Page 47 of Lucky Haven

“Don’t you?”

“Lots for us to learn still about each other.”

“That’s not answering the question.”

“That’s more of a fifth date revelation.”

“Wait, is this our third date?” She sets down the knife. “Tell me what ridiculous name you gave me in your phone.”

I groan. “That was a joke.”

“Which part, the name or the third date reveal? Don’t distract me.”

“How am I distracting you?”

She stares up at me. We’ve turned to each other, abandoning our cooking tasks. “I don’t think you like to share things about yourself.”

“That’s not true.”

“No? Tell me what my name is in your phone.”

“Haven.” It is that now, anyway. I roll my big shoulders, looking casual. I don’t think it works.

She narrows her eyes. “Was it something else before that?”

“You asked me to change it, and I changed it.”

“Deflection,” she mutters, her gaze not leaving my face.

I lean in and kiss the tip of her nose. “You’re very cute when you’re trying to figure me out like a puzzle.”

“You are a puzzle,” she agrees. “Maybe we should play truth or dare.”

I laugh.

She doesn’t.

“Oh, you’re serious.”

She lifts her chin. “We don’t really know each other that well and I thought⁠—”

“I’m in.”

Her mouth closes, the corners of her lips twisting up, pleased.

“But you go first, since it’s your idea. Truth or dare?”

She’s been thinking about this, because her answer is immediate. “Truth.”

I like that she’s eager to share something with me, and I don’t want to fuck this up. So I start with a pretty safe question that’s been on my mind for days. “How long have you been collecting the fantasy merch? The figurines, the stickers.”

Her eyes spark with surprise. “At least five years.”

“So you got into it while you were at university?”

She wiggles her finger, stopping me. “That’s a second question.”

“It’s a follow-up.”