Chapter 13 #3
He wanted her. And he’d be damned if he’d let anyone or anything ruin their night together. But first, he had to survive an evening with her ex, which could prove to be a little awkward. And then not lose his mind with worry when she laid whatever news she had on him about her past.
“You okay?” Rory was waving a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his stupor.
Her blonde hair was in loose waves over her shoulders. And she’d reapplied her lipstick since he pretty much smeared it off with his lips.
“We were set up,” Harper chimed in and turned toward the cabinet. “Got any wine open?”
“What?” Rory smiled.
“We all got played,” Chris explained. “Gwen, Wyatt’s twenty-one-year-old daughter, is a tech whiz. Former hacker.” Maybe still a hacker. “Put her and Elaina together, and well, this happens. Looks like they hacked our phones and sent texts.”
“Oh.” Her red lips rounded, eyes following Harper’s movements as she searched for wine glasses. “Elaina didn’t want me to go alone to the event, so . . .”
“What’d Elaina say to you?” Roman asked.
Rory frowned. “This is going to sound crazy, but—”
“If you’re about to tell me Elaina just knew about the event tonight, it won’t be crazy.
” Chris did his best to keep his eyes on Rory’s face and not all the places his mouth had pressed and sucked ten minutes ago.
Shit, he’d get hard standing in front of Harper and Roman if he didn’t get himself in check.
“When Elaina was here the other day, she told me that I should go to the party on Friday. She said I needed to go, and it might seem hard and tough, but it had to be done. But she didn’t want me going alone.
” Rory wrapped a hand around the back of her neck beneath her long, blonde hair.
“I was pretty caught off guard, and she changed the subject seconds later, so I kind of let it go.”
“Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match,” Chris teased in a singsong voice.
“A double date at my ex’s event.” Rory surprised him with a smile. “I mean, why not?” She shrugged, going with the flow.
Roman cocked his head. “And why would we go?”
“Because you don’t want to disappoint Elaina.” Harper faced Roman, eyes moving over his outfit. “You’ll need to change.” Harper switched her focus to Chris. “Got a second suit?”
“I think I can scrounge one up,” Chris answered, and Roman said something low and grumbly beneath his breath.
“I’ll help you look.” Harper jerked a thumb toward Chris’s bedroom as if he didn’t remember the location but also sending him a silent signal that said they needed to talk alone.
Chris gently squeezed Rory’s arm, and she smiled before he and Harper went to the hall.
And he still needed that towel. He grabbed one out of the dryer and found Harper going through his closet when he entered his room. “What’s up?” he asked as she turned to face him holding a black suit, dress shirt, and tie.
“Just so you know, I didn’t find out anything about Rory. No red flags, but not really much else in the last five years, which, well, maybe is a red flag in itself,” she said softly so she couldn’t be overheard.
Rory’s past. The danger she could be in. He’d nearly let those thoughts slip from his mind. Rory’s kiss, her tongue, had obliterated everything that had been in his head in the last twenty minutes.
“But you should also know that A.J. is aware there could be a problem in Rory’s past.”
“How do you know?” And why didn’t A.J. say anything?
“A.J. asked me to do some digging this week, too.” Her eyes widened a fraction. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him you already had me looking, but I guess Rory said something to her brother that set off a couple of alarms, and he told A.J.”
“Okay, thanks for letting me know. And, I, uh, promise I’ll talk to A.J. I won’t leave this secret on your shoulders.” After seeing Rory’s scars, he was worried her past was worse than he’d anticipated, though.
“I know.” Harper lightly tapped his chest and went for the door, carrying the suit with her. “I still can’t believe Elaina set us up. And that kid’s abilities to predict the future—getting kind of crazy.”
“Tell me about it,” he said while opening the door to see Rory starting their way.
“Find something?” Rory asked.
“He’s gonna hate this, but at least it’s all black. His favorite color.” Harper smiled, then walked past Rory to deliver the suit to Roman.
“Rory?” Chris set a palm to the interior doorframe.
She stood in front of him, and he pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “Yeah?”
“It was my mom,” he said, his voice low.
“She left me a voicemail last night. She’s why I lost my cool and stormed out of the house.
” His stomach grew tight. Pain he didn’t want to experience resurfaced at the memory of hearing his mom’s voice.
Carol. She’d said Carol, not Mom. “I don’t want to talk about it, but I wanted to be honest with you. ”
She peered to the floor for one small second before finding his eyes again. “And tonight,” she whispered, “I promise I’ll finally be honest with you.”