The Rivals - Dylan Allen Page 0,245

me, Remington.”

“You wound me. I’m being sincere. I’ve been in here every day since I got back. That’s got to count for something.” He gives her a charming flash of his smile and she rolls her eyes.

“You’re nothing but a flirt. Thank goodness you got your girl back. Be good to see you settle down.”

His girl, that sends flutters through me.

“I’m trying to convince her to stay.” He grabs my hand and squeezes it. I squeeze it back.

“She doesn’t look like she’s going to need much convincing. I can practically see the stars in her eyes.” She nods at me.

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

“Maybe you should try having breakfast in bed one morning instead of rolling in here every day,” she says eyebrows raised knowingly before she pats Remi on the shoulder and strolls off.

“I love it here.” I smile after her.

“I’m glad. I do, too. So, what do you think? Breakfast tomorrow, my place?”

“Are you asking me over to your house, Mr. Wilde?” I bat my lashes at him and drawl my words.

“I am. And not just tomorrow. When all this shit with my dad is over, I want us to talk about how we’re going to close the distance between us.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself.” I say and try to laugh around the bundle of nerves in my gut. We’ve got a lot to figure out.

“Nope. Just finally catching up actually.” He wolfs down the last bite of egg and stands up.

“Where are you going?”

“I have a meeting in fifteen minutes. I’ll see you tonight.”

“So, you’ll be there by six?” I ask Remi.

“Yeah, but you and Lucas don’t have to get there earlier than eight. The fireworks won’t start until after seven.”

“You’re awfully glib for someone who’s planning to try and catch a potential murderer tonight. Sure this is how you want to do it?”

“Absolutely. It’s the only way. The element of surprise will be like a truth serum.”

“I think everyone’s going to be surprised. I doubt that will tell you who actually hurt him. Unless you get someone to confess, you’ll need proof.”

“You’re right, I guess. But at least when we’re all in one room, there can’t be any he said, she said. Everyone will be shocked. Everyone except you, me, Hayes, and probably Confidence since I know his pussy-whipped ass tells her everything.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“Ah, my little pessimist. But, I’m not.” He taps me on the nose with a wink.

“Look who’s talking, Mr. Worst-Case Scenario. I’m just asking what yours is.”

“Worst-case scenario is that neither of them did it, but at least we’ll know the role they played. Between the two of them, we’ll find out everything we need to know.”

“Yeah, we’ll definitely know more than we do now.” I close my laptop and reach for his hand. I wince at the way the muscles in my neck protest. I reach over to rub the points of tension that have made a permanent home in the muscles of my neck.

His fingers brush mine out of the way. “Let me do that.”

“Oh, that feels so good, never stop.” My head lolls forward and I groan in relief as his strong fingers work a knot that’s been bothering me since I woke up.

“God, your neck is tight.”

“This week has been intense. I’m actually pretty tired.” I close my eyes and he digs deeper and the tension starts to dissipate. If only he could make the rest of my problems go away as easily.

He sighs. “I’m sorry. This thing with my dad has stolen all of the oxygen in the room. I haven’t even asked you about your story. Did you get everything you needed?”

At the mention of the story my stomach gives a small flip. Thank God he can’t see my face, because I’m sure it’s turned green.

“Today’s a big day for you. Let’s just focus on that. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about my story later.”

He stops rubbing my neck and tilts my chin up with his finger. His eyes move across my face like they’re taking an inventory.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. This week has been intense, my story is a cluster and I miss my daughter.”

“She’ll be here on Friday?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s a character.” I smile fondly as I think of my daughter’s antics.

“I can’t wait either. Things will be calmer by then. We can spend time getting to know each other and figure out how we close this gap.”

My heart leaps at