Dale tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. It had been three days since the attempted abduction of the Republican junior senator's Son from his exclusive boarding school, three days since she and the handsome fed began digging through the pile of hate mail for clues, three days since she'd had a decent night's sleep.

That it was Valentine's Day hardly mattered. She was still getting over Oliver's engagement to Shane. She was happy for Oliver, both of them, really. She and Oliver had done quite the dance during the past 17 years, but the timing had never been right, and you had to trust the timing, right? She liked Shane, wanted them to be happy, but here she was...still alone.

She supposed her job wasn't conducive to relationships. She worked odd, long hours, in and out of town. That was no way to establish strong ties.

"Dale," she heard the blond fed with the chiseled jaw speak her name, as if he'd called her a few times and she'd missed it.

She looked up at him and whoa. What was that? Her stomach did a little flip under the intensity of his gaze. Her cheeks flushed…the bane of a redhead's existence. She averted her eyes, looking down at the letter as she was holding, hoping he hadn't noticed the red creeping over her face.

"Are you ok," he asked quietly, sounding concerned, touching her arm.

They'd been in close quarters for the better part of 3 days, and though they'd been strangers at the start, they were getting comfortable, sharing conversation and sometimes she felt like he'd been flirting. But where had that stomach flip-flop thing come from?

She sighed, turning her head to crack her neck. "Fine," she quipped. "I just can't believe so many people write so much hatred and send it via US mail. Some of these people…we could arrest them for what they've written." She paused a moment, shaking her head. "I need a break."

He put down the letter he was holding. "I could use a break, too. Want to grab some dinner…out? We can get back to this after."

She looked up at him, unsure of his intent. "Steve…you know it's Valentine's Day, right? There's not a restaurant in Denver with an open table tonight."

His jaw tensed, and he nodded. "Right. Takeout then? Do you like Thai?"

She nodded.

"Spicy or mild?"

"I like it hot," she said, instantly regretting her word choice. Wow. Did I just say that? She blushed again.

A half hour later, Steve returned with Thai basil rolls, Pad Thai, Chicken Vindaloo, jasmine rice, mango lassi, and banana sticky rice. He set two places for dinner, a fork and chopsticks at Dale's place setting.

They sat, and she raised her glass after he raised his. "I never imagined a Valentine's Day like this," he said. Then he nodded. "To good food, great company, and solving crime" he said. They clinked their glasses and smiled.