a container. She was meeting a few of her colleagues for lunch tomorrow, and she planned to give some of the containers as gifts. But now that she knew how much Joe enjoyed them, she’d set aside at least one container for him.
Joe ate another cookie while he swiped and tapped at the screen. “I don’t see any obvious tracking apps, but you allowed your social media accounts access to your location data. Any of your friends can use them to see where you go and when you get there.”
Her stomach lurched. She’d blocked Dennis from her social media accounts, but they had a few mutual friends who might be willing to share information with him. “Can you undo it?”
“Sure, just give me a minute.” A few more swipes and taps, and he handed the phone back to her. “All set. If you want, I can bring it to work and have the tech team give it a more thorough inspection.”
“Thanks. I might take you up on that if he does something like this again.”
“No problem. I’ll check your car when I go downstairs.” The ice in his eyes melted. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.”
“Don’t be. It’s not like you can babysit me twenty-four hours a day. Besides, it actually felt pretty good to tell him off.”
Joe smiled. “You’re incredible, Fi. Don’t listen to anybody who tells you otherwise.”
Something shifted in his expression. The muscle along his jaw flexed. He leaned in to cup her cheek, his thumb lightly stroking her skin, and the simple contact made her tingle in all the right places.
