We had our first kiss in Farley’s. It tasted like the sweet mocha lattes he’d ordered us. From that moment on, I was all in.

The cooking classes continued—sushi followed by pizza—and Hayden opened his home to foster animals and brought up the idea of making a small kennel beside his shop. When I explained the whole point was to get them out of cages, make them feel part of a family, he understood and let the idea go.

A month after I moved into Hayden’s house, he taught me how to use the table saw and we made a kitchen table together out of bird’s-eye maple. After our first dinner on it—homemade raviolis—he invited me to crawl under the table with him.

“What are we doing down here?” I asked.

Hayden pointed to the words he’d carved in the wood: Constance, I love you. “I know it’s fast,” he said. “But it’s true.”

The question escaped before I had time to push it down. “Why?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be when I’m with you,” Hayden replied.

That night we had sex for the first time and while it wasn’t the hang-from-the-chandeliers sex Mars thinks is vital for any relationship, it felt like home.

Now it seems like we’ve known each other forever. We hop on my Vespa and join a steady stream of cars, his hands resting on my thighs. Is Hayden the one? Mars is positive that he’s not. But I thought Marcus, Damian, Nate, another Marcus, George, and even Hal might’ve been the guy. And Hal did steal my mattress. There’s no rush, I remind myself. Time will tell.

When we walk into game night at Delilah’s the scent of whiskey tickles my nose—Mom’s go-to. We’ve brought our board, same as the rest of the crowd, but since we’re late, they’ve already been randomly paired and begun. That means our first match will be against each other. Shouts and waves from the regular players greet us as we make our way to the last open table. Hayden pulls out my chair and I go to the bar to buy two beers while he mixes the tiles.

“Don’t be too hard on our Hayden tonight,” Bunker calls over.

Bunker is the retired ferry captain who started game night. He holds the record for using all seven of his tiles five times in one game, which scores an extra 50 points each time. Several of the regulars at nearby tables hold up their glasses and smile at us. Everyone is in a great mood for a Wednesday work night. Unfortunately, I still have a pile of work to do after we get home. I actually wanted to skip tonight but Hayden had his heart set on playing.

Hayden starts the timer on his phone then pushes the box top containing the tiles toward me and asks, “How was your day?”

I’m shocked to see I have a seven-letter word right out of the gate. ANXIOUS. That’s 14 points on a double word score, plus 50 for using all my tiles. Hayden gives me a high five.