“My partner had it in his car, and we thought, ‘why not?’”
“Maybe I should be the one to cook for the rest of the weekend.”
He chuckles. “What about you? I bet you’ve got something worse.”
I think for a second, tapping the card against the table. “Hmmm, does eating an entire sleeve of Oreos dipped in salsa count?”
Andrew’s face contorts in disgust. “Oh, come on, how do you justify that after the first cookie?”
I burst out laughing. “In my defense, I was on deadline and slightly out of my mind. You eat whatever’s in arm’s reach, no matter how questionable.”
He’s still shaking his head, but his smile tells me he’s not entirely horrified. “You writers, man. That’s a whole other level.”
I flip another card and grin. “Okay, next: If you had to choose another career, what would it be?”
Andrew doesn’t even pause. “Easy. I’d open a food truck. I’d call it—wait for it— ‘Bites on the Beat.’ All the best food options I start drooling over when I’m super hungry. Mac-and-cheese bites, chili-mac hot dogs, the works.”
I snort into my coffee. “I would 100% eat there. But only if the food is as good as it sounds.”
“Deal. What about you, Ms. Writer? If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?”
I don’t even have to think about it. “Professional dog whisperer.”
He chuckles. “Of course you would.”
“Hey, Angus loves me.” I flip another card, already smiling. “Okay, last one. What’s your biggest fear?”
His smile fades a little, but there’s a playful glint in his eyes. “I think my biggest fear is…you beating me at this game.”
I raise an eyebrow, grinning. “Nice try. But you’re not getting out of it that easily.”
“Fine, dog whisperer,” he says, leaning in closer. “Biggest fear? Being terrible at crossword puzzles.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes. “Andrew, you’re a liar.”
“Okay, fine,” he says, giving in. “I guess my biggest fear would be losing someone important to me. You know, like a case I can’t solve in time to help them.”
The air shifts for a second, the weight of his words hanging between us. But before I can respond, heleans forward, that easy grin returning. “Also, spiders. Definitely, spiders.”
I laugh, the tension lifting instantly. “Good to know. I guess I won’t mention the one I saw in the living room this morning. It was massive and deadly looking.” I take a sip of my warm coffee.
“Maybe you should use your pepper spray on it.”
I choke on my coffee. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. The injury is still fresh.” He winks at me as he grabs my plate and walks to the kitchen.
And just like that, I feel my heart do that annoying little flutter again. This weekend is looking nothing like I initially expected, but at this moment, everything feels right.
3
Andrew
“I found a challenge for us,” I call out as I dig through the television stand. “Scrabble?”
I hold out the box and notice Jane shaking her head at me. I know that throwing down a gauntlet of words to a journalist might seem like a death wish, but I’m up to the challenge.
“You think you can hold up against me? I’m a dictionary.” She taps her index finger against her skull.
