Page 84 of Death and Do-Overs

Heat crept up my neck. “Oh, hi.”

“Good morning. Are you all set to hunt down a homicidal fox?”

“Coffee first,” I said, looking anywhere but at him. “And it’s apossibly-homicidal fox.”

“You’re right. That makes me feel far more prepared.”

The corner of my lips twitched involuntarily, in what was almost a smile.

I would not be disarmed by him. I would not be charmed by him.

We headed down the hall and out to the cafe on the corner. After we ordered, we claimed a table out front. I sipped at my coffee and let the warm caffeine do its work. The quiet was more comfortable than I’d expected as we ate breakfast. Then, far too soon, Levi spoke.

“Before we depart, there’s something we need to discuss.”

The kiss, because of course.

I gulped down the last of my coffee. “No. It was a brief moment of brain frazzle, nothing worth discussing.”

He raised a brow.

“It was hardly a peck, two mouths passing by each other like two midnight trains in a pitch-black tunnel, with no deeper meaning.” I was completely aware of how ridiculous I sounded, but I couldn’t shut up.

“Two trains?”

“Sure, why not? You know what happens when trains clip each other? It’s a catastrophic collision with deadly consequences.”

The corners of his cheeks pulled upward behind his coffee mug. His shamrock eyes sparkled with amusement. “I was referring to the plan about the fox.”

Ugh.

Before I could respond, he added, “But since you brought it up, I can’t let your misrepresentation slide.”

“It’s not a misrepresentation of events. It’s the truth of what happened. We barely kissed. It was a peck, a mistake born of falsely-inflated emotion. It meant nothing.”

“Kissing me might not have meant anything to you, Marshmallow.” He set down his mug and leaned forward. “But it meant plenty to me.”

Heat and uncertainty swirled through my stomach. I pressed my lips together rather than ask what exactly the kiss meant to him.

It couldn’t mean anything. He didn’t know me well enough to form any meaningful attachment. We were strangers with a shared goal, that was all.

Those thoughts, the reasonable denial, felt hollow. Maybe a teeny tiny part of me wanted him to prove me wrong.

A moment passed as we stared at each other. Then another, and another.

Finally he freed me from the tension by changing the subject. “Since neither of us are particularly familiar with kitsunes, or where they might go, I suggest we return to the place the blurry red image was captured.”

“Agreed.” I pulled up the group conversation on my phone and clicked on the image in question. It wasn’t only the maybe-fox that was blurry. The gray background was blurry, too. “Any idea where to look?”

“Let’s assume the gray is stone,” Levi said.

“Stone pathways, like the ones that fill the entire town of Nevermore.”

“Yes, but a stone pathway Imogen walked. You were with her, so we can check only the streets the two of you followed.”

Okay, that did help. “I also have the pictures she took before and after to narrow the area down further.”

Levi smiled. “I’m ready when you are.”

---