Page 50 of Lucky Haven

“Ending it is.”

She pushes up on her toes, kisses me hard and fast, and yanks her mouth away just as I’m softening into her.

Yeah, that’s a brutal penalty.

I press my hand to my mouth. The timer sounds, and I turn the rice off.

“Your turn,” I finally prompt.

“Truth,” she whispers.

“Were you jealous this morning? When Jessika stopped us on the sidewalk?”

Her mouth opens. Then closes. “I’m not answering that.”

“If you pass, it’s another kiss⁠—”

She turns back to me fast and we crash together.

It’s a penalty kiss, which means I need to end it before she wants me to, which is a fucking hard thing to do.

Her lips are swollen and her eyes are unfocused and glassy as she sways against me.

“Maybe we should eat before this gets out of hand.” I’m breathing hard.

She lets out a weak little laugh.

“Good job on breaking the ice, though.” I gently push her toward the vegetables. “Let’s add those to the meat, and you can chop some green onion for on top.”

Over dinner, we share more readily. No game required.

“You used to live on the ranch full time, right?” Haven pauses between bites to look around my pretty empty apartment.

I don’t have a table, so we’re eating on the couch, facing each other.

“Yep. And I expect I’ll move back there at some point.”

“So why are you here now?”

That’s a complicated question. “We had some break-ins last winter. They stopped when I moved in up here.”

“That’s terrible. Did they steal equipment?”

“No.” I give her a grim half-smile. “Went through my office both times.”

“No way.” She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Cash, that’s awful.”

“The first time, I thought they were looking for money. We don’t keep any in there over night, and we don’t do a lot of cash transactions anyway anymore. The second time…” I hunch my shoulders up. “They stole my laptop. It was dumped in the park and found a few days later.”

“Did they find who did it?”

I bark a cold laugh. “No, they didn’t even try. Property crimes against an ex-con are a low priority for the Dragonfly Creek Sheriff’s Office.”

She ducks her head. “I wish it were different.”

“Me, too.”

She lifts her face. “I was just a kid when my mom died, but I don’t think her death was investigated properly, either.”