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Lewis bit his lip as if he wanted to speak but didn’t know how to begin.

“Is everything okay with you?” I asked, eyeing him. “You look a bit tormented.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Melissa tried to change my mind about hiring her, but I told her I had already hired you,” he said. “I want you to know, I never break a promise. The job is yours, and I truly want you to walk Archie. You disappeared all of a sudden, and I didn’t know whether it was because of Melissa or not.”

“It wasn’t,” I lied. “Dad needed me in the kitchen.”

To eat a lot of cookies.

A look of relief crossed his face. “That’s good to hear. I was worried I had done something wrong. I don’t want to come across as impetuous.”

“You did everything right,” I said. “I don’t even know how to thank you for helping me out. With the nose and the car ride.”

“That’s okay, it’s my pleasure.”

I glanced at his hands. “I could offer you a palm reading?”

His eyes lit up as he laughed. “That doesn’t even sound so bad. I’m curious to hear what you have to say.”

“Don’t expect too much,” I said. “It’s just a bit of fun.”

As we covered the distance to my apartment, I thought about holding his hand in mine. It was almost as if his body was made of honey, and I was a hungry bear. I just had to touch it.

He pulled up at my apartment and turned off the engine. He flipped on the light above us, then extended his hand out to me, palm facing up.

“You want that reading now?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.

“Why not? There’s no time like the present.”

I grinned. “Okay, why not.”

I took his hand in mine and traced his palm with my fingertip. “This is your dominant hand, right?”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “My hand can be quite dominant if you know what I mean.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “That’s intel I don’t need for this.”

“What? I’m talking about the hand I operate with. Stop with the naughty thoughts,” he said with faux shock.

“I’m not thinking anything weird,” I said, even though that was a big fat lie. All this talk of his hands and how dominant they were made me fantasize about what it would feel like to have them touch me.

Our eyes locked for a moment, and I hoped my swollen nose would mask the heat building in my cheeks.

“So, erm, yes… your palm,” I said, breaking eye contact.

I studied his palm, tracing the head line, the heart line, and the life line. His hands were big but soft as a peach. I wanted to ask him what moisturizer he used. I wanted hands as soft as his. Or his soft hands on my…Focus, Olive.

“Do you see anything interesting?” Lewis asked, peering down at his palm as well.

“I do. These lines tell me a bit about your personality. This one here indicates you’re open to new ideas. And this one gives me reason to think your heart has been through quite the battle.”

A weak smile crossed his features. “That all sounds spot on. What about my love life? Will it recover from the blow it received recently?”

Him referring to it as a blow made it clear that whatever had happened to him hadn’t been easy. I felt compelled to ask him but decided it was best to let him initiate that conversation if he wanted to.

“Of course, it will recover,” I said instead.

“You can see that in my palm?”