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She nodded. “And they were all negative.”
“What if I’d hooked up with some random woman since then?” I asked.
She snorted. “You’re a serial monogamist. I’m sure of that.”
She was right. I didn’t like one-night stands. I kind of wanted the connection. I wanted someone to talk to. I wanted someone to love, who might be able to love me back.
“And you’ve been tested?” I had to ask.
“Two months ago. All clean. And I’ve never had sex without a condom. Not until you.”
“Ever?”
“Never.” She shook her head and the pencil fell from the knot of hair at the back of her head, making her hair fall down around her shoulders.
I reached for the top buttons of her blouse and started to unfasten them one by one. She watched my face while I did it, not making a move except to lick her lips.
But suddenly, my door opened. And of course Shelly did the opposite of what any other woman would do. She didn’t move. She didn’t jump up and try to fix her clothes. She just sat there. I looked over her shoulder and saw John Spanner, my old boss. He turned away to face the wall. “Should I come back at another time?”
I patted Shelly’s hip so she would stand up, and then I turned her toward the bathroom with a tiny push. She walked away, closing the bathroom door behind her.
“I thought you were going to call?” I said to John, sliding further behind Shelly’s desk.
“I figured why call when I could stop by.” He laughed. “Now I’m thinking that I should have called.”
“It’s okay.” I riffled through Shelly’s papers, putting them back in order. “I kind of wanted Shelly to explain it to you, anyway. This is her project.”
“Who’s Shelly?” John asked, glancing toward the bathroom.
“She’s my partner. And I’m pretty sure she’s the woman I’m going to marry someday.”
He chuckled. Then he instantly sobered. “Holy shit. You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack.”
I motioned for him to sit down in the chair across from me. He sank down gingerly. “You have to tell me everything.”
I chuckled. “I honestly wouldn’t know where to start.”
He stared at me. And then Shelly stepped out of the bathroom. She had fixed her shirt and her hair, and she’d reapplied her lip gloss because I could smell cherries when she leaned close to me to pick up a pencil. She rolled her hair into a ball and stuck the pencil in it.
“This is John Spanner, Shelly. John, meet Shelly.”
She stuck out her hand. John, still a little shell-shocked, took her hand and shook it.
“So, why am I here?” John asked.
“Because I know who the vigilante killer is.” Shelly’s voice was rock-solid, leaving no room for doubt.
John looked from me to Shelly and back again. “Are you going to tell me?”
And Shelly started to talk. And talk. And talk. And before the end of the conversation, I think John was more than a little bit in love with Shelly too.
Chapter 36
Shelly
John Spanner was a smart man. He wasn’t just book-smart, although I could tell that he took some pleasure in my spreadsheets and calculations. He was also people-smart. He had sized me up the moment he’d sat down, and I’d had to work to change his opinion of me. Now that he was leaving, I felt like I had all his respect, admiration, and his gratitude.
