Page 106 of The Baby Bargain
"You first," he says.
"I asked first."
He picks up his chopsticks. Scoops beef and rice to his lips. Chews. Swallows. "Mysteries."
"Mysteries." My head flashes with a mental picture. Chase on the couch in his boxers, flipping through a book, gasping at the reveal. "Why mysteries?"
"Why, what do you read?"
"Urban fantasy. It's kind of like comics, but all words."
"People with super powers in the city."
"Exactly." I take another bite. "I guess I like the fantasy of having magic powers. Of being special and competent and—"
"You are."
My cheeks flush. I don't have a response to that. Only a burning desire to sit in his lap and kiss him.
"Your ex. He probably wasn't sure. If he knew about your timeline, he knew he had to jump or let you go."
"But he—"
"It must have hurt, letting you go."
"How do you know that?"
"How could it not?"
My heart thuds against my chest. Is he saying what I think he's saying? Does he even realize it?
Too many things race through my head.
The sad look in Phillip's eyes. The sympathetic tone to his voice. The concern in Chase's expression.
That's so…
Next topic.
I find the thread of our conversation. Clear my throat. Smooth my tank top. "Why mysteries?"
"Never really thought about it." He picks up a broccoli floret. "There's something about getting the answer to a question that's killing you. I have to know."
"Is it the knowing? Or the wanting to know?"
"Both."
That makes sense. You can't have one without the other.
His eyes meet mine. "I guess everyone reads fiction for the same reason."
"To escape?"
"Because it makes sense. There's a logic to fiction. Everything is there for a reason. Everything resolves. No matter how complicated the characters are, you understand them. What they do. What they want. Why they screw things up."
"It's harder with real people." It's half question, half answer.
He nodsyeah.
