“No, not yet. I’ve extracted screenshots of her face, but I’ll have to access the Lexcave to start the research process.”
“I love how you call it that, too. What did you refer to it as before? The secret room? The panic office?”
“I didn’t refer to it, since no one but me knew it existed.”
“Ah, makes sense…” I look at the screen where the shot with the woman is paused. “Do you think this might be enough?”
“If it’s just an affair, no. It’ll only piss him off, and his wife might know. But if we find out why she’s so upset, it could help. And I found something else.”
“What?”
“There’s an entire night missing from earlier this month.”
“Missing?”
“There was no footage. I looked into it, and the security logs show the cameras were turned off.”
“For the whole night?”
“Yes. From 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. He didn’t bother turning them off for the blonde woman, but he did for whatever happened during that night. And it looks like it’s a recurring thing. Every month or so, the cameras are disabled for twelve hours.”
“There’s definitely something fishy going on.”
He nods and stares at the frozen frame again. “I’ll look into this as soon as everyone’s gone.”
“Great. I’ll help you.”
Lex’s attention returns to me, and he gives my hip a graze. “You should go back. You’re missing the movie.”
“It’s okay. I’ve seen it many times. I kind of miss you. I’m so used to being with you all the time, it’s weird when we’re apart.”
To mark my words, I make his chair roll back and climb on his lap to snuggle against him. He allows it, assisting my drunken and clumsy enterprise with his strong hands and arms. Tucked against his chest, I breathe him in, flooded by a sense of familiar safety.
“Thank you for allowing me to have this little gathering tonight.”
“Allowing you? I’m not your boss anymore, freckles. You’re free to do whatever you want—as long as you don’t put yourself in danger.”
“I promise I won’t.” I kiss him, needy and amorous. “Ugh, I love you so much,” I profess.
“How much?”
“To infinity and beyond. You’re so perfect. And you make the best margaritas. And you’re so patient with me. I need to step up my game.”
“What do you mean?” he wonders, moving back to look me in the eye.
“You’ve been the best partner ever, and I feel like I’ve been an ungrateful brat the whole time.”
Given his disconcerted frown, he either doesn’t agree or doesn’t get what I’m trying to say. “I don’t—What? I don’t think you’ve been ungrateful. You have been a brat, yes, but it’s one of the reasons I love you, so I have no complaints.”
“What else do you love?” I whisper, craving more of his approval and reassurance.
“There are a thousand things, Andrea. You love deeply and unconditionally, which is something incredible to me. Even my mother never loved me this much. But you do. You risked your own freedom to get me out of jail, and your life to save mine. I don’t think I know a single person who would have done the same for someone they loved.”
“You don’t know the right people, then. What else?”
“I love that you know what you want and aren’t afraid to fight for it. You were right. I could have stayed in Canada for twenty years and been perfectly fine with it. But you wanted your life back, and to fight so we could be ourselves again. I fell in love with you because you’re a force of nature, and I hope you’ll remain one through the years. I also love the way you care about me, above anything else. You have so many love languages, and you shower me with them constantly. You’ll pack an extra snack for me when we go hiking, or bring me a drink when I’m being an antisocial troll locked in my office. Or you’ll pull me out of my corner to do my nails.”
“It looks good on you, by the way. It gives you an alt edge I really like,” I say, grabbing his hand to look at his dark blue nails. I kiss his knuckles, one by one.
