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door, but he never came. By the time she turned the water off, the anticipation had turned into disappointment and her body thrummed with sexual frustration.
    Mia toweled off quickly and put on her clothes. She knew what he was doing. She expected him to come corner her in the shower—to move things to the next level and assert his dominance—and so he did the opposite and stayed back on purpose. Just to drive her crazy. Their life had been one constant chess game of the mind after the other. It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time. It wasn’t often a person found that kind of challenge in someone they loved.
    When she came out of the bedroom she was even more surprised to find him stretched out on her sofa, his eyes closed and his breathing even.
    “I’m not asleep,” he said.
    “Whatever you say. Are you going to tell me why you’re really here?”
    “Fucking you isn’t a good enough reason?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
    “It’s a byproduct. You wouldn’t have come all this way just for that. It’s a waste of work hours and manpower. You want something else too.”
    “If I tell you will you feed me dinner?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “It’s been a while since we’ve had a date,” he said, ignoring her refusal.
    “I don’t think we ever dated. I’m pretty sure we fell into bed and then went from there.”
    “An oversight on both our parts. We should have a date.”
    “Seven years too late. But I can put a frozen pizza in the oven. Mrs. Baker downstairs gives me things to put in the freezer because she’s afraid I’ll starve.”
    “If she made it, I’ll eat it,” he said.
    Mia kept her hands busy by putting the pizza in the oven and grabbing two bottles of beer from the fridge. She tossed him one and he snatched it out of the air with a quick flick of his wrist.
    He unscrewed the bottle top and took a long pull, and then surprised her by saying, “They love you, by the way,” and then he shrugged. “I know you’re curious.”
    “No, I’m not. You just want to tell me what they had to say because cops gossip as much as the women downstairs.”
    “What I want is for you to stop arguing with me, you hardheaded woman. Christ knows why I find that such a turn-on.”
    “You always were a perverse creature.”
    “You’d know better than anyone. Do you have a beer to go with the pizza?”
    They’d been so much more than lovers. They’d been partners. And when you combined both of those things, there were no words to describe that kind of bond. The saying of being someone’s other half was true. You had to know every part of their personality—their quirks and habits—their sorrows and joy. Partners were often closer than spouses ever could be. And then when you added the sex on top of that level of personal intimacy, it was as if you didn’t belong to yourself anymore.
    They’d had that, once upon a time. And then she’d severed the connection like she would a limb from the body. To protect herself. He’d refused to meet her halfway. She hadn’t been able to face undercover work again. Not after what had happened. And he hadn’t been able to leave it behind. The job had always come first.
    “Mrs. Baker said that she likes that you slip her cat treats when you think no one is looking. And there was another lady in there, she looked a little bit like a female Milton Berle—”
    “That’s Ginny Goodwin,” Mia said, knowing exactly who he was talking about from the description.
    “Well, she said that sometimes you secretly pick up the check for people over at the diner. Especially the older folks that live on social security.”
    “So what?” she said, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden.
    “Don’t get defensive. You’ve made your mark here. The way you work too hard and need to take better care of yourself. Their words, not mine,” he said, holding up his hands when she started to snarl. “The way you pitch in on city cleanup days or sneak into the back