The real Josie, smiling when she sees me, stands outside herapartment building with a sprig of jasmine blossoms tucked in her curls. She’s casually dressed, in a formfitting sweater and tight jeans that hug her hips and do exactly nothing to cool me down. I am ridiculous. This woman makes me ridiculous. When this project is done, I’m going to have to settle for getting my Josie fix from an AI approximation. Which is also ridiculous.
“Wow, this car!” But the minute she hops in, the rain clouds decide to sprinkle a light drizzle over us.
“Should I pop up the top?” I ask. “I think we’re going to drive through it.”
“No, keep it open. It’s just a mist,” she says, smoothing her hair. But then, in the next minute, I’ve got to work to keep from laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asks, but she knows, as her fingers work to tame those wild ringlets.
“Is that what the rain does to your hair, lass? It looks like it doubled in size.”
“Not funny.”
“I’m just imagining you in the Scottish Highlands. It’s all mist all the time. You’d be pure Medusa.”
“Watch your mouth, or I might turn you to stone right now,” she jokes, but her cheeks are red.
Now I roar with pent-up laughter as I press the button to close the roof. “Ach, look at that. We managed to wrestle all those curls under one roof.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re just jealous you can’t pull off this look.”
“Only teasing, mind,” I say. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend so long, and as good a sport as she is, I don’t want to ruin it with my smart mouth. If she only knew how much I’ve dreamed of seeing her hair spread out on my pillow, of letting myhands cup the back of her neck. How badly I’d like to be responsible for that untamed bedhead.
Josie shifts. “I think I’m sitting on your phone—here—” She’s about to give it back, but then it dings with a new text message that plays across the car’s screen. Dammit. I’m usually more careful about my privacy but I’ve never had anyone in my passenger seat before.
Strike: Got the file. Nice work. Now have fun, and don’t forget to grab your Magnum XLs for if it goes one way and a spare room key in case it goes another.
Josie’s eyes narrow when she reads the message. She looks up at me, horrified.
“Ah, that’s just…give me that.” I paw for my phone and then jab at the screen to make it go away. Fucking Strike. I am going to destroy him. It will be a miracle if she doesn’t make me turn this car around and go right back to Shelton.
“Seriously. What the hell, Axe? He used an eggplant emoji!”
“I’m sorry, luv. Strike is just being an arsehole. Since before we even met, he’s been trying to set us up,” I admit. This is true. Long before I first clapped eyes on Josie at Honor’s art show—when she rightly put me in my place—Strike was telling me how he’d found my soulmate and couldn’t wait for us to meet.
Soulmatewas not a word I’d ever heard Strike use, even when he’d proposed to his deceased wife. I’d put his new romantic streak down to Strike suddenly finding himself madly, stupidly in love and then madly, stupidly heartbroken when, for a while there, it looked like he and Honor were going to crash and burn.
Josie softens a bit. I pick up speed again, like if I get us toShimmy Beach fast enough, she’ll be less likely to make me turn the car around.
“Honor wanted to set us up, too. She was so bummed when I…” Josie stops, embarrassed.
“When youhated meon sight?” I say.
“I did nothateyou,” she says, crossing her arms. “I found you…insufferable.”
“And now?” I ask.
“You’re still insufferable,” she says, but there’s a smile sneaking into her voice. “And also kind of great.”
I try to keep a straight face, but I can feel a grin breaking through.
“Magnum XLs…?” she asks.
“I didn’t say it. Strike did,” I say and wait a beat. “But…he’s not stretching the truth.”
Josie’s jaw drops, and as I’m about to lean over and close it, we both jump as a zap of lightning breaks in front of us, followed by a thunderclap that rattles the car. The sky opens up and the rain pours down in buckets.
Reckon we’re going to plan B.
