“Jesus, Grace, you’re not cancelling on me again?”

Merely sleeping with me wasn’t good enough anymore, Daniel had to sleep with me in my bed. This had become a quest for him, like completing a triathlon, which he was training for too. “Calm down. I’m not cancelling. I just had a really busy day and don’t feel like cooking. I was calling to ask what kind of takeout you wanted.”

“Oh. Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“It’s okay.”

No, it’s not, I chastised myself. You’ve been dating the man for a month, and he’s already yelled at you multiple times.

You and Jonah fought sometimes too. Your marriage wasn’t perfect.

Jonah wasn’t controlling.

Daniel’s not controlling.

Oh no? Then why does he keep haranguing you about your supposedly weird relationship with Tim and Richard?

He’s just jealous.

Why would he be jealous of your friendship with two gay men? There’s something wrong with him. This isn’t normal.

“Hello, hello. Are you there?” Daniel asked, forcing me to focus on his words instead of my own thoughts.

“Sorry, my phone cut out. What did you say?”

“I said I’d pick up dinner on the way to your house. Just tell me what time to be there.”

Daniel arrived at eight o’clock with kabob platters from the Greek restaurant and a bottle of Chardonnay. He kissed me hello then said, “You’re all I’ve thought about today. I can’t wait to get you upstairs.”

I knew I should be flattered, but all I felt was stressed.

Maybe you’re not ready for a relationship.

Maybe you should drink some wine and think about how great that scalp massage is going to feel.

I took my own advice. I drank a glass of the buttery Chardonnay and tried to focus my thoughts on the extremely enjoyable aspects of our relationship. But my mind kept wandering to Jonah’s spreadsheet and what all those letters and numbers could possibly mean. I managed to pay attention to Daniel when he told me a story about one of his students who was struggling with algebra. Then I told him about my new client, a fifteen-year-old boy whose parents were using him as a pawn in their divorce.

We finished eating and I loaded our dirty plates and silverware into the dishwasher. Then we took our glasses and the remaining half bottle of wine into the living room. That’s when I told Daniel I’d finally guessed the password to Jonah’s flash drive.

“You’re kidding. What was it?”

“A question that meant something to us but no one else would ever guess. And he wrote it in French and spelled it wrong.”

Daniel laughed. “Next to using a computer-generated password, a passphrase is the most secure. Props to your husband for writing it in a foreign language and spelling it wrong too.” Daniel laughed again and so did I.

“Well done, Jonah.” I lifted my wineglass and Daniel clinked his against mine and we both took a sip.

“How did you finally figure it out?” Daniel asked.

“It was completely random,” I said, setting my wineglass on the coffee table. “I went to the bank this morning to put the flash drive in our safe deposit box and—”

“Wait, you have a safe deposit box?”

“Yeah, doesn’t everyone?” My mom and my aunt both do.

Daniel shook his head. “No. Sorry. Please continue.”

“Well, after the break-in Alex thought I shouldn’t keep the flash drive in the house anymore so I—”

“Hang on,” Daniel said and set his wineglass down too. “You’re referring to MJ’s uncle, right?”

“Right. I called him to see if he knew a hacker, remember?”

“I remember. And he invited himself over to your house because for some reason he couldn’t discuss it with you over the phone.”

Of course, Daniel remembered that part. “Yes. Then MJ told him about the break-in and—”

“Time out,” Daniel said, making a T-shape with his hands as if he was a referee. “Why would MJ tell his uncle about the break-in?”

“I don’t know. He just did.”

“And why did you tell MJ?”

“I didn’t plan to but when he came here yesterday and saw the doorbell camera, he asked about it so—”

“MJ comes here too? I thought he works for you at your office.”

“He does. Normally. But I was stuck here all afternoon waiting for the glass guy, so I told him to come here instead. Now do you want to hear the story or not?”

“I do. Please continue.” Then Daniel picked up his glass and swirled the wine a few times before taking another sip.

“So, MJ told his uncle about the break-in and Alex didn’t think it was kids pulling a prank either.”

Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “Either?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, why would neighborhood kids break into my house as a prank? I don’t even know any of the kids in this neighborhood.”

Daniel set his wineglass down again. “Let me make sure I understand. You and Alex think bored teenagers looking for trouble is far-fetched, but someone breaking into your house to steal a flash drive you didn’t even know existed until a week ago makes sense?”

Well, when you put it that way… “It’s possible.”

Daniel scoffed. “Grace, why would someone want to steal your flash drive?”

“Because of what’s on it. Obviously.”

“You don’t even know what’s on it.”

“Well, I do now.” I stomped out of the room, retrieved my laptop from my briefcase, and returned with it to the living room where Daniel was now scrolling on his phone. I turned on the computer, clicked on the file I’d copied from Jonah’s flash drive, and turned the screen so it was facing Daniel. “See for yourself.”