Deathtrap (Murder and Mayhem #1)

by Alexandra St. Pierre

“Do you need me to tell you all the things I love about you? Because I will.” I stared at him, unable to respond. The corner of his lip lifted, though his eyes remained sad. “Well, for one, I love how much you like to cook. Especially from scratch. You like to set up little stations and make perfect little pasta because it gives you something to do with your hands and allows you to escape the thoughts in your mind.” He reached up and stroked the side of my face tenderly, brushing a thumb over the gentle swell of my tear-stained cheek. “I love how hard you work. When you put your mind to something, you don’t quit until you’ve accomplished it. I saw it at Voodoo. You had nothing when you started there. I watched from the shadows as you ruthlessly overcame every obstacle you found in your way. You got yourself an apartment at eighteen with no one to help you.” Another hot tear slid down my cheek, and he wiped that one away too. “I love how easy it is to tell when you’re nervous because you always chew on your thumb.” He ran a finger over the thumbnail on my left hand, which was quite a bit shorter than the one on my right. I frowned; he was right. I hadn’t even noticed that I did that. “I love how when we worked together, you never let me work the service bar.” I surprised myself by letting out a tear-soaked laugh, and his smile widened. “What? You thought I didn’t notice you always stuck me with the bar?” He grinned at me. “You loved working service, which makes sense. You’r...