Page 53 of The Love Operation

Isaac exhales, long and slow, like he’s making peace with his fate. “I’ll try.”

I hold out my hands. “That’s all I ask. And Grandma can stay.”

“So generous of you. Okay, my turn,” he says. “What’s your toxic trait?”

“When I’m tired, I get . . . horny and mouthy.”

His lips twitch. “Ohh, is that what happened last night when you attacked me?”

“I didn’t attack you. And I’ll point out that you didn’t seem to mind.”

“I definitely didn’t. Though you probably shouldn’t have told me that because now it will be my sole mission to keep you awake.”

“There are worse goals in life. What’s your toxic trait?” I ask.

He exhales. “I see a problem, and I want to solve it. Immediately. Doesn’t matter if you want me to or not.”

I tap a finger to the corner of my mouth. “So if I rant to you about something, instead of just listening or agreeing with me, you’d be all, ‘Here’s what you should do’?”

He nods. “Right.”

“That’s not the worst thing.”

“Wait till I do it a couple times. Then get back to me.”

Mid-chuckle, my doorbell rings.

We look at each other.

I frown. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

Isaac raises an eyebrow. “Is this your get-out-of-a-date doorbell? Do you have an emergency rescue friend waiting to swoop in, just in case this went south?” He narrows his eyes.

“I don’t do things like that. If I didn’t want you here, I’d ask you to leave.”

His smile is slow. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

I push up onto my knees. “So, you have to stay because I don’t know who this is. And I might need you here in case it’s an axe murderer.”

“We reference axe murderers a lot in society, but how many times do you actually hear about someone going full Lizzie Borden?”

I nod. “Good point. Could be a crossbow murderer instead.”

His lips part, as if he’s impressed. “Much more plausible.”

I start to get up, but he catches my arm. “Wait. I thought you weren’t defined by gender roles, but now you want me to protect you from the crossbow murderer?”

“I never said protect. Those are your masculine assumptions sneaking in. All I asked was that you stay in case of a crossbow murderer.”

He looks serious, but I can tell he’s suppressing a smile. “So, I shouldn’t save you?”

I huff, pretending to be irritated. “I’m not saying that if the opportunity arose, you shouldn’t not save me. But what I really need you here for is an alibi—so when I disarm the crossbow murderer and accidentally kill them, you can tell the police it was self-defense.”

His face is alight with joy. “Accidentally kill?”

“Well, I haven’t spent the requisite ten thousand hours practicing crossbow safety.”

“Right. It all makes sense now. Sure, you can count on me as your alibi.”