Chapter 21

She was expecting some sarcastic remark, but he just smiled. “If I had it my way, you’d be laughing all the time.”

She swung the café door open so hard she was worried a hinge might break. The place was dead on Sunday nights, so they had their pick of tables. She pointed out a booth in the back and Darian shook his head.

“A table is better,” he said, walking over to one. After he pulled out her chair and took the seat across from her, she could see why he didn’t want a booth. As it was, he would already have to hunch over the low table.

“Everything I’ve had here is good, the wraps especially,” she told him. She doubted he was a picky eater, though.

He scanned the menu earnestly. “They don’t list calories.”

She blinked. “You count calories?”

“Yeah, it’s hard to eat enough with all this low-fat granola bullshit going around,” he said. “I need to stay fueled for, uh, security.”

“Wow. Is the job really that intense?”

“The