Page 99 of Beach Bodies

‘It’s where I’d been planning to go. I need to officially sell Taste of Heaven to Lisa. Sign the paperwork.’

‘You know, there’s this thing called Docusign…’

OK, smartass.

‘Well, where areyougoing?’ I say.

‘Chicago. I have a lead on a story that might become Season Six.’

I tilt my head. ‘I mean, I’ve always liked deep dish pizza…’

‘They have good Italian beef there, too. Just saying.’

OK, now I’m salivating. I clutch my purse strap. ‘All I have with me are the clothes on my back.’

‘Pretty sure there’s a Target in Chicago.’

‘And what? I just… follow you around while you do your thing? See the sights?’

He shifts his weight. ‘Actually, I’ve been looking for a co-host. For the podcast.’

What?

It takes the surprise a few seconds to move through my body.

‘OK,’ I say slowly. ‘You want me to co-host the true crime podcast that tried to pin six murders on me?’

‘Well… five. And one attempted.’

‘Are you nuts?’

‘You’re smart. Passionate. Witty. You care about justice.’

‘I think we come at justice fromslightlydifferent angles.’

His grin blooms slowly. ‘Is that a problem?’

We regard each other. There’s so much I don’t know. Where I’m going to sleep tonight, for example. Or, you know, what I’m going to do with my life.

But none of that seems as relevant right now as the question standing before me, muscled and confident and simmering with quiet energy.

‘What about us?’ I say softly, because I can’t ask,Are you still in love with me?Not out loud. Three years and a prison sentence stand between then and now, and I can’t assume anything.

‘That’s what I came here to find out,’ he says.

I reach forward and gently push up his sunglasses so I can see his eyes. I look at him, and let him look at me.

Ooooh, shit.I remember this. The power of his gaze as it delves into me.

It’s the gaze of someone who knows me.

Not everything, of course.

But the most important things. What I’ve done and why. And somehow…

He’s not scared.

I lower his glasses. Nod slowly.