“I don’t know,” Zed admitted. “I’ve never met anybody like her. She doesn’t make anything easy for me. She’s not immune from my charms, exactly. But she leaves it at that. I’m throwing out my best woo and she just smiles and moves on in the conversation. I have no idea what she’s thinking any time, ever. I mean, Pam was crazy, but she was predictable. If you talked during Gray’s Anatomy, she broke your stuff. If she sees that her number is saved under ‘Crazy Pam’ on your phone, she throws a TV through your bathroom window. There were patterns. This girl, I just never know. The things that would make most girls go nuts? Not even a blip on her radar. But imply that I might like to take her out on a date, it’s apparently the greatest insult to womanhood since strip aerobics.”

“So, she’s not falling all over herself to crawl into your love cave. Boo freaking hoo.”

“Well, that’s not the sympathetic response I was hoping for,” Zed said.

“Oh, because for once, you’re having to work to keep a lady’s attention? That’s called being a grown-ass man, being interested in a grown-ass woman. Because grown-ass women require more of you. You think it’s easy trying to hold a conversation with a woman who has a Ph-damned-D? All of the words she uses have more than three syllables. You know what she talks about in her sleep? VENN DIAGRAMS. Because of her, I went out and bought a damn book on poverty and how it affects American communities. But it’s worth it. Because grown-ass women are worth it. Yeah, these girls from the outside world are wily and unpredictable—Ow.” He paused as Jillian slid into the booth and lightly punched his bicep.

“I am not wily or unpredictable,” Jillian said, pointing a finger in his face. “I am a delicate fucking flower of guilelessness.”

“You’re right, elskling, You’re practically made of spun sugar.” Bael pushed part of his pecan pie over toward Jillian’s plate and she seemed slightly mollified.

Zed laughed. “Tell me again how it’s all worth it.”

“You make whipping sounds and I’ll take you outside and beat your ass,” said Bael.

Jillian shrugged and scooped pie into her mouth.

“I went through something similar with Jillian after we first got together, remember? I showed her my horde, which is as close to ‘Will you go steady with me, check yes or no?’ as dragons get. And she thought it was a research opportunity?” Bael reminded him. “We had weeks of miscommunication because she didn’t get my culture. And that was with a woman who desperately wanted to understand and accommodate that culture.”

“I said I was sorry about that,” said Jillian. “There is literally no book about how to date a dragon.”

Bael kissed her forehead. “I know, sweetheart.”