Page 47 of The Pleasure of Panic

I slip her shoe off before she can think too hard about that. Clearly, her feet need the attention if it makes her that uncomfortable.

When I look up at her, I’m grinning. So big.

She counters with, “Why were you demoted? When you left the FBI in DC?”

Shit. Why’d I have to go admit that to her? “It’s a long story.”

“Those boots will take a long time to put on. We’ve got time. Now talk.”

I eye the boots and decide she’s right. There’s no zipper, it’s just laces and grommets for as far as the eye can see.

Which absolutely delights me. So fuck it.

“OK,” I say, cupping her foot. It’s tiny, just like her. And soft.

She grits her teeth, holds onto my shoulder for balance, and mumbles something like, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”

“I’m Irish.”

“Yes,” she hisses, like she’s trying to distract herself. “Your name doesn’t hide that fact.”

“Right. It’s like a goddamned stigma. But what can you do?”

“You could change it, I guess.” She’s calmer now, because I’ve let go of her foot and she’s not balancing on one leg. But she winces and grabs my shoulders again when I reach for the other one and slip that shoe off too.

“I could, I guess. But doesn’t change who I am.”

“Who are you?”

“Finnegan Murphy.”

“Finnegan.” She laughs. “It’s silly and sexy at the same time.”

“So I’ve been told before. Back east the Irish have a certain… reputation.”

“Oh,” she says.

“Is that an, Oh, that’s interesting, kind of oh? Or an, Oh, that’s too bad, kind of oh?”

“Bad, dummy.”

I swipe a finger up the underside of her foot until she tries to hop backwards. I have her by the ankle with the other hand, so she gets… maybe two inches of space.

“Stop it!” she squeals.

“Then be fair. You want to know things about me? I’m telling you them. But you can’t judge me until I’m done.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Well, it is now. Because that’s playing fair. And we’re playing fair.”

“Then don’t tickle me.”

“Deal.”

I smile up at her, but she’s scowling. “Go on.”

“OK, so I’m from a big extended Irish family. And my father was FBI, and his father was FBI, and his father before that was FBI too.”