I ran a shaky hand through my hair as I popped up from the bench and paced behind it. “This feels…wrong.”
“Wrong?” Ava asked with a crinkled nose.
“Like an invasion of her privacy. I mean, she didn’t give me her number. She clearly doesn’t want me to have it.”
Alex shrugged, setting his phone down on the table. “We don’t know that. Maybe she’s just cautious. Plus, this is really more about Ava thinking something is fishy than your love life.”
“Ace is right,” Ava said, the straw still between her lips. “She’s hiding something.”
“Okay, well…maybe we should let her hide it,” I suggested.
Ava set her cup down, her features sharp as she stared at me. “Are you sick?”
I screwed up my face, crossing my arms as I stopped my ambling. “What?”
“Seriously, my dude, you are a perpetual line-crosser, but suddenly, you want to shut down the investigation.”
I pressed my lips together. She had a point. Boundaries and me weren’t the best of friends. I regularly crossed them even when I knew it would invite trouble. But snooping on the woman I hoped would have found me somewhat interesting seemed…wrong.
Or maybe I was afraid it would squash the minuscule chance I had to develop a relationship with this woman. An image formed of her angry and disappointed face when she found out Alex hacked into her phone and gave me private information about her life.
“Consider this a safety check,” Ava said as I contemplated it. “We just went through a really dangerous battle with The Board. I don’t want you caught up in something you shouldn’t be.”
“You think she’s Board?” I asked.
We’d dismantled the so-called Board. They weren’t a threat anymore–at least not to my knowledge. But what if there were lingering members who hoped for revenge?
I raised a finger in the air. “I didn’t see a tattoo on her wrist.”
“Neither did I, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
I collapsed onto the bench again, my lips tugging into a frown. A fleeting memory of her eyeing Alex shot through my mind. “You think that’s what this is, don’t you? That I’m being used.”
“There’s one way to find out,” Alex answered, showcasing his phone.
I gnawed on my lower lip, weighting the pros and cons. Pro: I’d have a better idea of who she was. Con: I’d find out she already had an awesome boyfriend. Pro: I’d have a way to contact her. Con: I’d be labeled a stalker.
I shook my head, burying my face in my hands. “I don’t know if I want to know. Maybe I’d just like to live in this fantasy world that this beautiful woman was actually interested enough in me to sit down and eat with us.”
Ava reached across the table, her expression consoling as she squeezed my hand. “Doc, you’re going to find the right girl for you. And Nattie may be it. But let’s just make sure she’s not someone who is out to hurt you. Isn’t it better to knowbeforeyou fall in love with her?”
I winced at the words, my mind trying to answer the question honestly.
Alex clicked his tongue, his features turning surprised. “Dude, you can’t be in love with her yet. Come on.”
“I’m not,” I shot back. “But the potential is there. I just…don’t want to find out that she’s got a really cool boyfriend. Oh, or maybe she’s in a fake marriage that has turned real–that has happened way too many times to me.”
“All right.” Alex raised his hands in the air, signaling defeat. “I’ll delete it.”
He snatched his phone from the table, tapping on the screen.
My heart seized. If he deleted her information now, we’d probably never get it back. All of my hesitation went flying out the window in a single instant. I needed to know if I had a shot. And I needed a way to find this woman. I couldn’t lose this chance.
I couldn’t explain what I felt, but I knew I wanted a chance with Nattie Burgmont. Maybe I was too desperate, but I didn’t care. I’d had too many heartbreaks already.
“Wait!” I said, my breath catching in my throat.
Alex flicked his blue eyes up to meet mine. “Yes?”
