No one was any the wiser, at least not that they’d let on. And in a town of Merry’s size, if there was news, everyone knew it by lunchtime. They were careful to remain professional around others. But alone? There were no rules, no barriers, no strings.

They’d seemed to settle into a limbo of relying entirely on the present, never discussing the future.

It was just the way Cat liked it. She’d be leaving soon enough and didn’t want anything complicating that. She couldn’t imagine moving on to the next project while her heart was still with the last. It wasn’t how she worked, how she lived. Newer was better, more exciting. There was always another adventure around the next corner. She just needed to keep turning corners to find them.

As her days in Merry ticked down, she had to admit there was a pull here. The town, the people, Noah. Cat couldn’t remember feeling more at home anywhere else besides her grandmother’s kitchen.

A dog barked from a second-floor apartment over the drycleaners, and Cat pulled the wool cap lower. She was a spy, a ninja of the night. Meeting her secret lover for a midnight tryst. The image made her smile.

She was two blocks from Noah’s house. Noah’s warm, childless house. With his comfortable couch, his big screen TV, his rumpled bed, his warm, capable hands…

She was daydreaming. That’s why she didn’t see it coming, the arm that snaked out from the alleyway, hooking around her waist and pulling her into the dark.

She didn’t need to see his face. Her body recognized Noah’s, even under all the layers.

“Are you mugging me?” she asked, slyly pressing her cold face to his neck.

“I’m walking you home.” The words came out in a silvery cloud, and she could feel the heat of his breath against her face.

What was it about the man that made her feel… happy? A warm Sunday kind of happiness. Soft glowing embers and meaningful smiles. He was her warm, safe place. Temporarily, of course.

“I know where you live,” Cat teased.

“We’re secret lovers,” Noah insisted. “You need my help sneaking over the fence in the backyard so no one sees us.”

“Why don’t we just go in the front door?” Cat asked.

“I saw Mrs. Appleby’s blinds twitching since nine tonight. I think she’s watching, waiting.”

Cat laughed, and they started down the alley. “Well, we can’t get caught. I never got caught. It would ruin my perfect streak.”

“You snuck out when you were a kid?”

Cat slipped her arm through Noah’s in the privacy of the dark night. “I was very stealthy.”

“Did you meet boyfriends after curfew?” Noah asked.

“On occasion.” Rules of good conduct held no allure for Cat, not now and not when she was a teenager.