“Running late.” Joey showed her the texts on his phone. “They got stuck in traffic on the way over. They’ll be here any minute.”
Stefanie rubbed her arms. “What do you want to do until then?” An awkward silence filled the air. The feelings that had made an appearance at the karate studio had their own ideas of how to pass the time. Yeah, that was not helpful. Her stomach flipped a little. She decided to just call out the elephant in the room, as much for herself as for him. “Look, about today. I think just the proximity and the weirdness of the last week caught up with me and I froze. I mean to say, if I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
Joey eyed her and a smile played at the edge of his mouth. “If you made me uncomfortable?”
Stefanie closed her eyes. “Look. You’re a professional. You’re very good at what you do, and I misinterpreted your friendliness for interest for like two seconds. If Master K hadn’t walked in, the moment would have passed, right? And it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But I feel like we left it hanging, and it’s weird and it doesn’t need to be weird. It was just a…thing.”
“So, to be clear, you are apologizing because you have concluded I’m not interested in you?” Joey took a step closer, his eyes twinkling.
“Did you have to just come out and say it? Isn’t that my thing?” Stefanie winced. “Oof. Yeah, that can be hard to hear. Good to know.” She felt a gentle pressure under her chin and opened her eyes, shifting her embarrassment into confusion.
Joey looked at her earnestly. “I did. I mean, I am. Interested.” She looked back, eyes wide. Joey bit his lip. “Listen, I’ll put my cards down too. There is a spark. A big one. But it’s been less than a week. It’s way too soon to be making decisions, especially in the midst of a high-pressure operation. But I haven’t felt like this with anyone, at all, for a long time, much less in a matter of days. And I love that you’re honest with me. I’m not sure what to do with the spark yet. I’m going to start by being careful with both of us. But you aren’t imagining it.” He swallowed. “And it isn’t one-sided. At all.”
Stefanie’s heart nearly skipped a beat. “And I’m also not the only one who thinks this could end poorly?”
“Correct.” Joey gave her a rueful smile. “And if it ends poorly, we shouldn’t be starting it. So, let’s just deal with the next week. And regardless of how things turn out, I’m glad we got over our rough initial meeting.”
“I’ll say.” She backed up a step and put her hands on her hips. “So, fearless leader, what do we do until the FBI shows up?”
Joey shot her a mischievous look. “Wow. I didn’t realize you had it bad enough for me to put me in charge. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
Stefanie snorted. “I was trying to be nice.”
Joey smiled and they both went quiet. Joey bit his lip and Stefanie’s heart started to pound. Mercifully, the doorbell rang. “Well, we now officially have backup.” He checked through the peephole and moments later, a big, red Labrador bounded through the doorway, minus his working dog vest. Waffle spotted Stefanie and made a beeline to her. She leaned down to give him a good pet and tell him what a good boy he was. Waffle basked in her attention for a moment, then he trotted over to make sure Joey told him that he was a good boy too.
“Hey.” Stefanie looked up at Alexis and Matt. “Sorry, I had to say hello to the dog first.”
“Happens all the time.” Alexis shrugged. “It’s good for him. Waffle is cooped up after all of his time on the plane.”
“Just Waffle?” Stefanie lifted an eyebrow.
Alexis grinned. “Fair.” She glanced at Joey. “Where’s a good place for us to work with Waffle?” Waffle’s tail began to swish against the floor.
Joey gestured with his head. “There’s an empty room at the back of the house. Want us all to come?”
Alexis shook her head. “Nope. I need you one at a time.”
Stefanie was soon following Alexis and Waffle to a room, empty except for some duffle bags.
Alexis clipped a leash on Waffle’s collar and whispered, “Okay, Waffle. Time to work!” Waffle’s tail wagged furiously and he sniffed the inside of the entire room, taking an extra second on the duffle bags. He remained standing, tail wagging. Alexis praised him and he trotted back to where they started. Alexis slipped Stefanie a small, metal disk-shaped container. “Hide this for me, okay?”
Alexis and Waffle left the room and she tucked it under one of the bags. The pair returned and Waffle found it easily. Alexis gave him a red rubber toy and a lot of praise. Waffle basked in the attention, then settled on the floor to gnaw on the toy. Alexis put her hands on her hips and turned to face Stefanie. “So, you get the idea. We use positive reinforcement only, and Waffle and I have a bond. I trust him, he trusts me. You won’t have that right away, but Waffle is an exceptionally flexible dog. I’ve never seen any pup quite like him.”
“Where do we start?” Stefanie studied Waffle. Behind his adorable face and wagging tail was a consummate professional, not unlike his owner.
Alexis pulled a tennis ball from her bag. “Believe it or not, with a tennis ball.”
Stefanie eyed the ball. “So, you’re saying that to continue helping the CIA and FBI, I have to play fetch with an adorable dog?”
“Yep.” Alexis smiled and held up the tennis ball. “You up for it?”
Stefanie felt her shoulders relax. Finally, an easy decision. “Oh yeah. I am so in.”
An hour later, Waffle was her new best pal. Given his happy tail and
