Page 51 of Shadow

“Romantic.”

“That’s me.”

“If you say so, cupcake. Now, how did we meet?”

“Why do I have to do all the heavy lifting?”

“It’s your fantasy.”

“It’s not⁠—”

He was smirking.

“Fine. We met at work. FBI and Marshals Service joint training. Three years ago.”

“No. Too many follow-up questions.”

“Fair,” she said. “So what do you do for a living?”

“I dunno. I sell Teslas. Or maybe I’m a realtor.”

She laughed. “No one will buy that.”

“Then what?”

“Um. Construction worker?”

He cocked his head at her. “I strike you as a guy who wields a hammer?”

“It’s the boots.”

He looked at them. “What’s wrong with my boots?”

“They’re very…steel toe and hard hat.”

“Fine. I’m a contractor. We met while I was remodeling your house. You can’t resist a guy who looks good in steel toes, kept coming up with extra jobs for me until I finally got the hint and asked you on a date.”

Daphne glanced at him. “No one will buy that either.”

“They will once I show them my steel toes.” He waggled his eyebrows.

She huffed a laugh, turned back to the road. “We met while you were remodeling my house. End of story. Where do we live?”

“Well, we can’t live here.”

“Seattle. Keep it simple, right?”

“You’re from Seattle?”

“Yes. Okay, maybe I’ll be a travel agent. Quiet job. Lots of paperwork nobody wants to verify.”

“Do we want kids?”

She stilled, and for some reason, heat climbed up her neck. “Kids?”

“Small humans. Destined to cost us millions and break our hearts.”

“No. No kids.”