where she and her friends often hung out on a Thursday night. In her heart, she knew that she should be making more of an effort to see Nathan. He was really nice, and there was nothing wrong with him except for the fact that he was just so earnest. It was hard to get it up for a guy who didn’t seem to have any flaws at all.
Flaws made people interesting. Maybe instead of giving it another shot with Nathan, she should be looking for guys with flaws that didn’t come along with a vow of celibacy. Or maybe she should be looking a little more closely for Nathan’s flaws.
“I’ll have a whiskey.” Another time, maybe. “And a spot to work on this.” She shook the box and the puzzle pieces shuffled around in a way that was pleasant to her ears.
Patrick peered over the bar to see what she was holding. “You’re into puzzles?” His question didn’t sound judgmental, just curious and possibly a little bit excited.
“You too?” Sasha asked, hoping that he would answer in the affirmative.
Patrick poured her a drink, and she tried very hard not to notice how his forearms looked as he did that. He really shouldn’t be allowed to lift weights. It wasn’t fair, and it added too much to his mystique. She might have to take it up with the cardinal if this went any further.
“I mean, aside from moderate whiskey consumption, puzzles and books are really the only thrills left to me.”
Before she could stop herself from saying it, “Well, you certainly get to partake in physical exercise, too” popped out of her mouth. She looked down at her hands and could feel her skin stain red.
For his part, Patrick totally glossed over the fact that she’d just admitted to checking him out. Like a damned gentleman. “I haven’t done this one.”
“So you’re, like, really into puzzles?”
“People give me all the Catholic puzzles for birthdays and holidays.”
“Makes sense.” Sasha smiled at him, miraculously able to meet his gaze. He smiled back, and then it felt awkward again, but bearably awkward.
“Mind if I join you?”
Sasha had been hoping that he would ask that. In her fantasy version of the evening, it was just the two of them working on a puzzle. She forced herself to skip over the part where they were both overtaken by passion. Maybe she needed to add some thrillers into her reading rotation so her fantasy life could calm itself down just a little. Romance would always be her first love, but she could probably stand to add a little variety until her crush on Patrick waned.
But telling him that she didn’t want his company would be rude. In addition to enjoying the way he looked and the way he smelled, she liked being around him. He made her feel good. It was sort of the same feeling she’d had when she’d started hanging out with Hannah. Someone who was curious about what she thought and felt, instead of what she could do and how well she was behaving, was so refreshing.
The atmosphere in her family was filled with so much pressure. She hadn’t noticed it until she’d spent a good amount of time around someone who didn’t pressure her to be or do something else.
From Patrick, it was probably just gratitude that she’d agreed to help him out, but her stupid heart didn’t care about that. “Of course.”
He came around the bar and led her to a well-lit table in the corner. That’s when she noticed the boxes of puzzles stacked on a bookshelf in a little nook. “So, these are all your doing.”
Patrick gave her a smile that she would classify as roguish from anyone else. “I don’t think my brother could sit still long enough to do a puzzle, and my father’s idea of leisure time is cleaning the house.”
“You really do like puzzles.”
“Would I lie to you?”
“Never.” Sasha knew that. He had this honesty about him that didn’t have anything to do with not sinning being his thing. He was easy to talk to, and he looked as though he would keep all of her secrets.
They sat down, and Sasha spread the puzzle pieces over the table. That was always so satisfying to her. Like her own personalized form of ASMR.
“Where did all these puzzles come from?” Patrick furrowed his brow as though he were in pain, and Sasha regretted the question. “Never mind.”
“No, it’s fine.” He sifted his hands through the pieces and