Page 65 of Roaring Spell

I look at the title. “Stakeout of the Heart: A Surveillance Romance.”

“I don’t control the shop’s literary recommendations.” Berry’s expression is utterly innocent. “It just... knows things. About people. And their romantic situations.”

“How does a bookshop know about my romantic situation?”

“Surveillance can be boring. Unless you make it interesting.” She winks and disappears before I can respond.

I stare at the book. The cover features a man and woman hiding behind bushes, their faces very close together.

Valesh’s house sits in a quiet residential area of The Hollow—respectable, well-maintained, utterly unremarkable. The kind of home that belongs to a trusted community member with nothing to hide.

We’re positioned across the street, tucked into the shadows of an alley between two shops. The mist provides cover, swirling thick and low tonight. Good for hiding. Less good for visibility.

Torin shifts beside me, and I hear the rustle of paper.

“What are you doing?”

“Anticipating.” He produces a small bag from his jacket. “Surveillance can take hours. You’ll get hungry.”

I peer into the bag. Chocolate. The good kind—dark with sea salt, my absolute favorite. A small container of the spiced nuts from Sunny’s bakery. Two of the lemon bars I mentioned loving yesterday.

“How do you always know what I want?”

“I pay attention.”

“That’s...” I search for the right word. “Disconcerting.”

“Romantic sounds better.”

I stare at him in the darkness. He’s brought me snacks. Surveillance snacks. Carefully curated based on observed preferences and casual comments.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m thorough.” He holds out the chocolate. “Eat. It helps with the cold.”

I take a piece. It melts on my tongue—rich and sweet with just enough salt. Perfect.

“This is very good chocolate.”

“You mentioned it. Three weeks ago. When Berry gave you a sample from her trip to the coast.”

“You remembered a throwaway comment about chocolate from three weeks ago?”

“I remember everything you say.” His voice is matter-of-fact. Unembarrassed. “It’s becoming a problem, honestly. My brain has started organizing information by Sakura-relevance.”

“That sounds obsessive.”

“It’s incredibly obsessive. I’ve made peace with it.” He takes a piece of chocolate himself. “How long do we wait?”

“I thought you were the expert on surveillance.”

“As long as it takes.”

“That’s not a timeframe.”

“Surveillance rarely is.” Torin shifts slightly, adjusting his position. He’s warm and solid and disturbingly close. “Patience is part of the process.”

“I told you before, I’m not good at patience.”