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“I often feel I don’t fit into mine, either—but still.

I have friends, particularly Jakob. There are so many kind people here in Pine Ridge, so many who accept others without question.

I was happy to come here and settle after the war, to watch the town mature and change, and to even play a role in it.

” His square jaw seems even more massive as he grins at me.

“Can you imagine working in one town for over seventy years? I have. I’ve been the community servant, the ever-ready plumber.

In a little town like this, being someone who can really assist others makes you feel needed.

Wanted. Even... Even loved, in a way. That’s kept me happy most of the time. ”

“I’m glad you found support here and that you have a friend like Mr. Minegold.

It’s wonderful that you are able to have a business where people need you and make you feel like you belong.

I didn’t find support in my hometown or with my mother and sisters.

I didn’t get pregnant, I didn’t get married.

I was ‘so cute, such a waste.’ People openly wondered why I felt I was too good for a decent, hard-working local boy?

” I shake my head at the folly of it. “I guess I thought I was.”

“More likely you wanted to see if a man would appreciate you for you, not just another cookie-cutter bride.”

Reggie's words give me hope that my colossal mistake was at least a little bit justified.

“I didn’t even get one of the acceptable degrees—nursing or teaching.”

“I’m sorry, this is a story about you, right? Not some ancestor?”

He makes me laugh, even in the middle of my pity party.

“When a guy from the forties tells you that... Yeah. You can see how backwards my neck of the woods was. Anyway, when one of my college friends got engaged, she held her bachelorette weekend in Miami. I’d never even been on a plane before, and I was twenty-five!

I got to live my fantasy out for a weekend.

Drank, partied, had fun, and met a tall, dark, and handsome bad boy-type.

” I put my chin in my hands. “Confession—I read a lot of romance books in college. My favorites were the kind where the men wore dark suits, dropped diamonds at your feet, and lived the high life. Matteo did all of those things.” And more.

I don’t want to think about the boundary-pushing, orgasm-inducing sex, the first real pleasure I’d ever had with someone.

With an effort, I stop myself from wondering what Reggie would do with me. Would I be his first? Would his hulking, musclebound form, magical abilities, and smooth, cool skin make me prickle with passion?

“It’s okay, Teri. A lot of people get hooked on a fantasy and confuse it with reality,” Reggie soothes.

“I sure did. Guess what? Those books end when the billionaire marries Ms. Joanne Average. My romance with Matteo didn’t.

It went on, and it got hollow. He wanted a sexy girl to sleep with and show off.

Yes, he spoiled me with attention in the form of fancy dinners and weekends on the beach, but.

.. Now I realize how secretive he was, how little I knew about his life or his family.

I never even knew the name of his company.

Did I ask? Sure. Did I press? No. He told me things like, ‘I consult for a lot of companies.’ ‘I have a lot of different clients.’ Damn it!

I really was the poster child for ‘Marry in haste, repent in leisure.’” I feel the hot, angry-at-myself-angrier-at-him tears start flowing.

“I thought we’d get to know each other as we went! Why did I think that?”

An arm slides around my shoulders as they hunch, and a warm, solid weight sinks into the cushion next to me.

“I think it’s because you’re a person who only keeps good secrets and good surprises for others.

My instincts see you as honest. If you hide something, it’s for the greater good.

You clicked with Delgado, so... you thought he was the same kind of person.

That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I thought of people like that.

That they’d turn out to be fun to get to know.

That you can trust life to put good people in your path. ”

I snuffle into his shoulder. “You’re in my path. And I’m in your path. Isn’t that something?”

His lips briefly press the top of my head. “I hope so.”

THERESE IS MY KRYPTONITE . My truth serum.

Simply taking her in my arms makes my chest loosen and flood with warm, relaxed feelings.

I start telling her about the way Pine Ridge was in the 1950s, how I watched hundreds of families come and go, how I set up lots of washers, garbage disposals, and other “modern wonders” for happy little housewives.

How I got bitter. How I closed myself off as the fifties turned into the sixties, seventies, eighties, and the decades kept rolling.

Technology got better and better, but pipes and toilets stayed stubbornly necessary.

How love in this town hasn’t changed. There are hundreds of happy couples, human ones, monster ones, even half-monster, half-human families—and I’m still alone.

Waiting. Waiting to end or to begin, I’ve lost track.

I just talk. I talk more to her than I have to anyone else in years.

Part of it is to make her feel better about her mistakes. Part of it is because I’ve never told anyone all of it. Some people know some things. I give out little pieces of ammunition, never enough for anyone to have more than one or two rounds to hurt me.

As she curls against me, still in her pretty white dress while I’m in my good slacks and untucked, unbuttoned white shirt, I stroke her hair, and we plan out our fake romance.

“Where did you go after Rome?” I ask.

“London.”

“I was ‘born’ in London. I’ve been back many times. I’d love to go again one day, to see it all glittering and rebuilt. I haven’t been back since the early seventies. I’m sure it’s changed.”

We exchange a smile, and Teri picks up our tale.

“Okay. I was in London. You were born there—sometimes, I can even hear the faintest trace of an accent. You went back for a visit, and there you were— sitting in the same coffee shop where I was meeting with my divorce lawyer.” She pauses, frowning.

“It went through so fast, faster than they told me it would... Matteo must have done something shady to have it go through the courts so quickly.”

I nod. He probably didn’t want Therese to ask for his assets or alimony. If she just wanted out, he probably gave it to her in hopes of making his problems disappear, maybe in hopes of keeping her silent if approached by the police or feds.

“Right. You were in the coffee shop, and I happened to overhear the sad tale. I was over there to see my old stomping grounds—to pay respects to friends long lost,” I think of the men who never made it out of the Blitz.

Who never made it back home. I swallow hard.

For some reason, the pain reaches deeper this time, like it’s spread and grown roots.

When something hurts your heart—and your soul.

“I got to thinking about my own life.” I swallow.

The best agents put a piece of themselves in the role to keep them grounded and help them carry off the part.

I’ve been leaving enough pieces to put together an entire jigsaw.

“It made me realize that I’m not getting any younger.

I’m settled and established, but something’s missing.

I want to settle down with someone. I mean, I wanted to settle down. In the story. That’s what we’ll say.”

“We talked and realized that we were both Americans. I realized that you were older, more settled, more mature.”

My hand tangles deeper in her hair as she talks, leaning against me. Even in all the humidity and traveling she’s done today, Teri’s hair is still like silk and smells sweet, like honeysuckle and violets.

“You were the kind of man I wanted. You were a solid, attentive, committed man who was still willing to travel and build a better life. You appreciated my quick thinking, my plans for the future, and the fact that I was still young and sexy.” She says the last line with a bright pink blush.

I can’t help it. I kiss her temple, stealing a deep breath to pull her scent into my memory. “That’s where people are going to doubt. You are young and sexy. Beautiful and sweet. I’m literally old and gray. Bald.”

“If I were sixteen or even eighteen, I’d worry. I’m not worrying. There are plenty of couples with a big age gap. Ours isn’t that big—at least to the rest of the world. There are probably different rules for paranormal couples, aren’t there?”

“Age isn’t the key factor. It’s compatibility of thoughts and spirits,” I explain, head starting to spin.

She talks about this like it’s real. Fuck, I want this to be real.

I hold her tighter, feeling her soft breasts press into my side.

Both of our stomachs rumble in unison. “It’s almost nine!

” I realize with a guilty start. Part of keeping Teri alive means feeding her!

“Pizza?”

“I’ll order in. There are only a couple of pizza places in town, and I know the owners of both.

They won’t question why I’m here. They’ll assume I’m just doing some home improvements, maybe planning to fix this place up and flip it.

But tomorrow, we have to stop behaving like wild honeymooners and go out to get some groceries. ”

“Sounds good to me. Particularly that one part.”

I freeze, my hand on the small of her back. Does she mean the pizza? Or the wild honeymoon behavior?

Gentlemanly me decides it has to be the pizza. “Pepperoni?”