A Risky Proposition, Book 1 of The Third Wish Duology. Dawn Addonizio

of fading already.”

      “Enough that you’d come to a restaurant with me instead of bringing home takeout?” I coaxed.

      “Sure,” Sunny replied with a shrug.

      “City Place is close.”

      “Sounds good.” Sunny sniffled again and I hid a smile.

      We parked in the garage and walked over to one of the more casual eating venues with dim lighting and big leather booths. We shared a huge French fry appetizer dripping with cheese and bacon, and split a pitcher of their freshly brewed beer. We justified the calories by having salads on the side.

      Pleasantly sated, we decided to make a detour by Starbucks before going on to browse the bookstore. Sunny ran to the bathroom while I waited to pay. The store was abuzz with jonesing caffeine addicts, and a flustered cashier rang me up, noisily breaking open rolls of change into her drawer while I stood there with my credit card out.

      “I’ve got it,” a voice said behind me, handing the cashier a ten over my shoulder before I could get a word in.

      “Really?” I smiled in confusion and turned to find Mickey standing there. The cha-ching of the cash register sounded before I could refuse.