He shifted against the counter. “I know. I meant you would’ve heard from me if I’d thought you were in danger.”
“Oh.”
“You know, that night, I drove by your office and noticed your light on. I still do.”
“David.” It was a warning. I felt more comforted by his confession than I should, as if him driving by each night would keep anything bad away. Little did he know, though, my demons lived on the inside where nobody could get to them.
He nodded and looked away. I took a sip, waiting for his gaze to find me again. It didn’t.
“You’re looking for a house,” he said flatly. I wasn’t sure if he’d meant it as a question, so I just nodded. With an empty laugh, he shook his head at the floor.
“Andyou’redating Dani,” I said.
His chest rose with a deep sigh. “Not exactly.”
I pursed my lips. “She seems to think so.”
“We’ve been out a few times at Lucy’s insistence,” he said, pulling at his chin.
“You’re here together.”
He looked at me again. “I was invited before I even met her. You know Andrew and I are friends.” I responded with a pointed look of skepticism, and his lips pressed together. “All right. I suppose, in a sense, Dani and I are dating.”
“Did it ever occur to you how that might make me feel?” I asked.
His eyebrows rose. “You don’t exactly get a say, honeybee.”
My grip tightened around my glass.Honeybee.The hazy post-coital glow from our one night washed over me. “Don’t call me that.”
“Don’t like it?” he teased.
“I love it.”
His smile faltered. After a moment, he took a measured step toward me. I pulled my robe closer as my heart skipped. Two more steps, and his ever-imposing frame filled the space around me. The smell of liquor burned my nostrils as his gaze flitted down to me. “I’m serious about this shit,” he whispered, tugging at the opening of my robe. “Start taking better care of yourself, or it’s going to piss me off.”
“You don’t get a say,” I repeated his words back to him. I held his gaze, but I could still see my breasts heaving with each breath.
“So this is it?” he asked. “Everybody just moves on?Wejust move on?”
I cocked my head. Isn’t that what we’d been doing?
“Olivia?” I heard Bill’s voice.
My heart dropped. David took a controlled step back. Behind him, Bill, in sagging boxers and a t-shirt, stood in the doorway. He looked between us briefly and rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just getting—” I croaked as my throat went desert dry.
“She needed water,” David said for me. He lifted the pitcher in Bill’s direction and took my glass from the counter. Streaming water filled the silence as he topped off my drink.
Bill shifted on his feet. Long seconds ticked by until David calmly handed me the cup.
I accepted it and walked toward Bill without looking back. “Let’s go to bed,” I told him.
He nodded at David and followed me from the kitchen. “How do you know him again?” Bill asked when we were out of earshot.
“He was one of our bachelors this year—the one who helped me with Mark Alvarez. I never followed up so he was just updating me on the case.”
“You could’ve asked me—I’ve been following it.” Bill turned to look over his shoulder, and I quickly released the breath I’d been holding. “Should I go thank him?”
