“No worries. And sorry I didn’t make it over here before, but Ted expedited your food as an apology. We like to take care of Morgan’s friends. And Amber’s.” She finishes moving our plates over from the tray and bustles off to another table, where a patron is literally snapping their fingers at her. What’s with the snapping in this town? I think. Then: Maybe there will be another murder soon.

Needing to clear my head, I turn my focus to the food. I grab a spoon, and hot, glorious tomato soup glides down my throat. Ben crunches into a grilled cheese triangle, and ooey-gooey cheese drips down onto his plate. Before I can forget, I pluck a ten-dollar bill from my wallet.

“No, it’s on me,” he insists.

“I can buy my own lunch,” I say. “In fact, after our last date, I should really be paying for you….”

Ben acquiesces, but only on my half. “No, this is good.”

“Thanks. It’s a matter of principle. Plus, you should really milk me for all I’m worth. I’ve got Maura Weston bucks now, and you’re running around in a Viking head to make extra cash.”

“You’re my sugar mama, then,” Ben teases back. “I can finally quit the mascot hustle.”

If this were a movie, we’d kiss now: romantic diner-booth make-out following flirty banter. My heart is pounding, the intimacy terrifying, but…I think I want it. I lean forward, curl my lips into a smile that I hope says Come closer.

It does. He does. I lick my lips so they’re not sticky with soup. I inch nearer.

And then his phone rings. We both startle, the spell of the moment broken.

“It’s Maura,” he says. “I have to take it.”

It readily becomes clear that he has to go. He’s on duty today. Sorry, Ben mouths to me as Maura squawks in his ear. I can hear her through the phone. I think I catch a grocery list. I don’t think food shopping is an essential part of book publishing, but what do I know?

I return to my own to-do list as I shove the last of the grilled cheese into my mouth. The most logical next step is to go back to the hotel, try to dig around about Reama and anyone else in Maura’s fandom who might be shady.