Cover Launch + Excerpt: STAR SWINDLER by A. Zaykova

Chapter 1 – Senhound Eggs

A huge pirate galleon dozed in the orbit of a shoddy little world called Blackjack. The Vulture looked less like the bird of prey it was named after and more like a monstrous whale, far too large for the asteroid’s docks. Crude patches made of molten metal—more than Levi remembered—lined the galleon’s hull. An ugly sight against the blackness of space.

The Vulture caught everyone by surprise when it suddenly reappeared in Blackjack’s system after months of noncommunication. Levi had assumed its entire crew had perished. Wendigo, the Vulture’s Captain, thought the same about him.

Perhaps it would be wiser to keep her thinking that way, but his cargo-hold was brimming with mottled senhound eggs that looked ready to hatch and he had neither the skill to handle ravenous, cat-sized baby lizards, nor the time to look for alternative buyers for his cargo.

Levi slowed his ship as he approached the galleon. Well, the Hopper wasn’t his ship exactly—he would never stoop to such banal naming. He believed spacecraft were vehicles of freedom, deserving of names that sounded epic and meaningful, like… Caerus, the forgotten god of opportune moments. But Caerus was gone, and he was grateful Vera let him borrow her stupid little freighter with its stupid little name.

Levi tapped the comms and listened through the crackle of static as the Hopper linked to the Vulture. Then came the familiar gruff voice of the Vulture’s first mate: “Identify yourself and your intent.”

Levi grinned into the mic to make himself sound more cheerful. “Navegante, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you!”

The ansible crackled again, “Adder, is that you?”

“It is me. Me indeed.”

The Vulture’s cannons swivelled, aiming right at the little freighter.

Oh fuck, Levi thought.

Navegante’s heavy breath came through the comm.“Any last words?”

“Sehnhound eggs.” Levi said quickly, his throat dry.

“What?”

“I’ve got half a dozen high-bred, unhatched senhounds in my cargo hold. And I’m prepared to discuss the terms of sale with your captain.”

The intercom crackled again then went pointedly quiet. Levi stared out at the cannons, trying to calm his breathing, calculating an escape angle, if they decided to shoot. After a minute, Navegante grudgingly let him dock. Levi’s exhale fogged up part of the front viewport and he wiped it away before settling the small freighter into place beside the Vulture’s cargo hatch.

He rose from the pilot seat, throwing on a black faux leather jacket, and slung a shoulder bag over one arm. Inside it was a single senhound egg, cushioned in thermal foam.

A year had passed since his last grift—if blowing up an A’turi bomb-carrier could even be labelled as such—and he felt rusty. But pretending to be an upright citizen was no longer working, so here he was, back to doing what he did best, despite his promise to be good.

After arriving on Seshat, Levi had told Vera he’d keep his slate clean, and he truly had intended to do so. He even managed to talk his way into a real job at a prestigious insurance company. High end, high trust, high commission. Or so the job ad claimed. It involved schmoozing high-rollers, lots of wining and dining, to gain their confidence and then their business. He’d been good at it too. So good, he grew bored to death within months. And the worst part? It paid fuck-all. The “high commissions” turned out to be crumbs of what his employers were making off him. How did people survive on these scraps called wages? And taxes? All his life he’d been self-employed, below-board, duty free…  Now, he felt like he was the one getting robbed.

He’d lost the job after attempting creative records-keeping, and it felt like a gigantic weight lifted off his soul. But of course, he still needed money. If he sold the senhound eggs he wouldn’t need to worry about finding another job for a while. As for his broken promise? Vera didn’t need to know. Besides, this was a tiny, one-off transgression, a temporary dip into the gray.

Perhaps he could use the money to start his own gig. A legitimate courier service. Save up for a bigger ship… or a fleet of ships, his own little freighter empire…

The Hopper’s outer hatch opened into the Vulture’s airlock with a hiss of pressure and the groan of tired hydraulics. Beyond it, lay the galleon’s massive cargo hold, with tarped mounds and empty cages that brought back bad memories.

As soon as Levi’s boots crossed the threshold, two pirates seized him. The larger one, built like a vending unit, wrenched Levi’s arms behind his back. The other, a smaller man with bleached, spiky hair, yanked the bag off Levi’s shoulder.

Levi didn’t try to resist and allowed them to search him. Spiky retrieved the melon-sized, elongated ovaloid from the bag. He held it up to the overhead lights and its smooth surface shimmered pale green with rusty blotches.

Levi’s gaze fell on Navegante who stood several meters ahead, watching, with his tattooed arms crossed and a blood red bandana holding back his black, curly hair. He eyed the precious egg without betraying emotions. “How many have you got?”

“I’ll only speak to your captain,” Levi said, knowing his survival depended on Wendigo’s good graces.

“You don’t have to speak at all.” Navegante spat resentfully. “I’ll just kill you, take your ship, and everything in it.”  He drew his thumb across his throat in a cutthroat gesture.

“Yeah, we’ll see how pleased your captain will be if you do that.” Levi’s mind churned through the risks: What if Navegante went feral before Levi could play his cards? Or what if Wendigo’s hatred had grown to a point where she wouldn’t care about profit? He let none of it show on his face.

Navegante’s hands balled into fists, and he surged forward like he was going to throw a punch. Distinct footsteps clamoured on the metal staircase and everyone’s heads spun towards the sound.

“Cap’tn.” Navegante snapped to attention as a tall woman in a worn, leather trench coat marched towards them, her face stern like a granite mask.

“Wanda, you grow more radiant with each light year!” Levi chirped.

Navegante threw him a dirty look and the bulky pirate holding Levi tightened his grip.

Wendigo stopped within an arm’s reach. “How dare you come here.”

“I brought you something.” Levi nodded at the egg Spiky was holding. But she didn’t even look at it. She drew her long laser blade and whipped it up to Levi’s throat.

He flinched. He’d seen her murder people with that blade. 

“Give me one reason I should spare you.” Wanda spoke through her teeth.

“I’ve got five more of them in my cargo hold.” Levi held as still as he could, feeling the heat of the beam millimeters from his skin.

“I can take the eggs–”

He knew what she was about to say, and grinned revealing a small metal disk between his teeth, then he hid it behind his cheek again and explained: “It’s a detonator. I bite on it and the nest goes boom.”

Wanda’s nostrils flared, but she turned off the laser and lowered her arm. “Everyone out.”

“Captain–” Navegante took a step towards her, as if to object, but she cut him off with a look.

“Out.”

Spiky shuffled back and forth with the egg, looking unsure of what to do with it.

“Take it with you,” Wendigo said. “Ascertain quality and make certain it contains a viable foetus.”

Spiky and the others filed out of the cargo hold.

Levi shook out his arms, which ached from the pirate’s grip. “I want to explain–” He started.

“Three months.” Wendigo interrupted as she paced between the crates and the cages. “That’s how long it took us to reach this sector with a damaged engine once we’d lost the ghost ships. We nearly starved on the way. Then laying low for three more months to ensure my ship and crew were not targeted. It cost me time and more k-bits than I’d ever made off you. My only solace was hearing you died.” She stopped pacing and faced him again. “Yet here you are.”

“Here I am,” he echoed, grateful for the surprising number of times he’d defied the odds. “But believe me, I had nothing to do with the ghost ships. I was as blindsided as you were.”

“You stole my shuttle.”

“What did you expect?” He threw his arms up. “I’m not battle-trained. I would’ve been no use to you.” Beyond that, he was pretty sure her crew would’ve killed him—and maybe eaten him too, given the level of savagery he’d seen on this ship. “In my defence, I took the shittiest one.” He added. That part was true, though not intentional.

“What have you learned about the ghost ships?” Wendigo asked. “No one seems to know a fucking thing.”

“Nothing.” Levi shrugged. “Someone tried sending bounty hunters and striking squads after me. Then one day it just stopped…” He saw no reason to share the whole truth with her. Not for free, anyway.

“Just stopped?” Wendigo frowned. “It must be tied to the fact that the Jaemlen-Human trade has gone to shit over the past year. But how?”

She was right. After hushing the attempted genocide, both sides maintained a facade of peace and cooperation, but something was brewing under the surface. He didn’t know what though, nor did he want to. The last time he’d meddled with politicians it had nearly cost him his life. And it did cost him Caerus. He’d had enough political insertion for one lifetime.

“Perhaps some internal discord resulted in a group of Jaemlens turning to piracy?” He offered to keep the conversation going.

“Pff.” She waved him off like he was talking nonsense. “They’re too hierarchical for splinter factions.” She paused theatrically. “Here’s what’s going to happen: you’ll give me the senhound eggs, as a peace offering. And I’ll consider letting you live.”

“I’d love to,” he said, summoning as much sincerity as his face could fake. “But I need the money.”

She drew her blade again.

He backed up, and tripped on a piece of tarp underfoot, nearly losing his balance. His shoulder slammed against the airlock hatch, sending a bolt of pain across his back. He winced. “But you can have them at a big, big discount.”

“I’d rather watch you writhe in pain, but I’ve got a crew to feed.” She sighed, knowing as well as Levi that the eggs were a rare commodity.

***

Levi landed the Hopper in Xinlouyang spaceport on planet Seshat feeling jovial. The profit he’d made off the eggs was humble, but enough to last him until he cooked up another plan. More importantly, he’d proven to himself he still had it. He was able to rock up on Wendigo’s ship, after all that transpired, and convince her to pay him.

The adrenaline surge from toying with death, and the dizzying euphoria that followed, compared with nothing else—certainly nothing an insurance sales job could offer. He almost hated how much he loved it.

He unbuckled his safety belt and was about to rise from the pilot seat, when the virtEgo on his wrist pulsed.

Incoming video call from Sahee, the notification on the screen said, the Sehen that had supplied Levi with the Sehnhound eggs.

Levi answered, but the snake-like face that appeared on his display was not Sahee’s. The yellow eyes staring at him belonged to Shealth, the larger and meaner female Sehen he’d hired to deal with the Mzarak bounty hunters a year back. The one that ended up killing them.

“We had a deal that your businesss with Sehen would go through me.” Shealth flicked her forked tongue.

“That’s right,” Levi widened his eyes to convey honesty. “And I haven’t done any business with Sehen since.

“Liessss,” Shealth hissed. “I know all about the Shenhound eggsss you and Sssahee sssold.”

“Ah, those. We were unsuccessful. The eggs hatched before their expected time. I had to get rid of them… Long story short, I didn’t get paid.”

“Doesssn’t matter. You went behind my back.”

“I have nothing to pay you with,” Levi objected. “I’m having a crack at legal employment, and to tell the truth, it’s not going well.”

“I knew you would sssay that. Sssso I found your female.”

“Not sure who you mean.” Levi said lightly, despite the sinking feeling in his gut. “I have several, or none at all, depending on how you look at it.”

“Sssseee.” Shealth hissed.

As she spun the camera around, Levi saw it was positioned near a window inside a high-rise building. Angled downwards, it revealed other office buildings and a small, green square, just outside Vera’s workplace.

The sinking feeling in Levi’s stomach intensified.

A young woman with pale skin and long, copper hair walked along the footpath—Vera. She wore a stylish dark, knee-length blazer over a white top, looking a far cry from the awkward girl he’d met at a pub on Blackjack. She appeared engaged in animated conversation with a Jaemlen female who floated beside her in a hoverchair.

Shealth shifted the camera again showing a bulky, old-style rifle, with scuffed plating and a sniper scope, propped on a stack of bricks near the open window.

“Thirty thoussssand K-bitsss, or I pull the trigger,” the reptilian said.

Hot rage flushed through Levi. He hated the Sehen demanding money she wasn’t entitled to, hated her intrusion into his private life, and above all, hated that she was trying to manipulate him. He flexed his hands. “If you think you can get away with murder in broad daylight–”

“I can and have. Many timesss.”

Beneath the rage, Levi’s mind raced through the options. To simply comply with the Sehen’s demands felt like weakness, like defeat. Every cell in his body opposed subordination. Pretend he didn’t care? Shealth might pull the trigger, to prove a point. He remembered how easily she’d dealt with the Mzaraks. Stall her and call the cops? Too risky. Did cops ever show up in time?

He clenched his jaw as he opened his wallet app, like it physically pained him, and transferred the amount Shealth asked for. It took his new earnings and his remaining savings.

His new balance wouldn’t cover more than a couple grocery runs. But in the end, it was just money. He could find more money. At least in theory. He could not find another Vera.

“A pleasssure doing businesss,” Shealth hissed as she pulled in the rifle.

When the call ended, Levi smashed his fists against the control panel and screamed.

Chapter 2 – Some Call It Love

Seshat had no forests like Earth, but the little park below Vera’s office had more greenery than all of Blackjack. She liked eating lunch there. She also liked her new job writing code for military robots used in humanitarian missions off world. It was both challenging and decently remunerated. Things were finally looking up for her.

It was almost enough to make her forget the horrors of last year. Almost.

“My moms’ research project is wrapping up. So, we’re heading to Gleath at the start of next month,” said Halkeath as they sat near a knotted spireleaf bush—Vera on a bench, Halkeath in her hoverchair. The young, amphibious woman was one of the few friends Vera had on Xinlouyang.

“Damn. I’ll be sorry to see you go.” Vera was saddened by this news, but not entirely surprised. Although the genocide attempt had been successfully kept from the public, Human-Jaemlen relations were souring. First, the Jaemlen Government introduced some kind of trade tariffs, then the Universal Council for Humanity banned certain Jaemlen imports. Meanwhile, the quarterly Galactic Union summits all turned into finger pointing exercises; to the apparent dismay of other members, the Human and Jaemlen reps disagreed on everything and blamed each other. Vera tried not to think about politics, which proved difficult when it was all the news media talked about.

Halkeath offered her an apologetic smile. “I hope you’ll visit me once we settle back in.”

“I hope so too,” Vera said honestly. She’d never been to a non-human-dominated planet, and she hoped their governments would get their act together before any travel restrictions kicked in.

***

At the end of her break, Vera hugged Halkeath goodbye and returned to her office building, a thin, pale skyscraper, typical for Xinloyang. She took a lift to the tenth floor and made her way to the corner of the robotics division.

Her team sat near a window, although the neighbouring towers obstructed most of the view. Their pod consisted of four desks pushed together. One colleague, Tala, was away sick, so only two other seats were occupied, which meant there was more work, less chatter.

The long edges of the desks curved like jellybeans, giving the pod an organic shape. In addition to individual terminals, a shared holoscreen hovered above the pod’s centre for easy collaboration. Sound-dampening dividers shielded their corner from the murmur of the floor.

Vera lowered into her seat and tapped the desk to wake her interface. A plush squid toy stared blankly at her from her desk’s corner, a gift from a scallywag she tried not to think too much about during work.

Unfortunately, a news headline flashing across the office monitor, and thoughts of Levi arose unbidden.

Hundreds Projected Dead as Conflict on A’tura 3 Intensifies scrolled across the bottom of the screen as a muted newscaster likely talked about the grisly details of the attack. 

Yisu, a lanky man with a goatee and a dramatic flair, leaned back in his seat. “Great, now there’s an interstellar war brewing.” He waved his hand at the newsfeed pulsing in the corner of his display.

Adwin, who sat opposite Vera and had a round face with large, thoughtful eyes, peeked over his screen. “Why interstellar? All the reports I’ve seen say the fighting is confined to one A’turi’ planet.”

Yisu dragged an audio clip onto the holographic screen overhead.

“Chancellor Sorein, for the Universal Council for Humanity condemns the A’turi rebellion that is attempting to overthrow the official government,” said the news anchor before the clip cut to the low masculine voice of the current chancellor.

“These violent attacks led to the loss of innocent lives and have no place in modern societies,” the chancellor said. “We also denounce the Jaemlen Council’s position in support of this unlawful faction. As a gesture of solidarity, and of our commitment to galactic peace, we will be dispatching humanitarian aid to our A’turi neighbours.”

“So?” Adwin shrugged. “It’s A’turi rebels fighting the A’turi government.”

Yisu rolled his eyes. “The point is that Jaemlens and Humans are taking different sides in this conflict. And now they’re physically inserting themselves.”

“They’re just sending humanitarian aid,” Adwin corrected.

“That’s how all wars start. First over some proxy and then—“

“You’re being dramatic.” Adwin stood from his seat. “Vera, tell him he’s being dramatic.” He poked the hologram, making the news clip disappear.

“You’re being dramatic,” Vera agreed, in an attempt to kill the discussion. She didn’t know much more than the men did, except the fact that a year ago, someone within the Jaemlen and A’turi governments had conspired to destroy this very planet. She didn’t even know who, or how exactly it tied into the current conflict. But this knowledge she wasn’t allowed to share, wedged like a brick between her fourth and fifth ribs, exerting invisible pressure.

Yisu clicked into another newsfeed.

“I’m more concerned about our project deadline next month, given the mesh is still dropping packets.” Vera transferred the latest neural net optimization code onto the holoscreen, forcing Yisu to close his browser. Color-coded annotations showed packet loss rates and timing offsets.

“Right. Sorry.” Yisu slid his chair closer to the table. “I’ll check the last batch of node logs.”

Their corner fell into relative silence, fingers tapping over screens and keyboards.

***
            “Bam, I’m out.” Yisu powered down his interface and stood, stretching.
Vera checked the time. Seventeen thirty — a full hour early. “We haven’t finished validating the swarm sync patch. And since I’m away next week, it would be great if we can hand it over for testing by Friday.”

“We’ve got the StratArena finals sweepstake with testing and engineering, remember?” Yisu said.

“I didn’t sign up.” Vera preferred to avoid gambling even in the name of team-building.

“Too bad. The rest of us did, and I’m going.” Yisu zipped up his hoodie and headed towards the exit.

Not for the first time, Vera wondered if he was annoyed she was given the project lead role even though he’d been there longer. Or maybe he just didn’t like her. She sighed.

Adwin slid into Yisu’s empty seat. “I’ll stay and help you.”
Vera shook her head, hating to be the one to ruin their fun. “No, go ahead. We’ll make up the time tomorrow”

He hesitated. “You sure you don’t want to come watch? The finals are down to four teams — it’s pretty intense.”

Vera considered it, but with the coding problem stuck in her head, there was no chance she’d enjoy the game. “I’m close to cracking this. I’ll finish it here and head home.”

Adwin smiled in response. “If you’re still here when we’re done, I could walk you to the train. Someone’s gotta keep you from working yourself into the ground.”

“Thanks, but I need to call my brother after work. I’m babysitting my niece this weekend, so I need to plan things.”

His smile fell a little. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Good luck with the sweepstake.”

She watched him leave, then turned back to her terminal. Had he been flirting? She scratched her cheek. Adwin was always friendly—she didn’t want to assume things. Had she ever mentioned her wayward boyfriend around him, or even the fact of Levi’s existence? She couldn’t remember.

Not in a million and two years would she have believed that she’d end up dating Levi Adder. But there was more to him than everyone thought, it just took a near-miss-disaster to bring it to the surface. He was fun. And he did care, although he would never admit it. Else he wouldn’t have risked his life for this planet. Moreover, he was the only person who knew exactly what she had been through.

She’d accepted he genuinely struggled with empathy, with impulse control, and with grasping consequences. But she could tell he was trying, and that was more than she’d ever expected from him. Wherever he was…

Disappearances were still Levi’s hallmark feature. His job occasionally required him to travel off world (at least he managed to find a legal job). But sometimes she thought he just needed his own space, which suited her perfectly. She too, liked her space, not having to explain herself when she was working late, missing dinner, or spending evenings on books and simulations rather than conversations.

He didn’t claim more of her than she wanted to offer.

After several minutes of staring at the half-solved code, she saved her work and packed up. She wasn’t done, but who knew how long it would take? And she didn’t need to stay in an empty office to run simulations.

She spoke to James, her brother, on the way to the train station, but aboard the maglev, her thoughts circled back to recursive propagations. When she tapped her apartment door, a familiar sequence flared in her mind’s eye: An overlooked edge condition. Of course! How did she not think of it sooner?

Her one-bedroom apartment lay outside the city’s expensive ring, yet close to transport. It wasn’t large, but comfortable—a marked upgrade from the rundown studio she’d rented during her first stint in Xinlouyang. The lease was in her name, but Levi had negotiated the rent to way below market value. She didn’t ask how.

The interior bore his influence too. Not garish like Caerus or his parents’ cottage, but clean and stylish: recessed lighting, matte black fixtures, abstract art on the walls. To her, it looked just a little bit fancy.

She passed the kitchen without turning the lights on. Her stomach growled but she’d forgotten to order groceries. Never mind, she’d order a pizza later. Right now, she needed to get the mesh working. She lowered onto the soft charcoal couch, expanding her virt screen, and logged into her work terminal.

The bedroom door creaked. Vera jumped in her seat as Levi walked into the living room, tussled and squinting like he’d just woken up.

She exhaled. “You’re home.” The statement filled her with warmth—her body’s reluctant admission she’d missed him. She stood and walked over to kiss him. “How was your trip?”

He grimaced, and she knew not to ask further. He’d tell her once he was ready. Lately, he complained about his job often, finding it boring and exasperating. It wasn’t like she didn’t sympathise—she’d been stuck in dead-end jobs for years—but after a decade of thievery, he needed to start somewhere.

“I just need to finish something for work real quick.” She nodded towards the virt she’d left on the couch. “Then we can grab dinner. I’ve got no food at home.”

“You never have food at home. I stocked up on the way here. I’ll make us something.”

Vera grinned and pecked him on the cheek. “Thanks.”

This relationship certainly had its perks.

She grabbed an apple from the kitchen, which definitely wasn’t there when she’d left this morning, and returned to the couch and her neural net optimization code.

Levi knelt beside her and pressed his face into her lap.

There it was. Now he’d start lamenting about how much he hated his dumb job.

Instead, he said, “UCH is handing out stimulatory loan packages for farmland on Frigg. No interest and no deposits. Would you go with me if I got one?”

She looked up from her screen, perplexed. “What? What would you do with a farm on Frigg?”

“Grow opium? Tripmoss? What’s in demand these days?”

“You want to become a Friggan drug farmer?”

“I just want to get away from it all. I just…want it to be you and me.” He looked up at her with pleading puppy eyes.

But she wasn’t falling for it. “Sure. So I could find you in the barn with a noose around your neck?”

He flinched, sitting back on his heels. “You think I’d kill myself?”

“If you don’t I will. Or we’ll kill each other, because we’ll be bored out of our minds.”

That would normally get a snicker from him, but he just kept staring at her like she’d eaten his last cookie.

Vera cupped his cheek, feeling the prickly hint of stubble. “Listen, I can see you’ve had a rough day… week. I’m sorry. I love you, but I really need to finish this code. We can talk about Frigg once I’m done.”

He could be such a drama queen that she half-expected he’d throw a tantrum. Instead, he stood and settled into the armchair, crossing his long legs. “You love me?” he asked.

Fuck. She couldn’t deny it if she wanted to, but they’d never said it out loud like that. “You have other theories for why I’ve put up with you for this long?” She tried to sound unbothered, wondering if he’d freak out and disappear for another week.

“I was sure it was the sex. Or the food.” He shrugged

She was secretly grateful for the levity. “It’s definitely the latter.

***

Vera made sure the simulation did what she wanted it to, before logging out and laying her virt down.

Levi’s was watching the newsfeed on his; something about the A’turi conflict again.

She stood, took his virt from his hand and tossed it onto the couch. “Now you’ve got my undivided attention.” She straddled him.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and kissed her.

Her body responded with a tingling warmth but she pulled away, very reluctantly. “You wanted to talk?”

“Not anymore.” He slipped the blazer off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

“Okay, I’ve got a better idea.”

“Me too.”

Vera’s shirt hit the ground next.

“No, I mean, better than Frigg,” she said without trying to stop him. “I was asked to travel to Earth next week. For work. And I was hoping you could come with me.”

He paused, hands on the clasp of her bra. “Why do you need to go to Earth?”

She shrugged. “Some meet-and-greet thing. My manager recommended me for an upcoming project. I figured if we stayed a few extra days, we could visit your parents, and then hang out at Igor’s farm.”

Levi wrinkled his nose. “Igor? The buff army guy? Why would I want to hang out with him?”

“Because he’s my friend and mentor, and he’s been inviting us for months. Plus, it’s your chance to live out your farm fantasy without the full commitment.” She grinned.

Levi’s hands slid down and so did the corners of his mouth. “My fantasy was about you and me. Not you, me and your gay army work friend.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’ll have to go whether you like it or not. But I want you to come with me. If you can get away from work, that is.”

He looked away for a moment as though considering it. “Yes, okay.”

“Really?” She didn’t expect him to concede so quickly. He’d usually argue about the smallest of things like his life depended on it.

“Sure, if it’s as close as we’ll get to a vacation.”

“And your boss will be okay with it?”

“I’ll make it work.” He half-smiled.

She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you, agreeable stranger, and what have you done with my stubborn boyfriend?”

He kissed her again and they got too busy for talking.