“Really?” I watch him warily. “For work?”
He nods, picking up a book and reading the back.
He never really saidwhathe does, did he? “Which is…”
“Exhausting but well paid.” He opens the cover and flips through some pages. “Lots of traveling, too.”
“Really?”
“I can’t talk too much about it.”
Oh, he’s hoping to keep something private in this town? Mrs. Prattle will tell me all about his secret business by the end of the week. “Anyway, sorry about Vanessa. She’s a good friend and my best friend’s girlfriend and a little…”
He meets my gaze over the edge of the book. “Insane?”
“Intense,” I correct. “What were you doing, anyway? In my backyard?”
“I thought…” He shakes his head as if doubting himself. “I’m probably wrong, but I thought I saw a cat.”
“No, you’re likely right. Sherlock always sneaks out to see his girlfriend.”
We’ve reached the end of the aisle, so I give him another book and walk to the next one, my stomach immediately sinking when I notice the abundance of pink covers.
Romance.
I turn around and walk back to the crime section.
“What was that?”
“What?”
He points at my pursed lips, then turns back to the romance section. “What—oh. Romance books, of course. How’s the podcast going?”
“Not great.” I feel his gaze on the side of my face. “I delivered my first script about this stupid fake-dating book, and apparently, I didn’t get the point. My boss might have called it slander.”
He hisses through his teeth, then walks back. “So let’s check out their selection.”
“No, thank you.”
He ignores me, standing in the romance aisle across from me. He picks up a book—a pink one—and reads the back. “This one seems nice. She’s obsessed with weddings, but—”
“Nope,” I snap.
“All right.” He sets it back on the shelf, then picks up another. After his face scrunches, he discards that one, too.
Fighting a chuckle, I focus on the blurb of the book I’m holding.
“How about this one, then?”
I look up and see him holding a red book. On the cover, a woman with a detective trench coat and a slightly messy ponytail holds amagnifying glass. A man stands opposite her, holding a book in one hand and looking down at her.
The Love Alibi.
“What’s it about?”
“A detective investigating a string of murders who falls in love with the suspect, a widower and bookseller who’s withdrawn from the world.”
I tilt my head, considering it. “I guess it beats wedding planning.”
