Page 14 of How I Love You

I narrowed my eyes at her. “And if I don’t?”

“I’ll be sad.”

“And if I say I don’t care if you’re sad?”

She grinned. “Then you’d be lyin’.”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”

“Nope. Let’s hear it.”

I sighed. “It was mostly aimed at neurodivergent people. Austin has ADHD, so I get this newsletter about—” I stopped dead in my tracks, once again shocked by the words coming out of my mouth.

But Dakota wasn’t having it. “About what?”

“Um, stuff to help. Anyway, the study talked about choice paralysis. It’s a thing with ADHD, but everyone kinda deals with it. Vending machines trigger it because there’s too much to choose from, and you’d probably be halfway done with your snack by now if there was just a basket on the counter with three options in it.”

She gaped at me. “That can’t be true. What if they were three of my favorite things? I’d still have a hard time choosin’.”

“Maybe, but right now, your three favorite things are hard to see with all the rest of that junk in the vending machine, so your brain’s too cluttered to focus on what you really want.”

She glanced at the vending machine, then back at me. “Well, come on then, help me declutter my brain.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but then she was off the couch, lifting my hand from where it rested on my thigh, tugging on it with all of her might. It wasn’t enough for me to even lean forward, let alone get up, and I stared blankly at her until she dropped my hand.

“Does your butt hurt too much to stand?” She asked with a hint of challenge in her eyes.

Unwilling to let her challenge my manhood, I stood, masterfully hiding any trace of pain. At least, I hoped I had, but her expression told me I hadn’t exactly succeeded.

“Now, come on. What do I do about this?” She danced over to the vending machine, expecting me to follow. “I could really use some chocolate right about now.”

I crossed to her side. “Narrow it down to three choices.”

“Hmm… Snickers, M&Ms, or Rolos. But I don’t wanna unwrap the Rolos, and if I get the Snickers, Adam is just gonna tease me when he walks in and sees me eatin’ it. M&Ms it is!”

Dakota punched the buttons on the vending machine with a kind of enthusiasm that made me think she was solving a real problem, like those M&Ms were the key to world peace. When the bag tumbled down, she grabbed it with a grin, like she’d just won the lottery instead of a snack. I had to look away before I got pulled into the infectious energy she seemed to carry everywhere with her.

“Thanks for that.”

“Why would he tease you for eating a Snickers?”

Why did I even ask that? It wasn’t like I actually cared why Adam would tease her. It had nothing to do with the case, and it sure as hell wasn’t helping me keep my head in the game. But here I was, standing by a vending machine, getting roped into conversations that had no place in a job like this. Distracted. That’s what I was. I didn’t need to be worried about her candy choices or whether she got teased for eating a Snickers. I needed to focus. Period.

“Moody? Eat a Snickers. Please tell me you’ve seen those commercials.”

“I don’t watch much TV.”

“Ah, yes, when you’re not gettin’ shot at while trespassin’, you’re busy learnin’ about ADHD to help your brother. All kiddin’ aside, that’s really sweet.”

Grunting, I crossed my arms. “It’s not sweet. It’s practical.”

“Practically the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Stop that.”

“Why are you so determined to be grumpy with me? You know I can see right through you, right?”

I scowled.

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