such a bad idea. I was tired of taking this slow.
Pushing back up to a seated position, I called, “Come in.”
Seconds later, Hayle’s dark head poked through the door. He took one look at Leo lying on the bed, and his shoulders slumped. “Hey. Sorry to interrupt.”
“It’s fine.” I tugged my hair over one shoulder and ran my fingers through it. “I was just studying for a Civ exam.”
Sort of.
“Okay.” He walked the rest of the way in the door and shut it behind him. “It’s actually good that you’re both here.”
“It was before you interrupted,” Leo mumbled, just loud enough for only me to hear.
I smacked him on the stomach before offering Hayle the chair at my desk. “What’s up?”
“I did some research on Greg Sorenson that I thought you might find interesting.”
“The guy who owns Tristin’s boat?”
“Yeah.”
At that, Leo sat up, now taking Hayle’s visit more seriously. “What about him?”
“When Thea mentioned him the other day, it occurred to me that he was fired right around the time the Green Industries deal fell apart. So, I did some research and discovered that it wasn’t just around the time. It was the same day Dad announced that Sharpe Shipping was dropping the hostile takeover.”
“That’s quite a coincidence,” I said.
Hayle nodded. “Exactly what I thought. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any more about why he was let go.” He looked directly at me. “I think you should talk to Greg. If you’re still determined to keep Dad out of this, that is.”
I definitely was. “Do you think Greg will talk to me?” He had potentially met my mother all those years ago, but I didn’t know if that connection was enough to get him to open up.
“If Tristin is with you, yes.”
Well, shit.
I reached for one of the many pillows on my bed and hugged it to my chest. “That’s unlikely.”
Hayle leaned forward in his chair. “Look, I don’t know everything that happened between you and Tristin, and I don’t need to. But I can’t believe that he wouldn’t help you if you really needed it.” He shrugged. “You just need to make him see that you need him.”
Need him.
The words were most likely spoken innocently enough, and I couldn’t even deny their truth. To get Vincent off my back, I needed Tristin to move home. And, now, it seemed that I might need him in order to find out more about the threats against my mother.
But the thought of needing Tristin in any way made my insides quiver, and not in the good way. Because he’d already proved that he could break my heart in half with a single snap of his fingers.
I’d had to admit, at least to myself, that I was no longer the remote-as-Antarctica Thea of a few months ago. Yet, I refused to allow myself to fall prey to any guy’s emotional whims.
Needing Tristin Sharpe wasn’t an option.
“What do you think Greg can tell us?” Leo asked. “Is the reason he was fired really important?”
Hayle stood and started toward the door. “I don’t know, but don’t you think it’s worth finding out?”
“Yes,” I answered, not waiting for Leo’s response. Maybe it was a dead end. Maybe not. “If there’s any chance he knew about the threats against my mom, I want to hear what he has to say.” Keeping my gaze glued to the TV mounted above my dresser, I added, “I’m going to see Tristin tomorrow anyway.”
I expected Leo to argue with me. To tell me, once again, not to worry about his father’s fall break deadline.
Except, he didn’t. He stood and picked up the textbook he’d been pretending to read before leaning over the bed to press a soft kiss to my lips. “We better get out of here and let you study for your exam.”
“Okay.” I looked from him to Hayle, waiting for more. But they only wished me luck and said goodnight.
My thoughts lingered on Leo’s surprising departure for a good ten minutes before I gave in and returned to my Western Civ outline. I needed to get through this damn test, and then I could obsess over Leo and Tristin and Vincent, preferably in that order.
Chapter Twenty-One
Leo
“What weren’t you saying in there?” Hayle asked as soon as we made it up to the third floor.
“No idea what you mean.”
A lie, obviously. Hayle hated nothing more than being treated like he was clueless, and there weren’t too many things I liked more than pushing his buttons. What could I say? I was