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“You do look happy,” Laura added with a smile.
“Thanks,” she said with a shrug.
“So he’s not Woody?” Holden asked with the wind taken out of his sails.
“No, and I don’t think he has a snake in his boot either, but I like him anyway.”
With that he shrugged, clearly questioning her taste, and went back to eating.
The rest of the dinner passed with a lot of laughs, talking about old calls and characters they had run into.
They took a break to clear the table and get ready for the board game when Holden started rubbing his eyes. Laura and Carter stepped away to put him to bed, while she and Ash set up Clue.
“We haven’t played Monopoly in ages,” Ash said, looking at the discarded box.
“You know it takes forever.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s still my favorite.”
“I guess it makes sense that after a day of investigation, you’re not digging the candlestick with Colonel Mustard.”
Ash smiled and dropped the envelope in the center of the board. “Maybe. I do still love it, but I like being a slumlord more. No mysteries. Everything’s out in the open in Monopoly.”
“Still thinking about work?”
“It’s impossible for me not to.”
“I know it’s hard, but maybe you need a day off or a fresh angle.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s it. I’ll keep plugging away tomorrow.”
“Alright, ladies, you are going down,” Laura said, coming back downstairs with an eager grin.
Ash’s mask was back in place. With a determined edge in her smile, she grabbed her pencil, ready to make notes. “Bring it on.”
CHAPTER31
Two days later, the sound of the whisk beating the eggs against the bowl was music to Troy’s ears. It had been another great night with Megan and an even better morning when he had woken up next to her.
Instead of some glib remark about leaving, today he wanted to take his time making her breakfast and treating her to something special, so omelets were on the menu, along with bacon in the skillet and her favorite huckleberry muffins that were warming in the oven.
He had planted a kiss on her neck when she was making the coffee in her robe, right in that spot she loved, then set to work, making himself at home in the kitchen. Even the birds were chirping happily away.
It all felt so normal, from the eclectic styling of her apartment to the sounds of breakfast cooking with the TV on in the background. He had never really lingered long enough to cook breakfast for someone, and he loved the familiarity.
The scuffing of her slippers announced her arrival in the kitchen after making the bed and taking a quick shower. Her skin was pink from the shower, and her red hair was thrown up into some sort of bun but was wet at the edge of her neck. He hadn’t lied when he said how much of a knockout she was, but seeing her in leggings and an oversized stretched-out Henley brought new meaning to the word cute.
God, that sleepy smile undid him.
“Breakfast is almost ready.”
“It smells delicious. I’ll set the table.”
The sounds of the bacon sizzling mixing with a clang of silverware brought him back to being in Mom’s kitchen as a child. The smells and feel of the cast iron in his hand invoked a muscle memory that filled him with joy. He finished his own omelet, which was not as good as the ones his mom had made, and set it to rest under a plate as a cover, before putting the bacon on a paper towel to drain.
Now warmed up, Troy poured the eggs into the hot pan for Megan. He ran the spatula around the outside edge of the pan when the eggs had firmed enough and sprinkled in the cooked peppers and onions before adding the cheese and folding the eggs around everything. With a flick of the wrist he slid it out onto the plate. He plated everything and brought the dishes over to the table. Megan sat with one leg tucked under and was checking her email on her phone, looking cozy and cuddly.
“Breakfast is served,” he said, placing it down in front of her with a flourish.
