"Mæ̀." He moved over to Kalya, brushing her black silk locks from her face and kissing her on the cheek. "I appreciate you cooking for me, but what are you doing here?"

"It's no problem, dear." Kalya turned her almond-brown gaze to his. "You look tired." She cupped one of his cheeks. "You're working too much. The holidays are coming up, maybe you should take some time off."

"Maybe." He took her hand, kissing the back of it. "I can't take time off right now. My team is working on an important case. You know what it's like."

Kalya sighed. "I do."