At the sound of the sharp male voice, I scrambled off Leo’s lap and onto the couch next to him. Forcing myself to look at Vincent, I wasn’t surprised to find a disapproving glare on his face that reminded me a little too much of Tristin.
For someone who was rarely home, he seemed to be popping up more and more often. It was like he instinctively knew that I was determined to snoop in his study, and his presence was warning me off.
I’d attempted to open the door when I knew he was at work, but it was always locked. Now, I was waiting for a chance to buy a lock-picking kit at the hardware store...and for him to leave on a business trip. It would happen eventually.
Leo leaned back, appearing unconcerned that his father caught us together. “Yes. He was badgering Thea about Bodie’s wreck again.”
“You better not have smarted off to him. He’s just doing his job.”
Leo sat up straight. “Just doing his job? Seriously? He has no right to accuse Thea of anything.”
“Is that what happened?” Vincent asked me. “Did he accuse you of a crime?”
I looked from him to Leo and back to him. “Not in so many words.”
“Okay, then.” He turned and headed toward the stairs. “If everyone in this house is innocent, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“If?” Leo leapt up from the couch. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
I gripped the edges of the cushion beneath me. I didn’t like it when Leo got angry. Not because I was scared of him. Because it took so much to get him there.
Except when it came to his father, it seemed. That was a recurring theme in this household.
Vincent paused but didn’t turn to face his eldest son. “Don’t lecture me about innocence, Leo. You, more than anyone, should understand that it’s not black and white.”
Then, he continued walking and disappeared up the stairs.
Leo stared after him until his phone alarm chimed through the room. “Fuck.” He took his phone out of his pocket and ended the alarm before turning back to me. “I gotta go. Late practice tonight.”
I stood and took a cautious step toward him. “Are you okay?”
He pushed his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. Might as well go take out all this aggravation on some unsuspecting teammates.”
“But you’re the quarterback...”
He shrugged and gave me one of his classic, impish smiles. “Yeah, but I can make those fuckers run.”
Chapter Eight
Thea
Petra scowled at me from the driver’s seat of her car. “I can’t believe you made me get up early on a Saturday over a boy.”
“It’s almost ten o’clock. Not exactly the ass crack of dawn.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She put the car in drive and circled back to the gate. “If you’d gone out with me last night, you’d think ten was early too.”
I laughed. “There was no way in hell I was allowing you to drag me to a party at the Delta house.”
Kelsey, Hayle’s ex-girlfriend, was a Delta and very much not a fan of mine. She was convinced that Hayle had broken up with her for me, and I wasn’t sure if even my budding relationship with Leo would sway her way of thinking.
“Besides, you know I hate parties.”
“Only because you refuse to loosen up and actually try to have fun at them.”
Did she have a point? Yes. Did it make me want to change my wallflower ways? Not so much.
“Anyway,” I said, changing the subject, “I appreciate you helping me with this. I didn’t know where to start.”
She shot me a grin. “You’re lucky you have me to swoop in and save the day.”
“Don’t I know it.”
A few minutes later, she pulled into a reserved parking spot behind Nana’s Fashions, her grandmother’s secondhand clothing store. I followed her into the store, where I finally came face-to-face with Nana.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it wasn’t this smartly dressed woman with a full mane of gray and white hair and impeccable makeup and accessories. She was an inch or two taller than Petra, and I immediately saw the family resemblance in the shape of their noses and mouths.
The older woman gave me a slow once-over before saying in her smoky voice, “Well, well, this must be the famous Thea I’ve heard so much about.”
“Not sure about the famous part, but that’s me.”
She gestured to my body with a wave of her hand. “You spent hundreds of dollars in here, and that’s the best you could come