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A soul.

Souls have mates. Could she be mine? She has to be, for she put this spark in me.

Teri thinks I’m saving her, but she could be my salvation. Something my kind rarely finds.

“Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no. Everything is good. Very good,” I reassure quickly, snapping back to reality.

“You got quiet.”

“Just thinking.” Thinking about how I could make Teri see that she’s meant to be mine. That I’m serious about her. That I’m even willing to leave town with her if that’s what it takes.

SATURDAY IS FUN. I’Mnot supposed to be having fun. I’m supposed to be fearing for my life and waiting to hear from agents about the degree of life-fearing I should indulge in.

The nearest grocery store to the little house is one of those big chain stores, a Fresh Mart—and according to him, it is the only one in this semi-secluded mountain town.

Reggie and I giggle and flirt our way around the store. I ask if he needs to go down the aisle with light bulbs and tools to keep up the “fixing up the love nest” charade, but he shakes his head. We turn down the aisle where they sell antacids and painkillers. “My allergy medicine.” I grab a box. “As soon as September starts, my eyes turn pink and my nose runs. I look like a miserable rabbit.”

“A cute rabbit, my honey bunny.” Reggie kisses my ear, a light, innocent little kiss that turns my insides into a puddle of lava.

My eyes land on the next aisle as we turn the corner. Pads, tampons, and condoms. We both stop walking. “I... Are we trying for a family?” I ask in a whisper. “In our story?”

“Maybe after we find a place that’s uh—in a school district we like.” Reggie’s hand hesitates next to the condoms, then he lets it fall to the side.

“Do monsters and humans ever have children?” I whisper.

“Often.”

“What about golems?” I ask, staring him in the eye without flinching.

“I believe they could.”

I take the pack of condoms and dangle them over the cart, that lake of lava rising to my cheeks.

Reggie licks his lip. “Is that wise?”

I put down the pack and watch resigned sadness fly across his features before he can hide it.

“You’re right. The three-pack wasn’t wise.” I calmly put them back and take the twelve-pack. “You have two weeks off, baby. I don’t want you to have to keep running back to the store. It’s bad enough you have to work on the wiring.”

“I’ll still find time to make you breakfast in bed, sweetheart.”

As we head to the registers in the front of the store, Reggie nudges me down an aisle full of birthday cards, seasonal novelties, some stuffed toys, and a few card and board games. “I don’t want to pack any board games. When we move to that new school district next year,” I tack on the clumsy cover sentence quickly, even though Reggie hasn’t alerted me that anyone’s paying attention to us. I guess I have to get used to living like this, being careful all the time and watching every word.

“We can always leave them as gifts for the next couple who rents that house,” Reggie shrugs. He throws a deck of cards in the cart as well as a few other kinds of card games, and then holds up a few board games. “Cozy nights at home, babe, when we’re too exhausted to go out?”

This man could talk me into anything. What’s more... in an entire year, Matteo and I never played a game or read a book together. If we didn’t go out and one of us wasn’t in the mood, he watched sports. There was never any discussion, either. He was the one providing a lavish lifestyle. How could I begrudge him a few mindless hours of FIFA when he was taking me around the world?

Still, the realization hits hard—we had nothing in common when we were alone together. A marriage shouldn’t only exist in a public setting.

“My parents used to have our neighbors over and play rummy until all hours. Going out to the movies was a special date for them. They dated on a budget, raising four kids and not earning a lot. But I remember them laughing in the kitchen after us kids were in bed.” I cough suddenly. “It’s a hot one. I’m parched. Should we get a couple of beers, Reggie?”

“Get a six-pack of whatever you want, Teri.”

I get some spiked lemonade and watch Reggie nod in approval. “You like this?”

“I like anything as long as it isn’t flavored like watermelon. Can’t stand it.”