page31 (1/2)

I duckMalik a sheepish smile “Well, totally missed that My bad”

Malik waves ood”

“And look at the tiot to get going if we’re going to make our reservations”

Our beers are allasses Cage points at the pitcher, giving Malik a pointed look “Finish that off”

Malik gives him a mock salute

We say our goodbyes, Anna telling ain I’ her and Malik together the way I did Truthfully, I tell her I would love that

Cage made reservations at an Italian restaurant on Market Square, and it’s only a three-block walk It’s freezing outside, so alk briskly, arether

“They’re great,” I say “Wish we had et to know them a bit better All they wanted to talk about was me”

“Well, you are thewoman I’ve ever been with Can you blame them?”

Laughing, I give him a tiny bump with my body “Flatterer”

“Truthteller,” he replies

We reach the restaurant, check our coats, and settle into a se orders us a bottle of red, and we take a few minutes to peruse thefor the fettuccine alfredo Cage proive him a bite of mine

With all that settled and a lovely wine in our hands, we can finally concentrate on each other

“Hoas your day?” I ask

“Busy but boring,” he replies That seems to be the standard anshen I ask I feel bad because he clearly doesn’t like what he’s doing since he never seeh

“What about you?” he asks “How many women did you save today?”