Page 205 of Rising Heat

“Aoki,” Tyler finishes immediately.

I nod.

“She’ll love Aoki.”

Her eyes open immediately.

“What’s Aoki?”

“Little hole-in-the-wall over in Brighton.”

“You’d drive right past it if somebody didn’t tell you it was there,” Tyler says.

“But the sushi’s worth it.”

Darcy’s already reaching for another piece.

“We’re going.”

The answer’s out of my mouth before I think about it.

“Yeah.”

Tyler nods once, like that settles it.

“We’ve gotta come back here in the fall, too.”

I glance over.

“They deck this whole rooftop out every Sunday.”

He looks at Darcy.

“You’ll love it. Fire pits. Blankets. Hot cider.”

“We brought Mom last year.”

He laughs.

“She spent half the morning trying to sweet-talk the bartender into giving her the apple butter recipe.”

Tyler laughs.

“She almost got it.”

Darcy grins.

“I would’ve been helping.”

“I know. You’ll fit right in.”

I turn my beer once against the table.

The wind picks up across the rooftop, and Darcy rubs both hands up her bare arms once while she keeps talking. Before I can say anything Tyler’s already shrugging out of his jacket.

She notices halfway through her sentence.

“Tyler—”