Chapter 7
Jessica
I clutch at the lavender floral quilt where my sister and I sit on my childhood bed. “We all awkwardly walked to the parking lot, and Ryder followed me in his car. I had no choice but to turn in the direction of home, which was in the opposite direction the sheriff was going. So we didn’t talk.”
Hailey’s hair is pulled off her pretty face in a high pony that swings as she shakes her head. “I told you. If you’d listened to me and taken a few days to think about it, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
I grit my teeth in frustration. “What did you expect me to do? I was trying to clear the situation off my plate so I could move on to other things.”
Hailey blinks, before her blue eyes widen. “Oh my god.”
“What?” My heart starts to pound furiously in my chest.
She swirls her index finger over my face. “You like him.”
“No! I don’t. He’s good lay, that’s all. My body hasn’t caught on to the idea that he’s off-limits yet. That’s why it’s so important to talk to him and set boundaries.”
“I don’t think so. He…flusters you.”
“He does not!” My voice is a shriek, and I take it down an octave. “It’s the shock, that’s all. It’s having to face the consequences of what was supposed to be a consequence-free act.”
“Sure, sure.” Hailey holds up her hands like she’s surrendering the point. “If you really need to talk to him, call the station tomorrow.”
“Maybe.” I nibble on my bottom lip. It makes sense. It’s not as if Ryder doesn’t know I want to talk to Charlie in case he finds out I called.
But I don’t know…it feels dissatisfying.
As though my phone is listening to my thoughts, it starts ringing.
I look down.
It’s an unknown caller.
My stomach flies into my throat. “Oh my god, it’s him, Hailey.”
She glances at the screen. “It’s unknown.”
“It’s him. I know it.” I can tell by the way my body immediately responds. I snatch it from my bedside table. “Hello?”
“Hello, Jessica.” That low, slightly Southern voice slides over my skin, setting off a rush of tingles.
“Told you,” I mouth to Hailey, silently waving her to the door, telling her to leave.
She sighs and gets off the bed.
“Did I lose you already? I’d think with all the work you put in to talking, you’d be more receptive.”
I don’t even want to think about the relief I experience at hearing his voice again. I’d thought I’d have to live with wanting it in my ear for the rest of my life.
Even though that is…um…wrong.
When the door shuts behind Hailey, I hiss, “How did you get this number?”
He barks out a laugh. “Take a wild guess.”
“Using police resources for personal inquiries isn’t ethical, and it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“I had your résumé in my email. You gave me the information freely.”
“Yet you couldn’t do the simplest of all things, like show up to the interview or Google me to see who your new colleague would be.”
“I was in court that day and didn’t want to hold up the process.” He bites out the words, his exasperation rolling across the airwaves. “I trusted Ryder, which I now see was a complete shit idea. And Google works both ways.”
“I didn’t need to research you when I had my brother singing your praises over Sunday dinner.”
“Then we can both agree your brother has terrible judgment.”
“Well, thanks to you, we’re now in crisis mode.” I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t doing it for me. There’s just something about the way this man gets aggravated that I’m addicted to.
He growls into the phone. “We’re in crisis mode because you stalked me through the streets of Revival instead of taking literally hundreds of better options.”
“Hundreds? Literally? I bet you can’t even name ten.”
“Any option would have been better than the one you took.”
“Fine, next time, I’ll blindside you.” I flop back down on the bed. “This is what I get for being nice in deference to our future professional relationship.”
“Everything with you is a blindside, so what else is new.” I hear a shifting over the line. “And now, because of your actions, we’ll have the pleasure of the entire town watching our every move.”
“Stop exaggerating. Continue to play dumb, and I’ll do the rest.”
“You want me to leave this up to you? A woman incapable of being subtle?”
“I can be subtle.”
“Jessica, listen to me. Really listen. For the foreseeable future, every interaction we have will be scrutinized and dissected. How we look at each other. How close we’re standing. What we say. How we talk.”
Some of my lust dims. He’s right. Because of my actions, I went from the source of one town’s gossip to another. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. The damage is done, and the only thing left to do is focus on cleanup. “So what?”
“Don’t be coy.”
“I’m not. Let them. They’re going to think what they want to think, and we’re going to play it cool. It’s not that hard. Look at tonight.”
“You think that was a success?” His voice rises.
“Does anyone know we slept together?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You asked me if I thought it was a success. Using the criteria that our unfortunate chance meeting on Friday night remains a secret, I do.”
“Do you honestly think everyone in that bar didn’t know we want to fuck?”
“It doesn’t matter what they think. What matters is what they can prove.”
“Wow, that is the most lawyer response I’ve ever heard.”
“That makes sense since I am, in fact, a lawyer.” I’m actually kind of impressed with myself. I couldn’t be playing this phone call any more perfectly. I sound so breezy. “Glad to see you’re big enough to admit you still want to fuck me.”
He laughs. “You’re so transparent.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t think you can bait me into talking dirty to you.”
“Just because you’re obsessed with me doesn’t mean I’m obsessed back.” I cluck my tongue. “I warned you not to fall in love with me.”
“You’re impossible. Stop thinking with your pussy.”
“Like my pussy has thought of you at all.”
Three beats of silence pass before he says, “Do you want to come up with a game plan or not?”
The disappointment at his change of subject is like a splash of cold water. “What game plan? We agreed to a one-night. Now we’re going to see each other. We didn’t choose it, but it is what it is. It doesn’t change what we want, right?”
“Right.” There’s not even a second of hesitation.
My body takes the rejection as a hit, even though I’m not interested in being tied down with relationships.
I return to my reasonable, logical argument as to why, in the scheme of things, this is totally insignificant. “We had sex. It’s not that big of a deal. I’m sure you’ve had sex with other women in town and don’t talk about it every time you see them. Why would this be any different?”
“Right.” This time, the word is slower, more careful.
Like he senses a trap.
I can’t blame him. I laugh, all casual. Like he has no effect on me at all. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll be friends.”
“I guess you have it all figured out then, don’t you?”
“Yep, I do,” I quip, like this is all water under the bridge. “But in the effort of fairness, I’ve had more time to process than you.”
“How big of you.” The words are dry, that hint of Southern growing more pronounced.
“You should be thanking me for making this so easy for you.” I’m good at giving speeches, and I don’t pause to give him a chance to respond.
“Trust me, everything will be fine. On Saturday, you stay on your side of the yard, and I’ll stay on mine.
Before you know it, you’ll forget all about the motel room, and I’ll just be that hot girl from work you think about in the shower. ”
He laughs like he can’t help himself. “You cannot possibly believe Saturday will go smoothly.”
“What could go wrong? I’m going to eat, drink, and get to know the neighbors. I’ll be so busy mingling you won’t even know I’m there. Unless you think you’ll be unable to ignore me, in which case, is there anything I can do to facilitate your self-control?”
“I can ignore you just fine.”
“Great, it’s settled, then.” My voice is so bright and cheery, I believe it. “I look forward to our very normal, platonic future.”
“Me too. I’m sure in our normal, platonic future, I won’t think about how I tied you up with the lamp cord, shoved your panties into your mouth, and fucked you until you were a needy mess and, best of all, quiet.”
He hangs up, denying me a response.
I throw my phone. It bounces across the bed.
I pick up a pillow, put it over my mouth, and scream.
Charlie
The following morning, I open my front door to let my best friend Mitch Riley into my house. “I appreciate you coming.”
A state attorney, he’s dressed in a custom navy suit that has his trust fund written all over it. He holds up a white bag. “I brought breakfast.”
“Thanks.” I walk toward my kitchen with him following close on my heels.
Last night, after the phone call, I’d decided I needed to confide in someone to get my head on straight. I can’t think with her distracting me and driving me crazy. I need a plan for Ryder’s questions, and the only thing that fills my mind is the truth.
I pull down two cups from the cabinet and grab the pot of coffee I made. As we take a seat at my kitchen table, I pour us each a cup.
Mitch wraps his fingers around the mug, grinning. “I assume this has something to do with Ryder’s sister stalking you through the streets of Revival.”
I groan, dragging my hands through my hair before taking a seat. “It’s not even eight.”
“Sophie, Darcy, and Maddie were on FaceTime last night, so when you asked me to come over for breakfast, my only surprise was that you actually wanted to talk.” He chuckles while he unpacks two breakfast sandwiches, sliding one across the table to me.
I make no move to take it. “You didn’t tell Maddie you were coming, right?”
I trust Mitch, but Sophie is his wife’s best friend.
“I told her I had an early meeting.”
“Good.” The word sounds official, like I’m talking to one of my deputies. “I don’t want to infringe on the marital bond, so if you feel like you must talk to her, tell me now, and I’ll leave you out of it.”
His brows wing up. “That bad?”
I nod. There’s no sugarcoating it.