They made arrangements for me.
All while we weresitting and having fucking drinks together last night.
I look at Zen again.
They look back at me this time, a slight guilt bringing a blush to their cheeks, but a belligerentI am not on your side on this onein their steady gaze.
“You got in a car with a complete stranger?” I can barely keep my voice controlled.
“Of course not. Even if I didn’t know exactly who everyone here was after that video, I’m still sharp enough to hire the family’s private investigator before trusting a minor character in a viral video and her porn star friend when they invite me to town.”
Sabrina chokes on her coffee and comes up laughing, though there’s some strain in her expression if you know how to watch for it.
And I do.
I know how to watch for it.
“Oh my god, what did he find on us?” Sabrina asks.
“She,” Mimi says pertly.
“Did she find anything good?”
“Not on you. You’re remarkably boring for someone with so much personality and who knows everything there is to know about everyone else.”
Sabrina visibly lightens.
No one else seems to notice. And I don’t think I’m making it up just because I know some of her secrets.
Mimi smiles. “ButTheo. My goodness, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he was actually disappointing in person after everything she dug up on him.”
Sabrina laughs again. “Miss Madeleine, you are the best.”
“The feeling is mutual.” She turns to me. “Now. Greyson. You didn’t tell me youbought a coffee shopin the Arctic Circle. I had to hear it from a stranger calling to express concern about your overall well-being.”
A stranger calling to express concern.
Sabrina’s cheeks go pink too.
And not acutepink.
Aguiltypink.
Way guiltier than Zen’s pink.
My blood pressure hits the roof, which is a bad place for it to be.
How long has she been planning this? Isthiswhy she’s been keeping her distance?
Because she knows I’m going to murder her for this?
“Sabrina.” I jerk my thumb toward the kitchen. “A word.”
She holds my gaze while she takes a long sip off her own mug, despite the redness getting redder in her white cheeks, and then says, quite simply, “No, thank you.”
Like bringing Mimi here gives her the upper hand.
“We need popcorn,” Zen murmurs to Mimi.
