“RyRy, huh?”
He sighed. “Apparently.”
“That’s super cute.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“And you know Vivian from?”
“She’s going to tell you she contracted for our company. Did all the decor for the condos we built.”
“All right. What are you going to tell me?”
He opened his mouth, then his eyes went to her purse, which was a natural fiber macramé-type thing with wooden beads. He frowned.
“I’m going to tell you I love you,” he got up off of the couch, “and I missed you.” He was smiling and advancing on me, but the change of subject was a cover. “And I want to know what kind of pie you brought me as an apology.”
“Who said I was apologizing?” Then he was right there in front of me, and all the clever things I’d been about to say dried up to dust. It was everything I could do not to just fall into his arms.
“I hate fighting with you,” I said.
His hands landed heavy on my hips and he searched my face, maybe trying to decide if that was my apology. “Delaney.” He leaned forward, his mouth right next to my ear, so close I could feel the stubble on his cheek. “She’s a monster hunter.”
And, yeah, maybe I was distracted by his touch, by his nearness, by the scent of his shampoo and deodorant that had become the scent of home to me. But it took me a second.
“Who?”
“Vivian. I worked with her at DoPP.”
It hit all at once, hard as a slap. “We have a monster hunter in our house?”
“Shhh.” He pulled me closer. “She left her purse and might be recording us.”
I tucked my head into his shoulder and hoped that if I was being recorded, it was only audio. “We have a monster hunter in our town?”
“Yep. She said she’s stopping by to catch up, like old times.”
“Bullcrap,” I said into the warm cotton of his shirt.
“I know. How do you want to deal with it?”
“She’s not leaving?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I don’t want her snooping around our house.” I pulled back, and he nodded at my fake smile.
“Did you find the coffee?” I called out as I made a quick trip through the doors and living room.
Vivian was not in the kitchen.
“Vivian?” I started down the hall.
She was walking toward me, smiling and innocent like she hadn’t been snooping.
“Did you get lost?” I asked nicely.
“What? Oh, no. Silly.” She was close enough she tapped me on the arm, then kept her hand there. Holding me in place.
