Remington mulled this over, thoughtfully tapping his bottom lip with his index finger. “Remember the night Korbin showed up after you’d moved home?” he asked. “I wasn’t at the house that night, but you told me that you found muddy footprints near the door when you returned from the store. Do you think--?”
“That it was Amanda?” I asked, cutting him off with a laugh. “No. No, I don’t think it was Amanda.”
“Why not?”
“Her obsession is with Korbin, not with me.”
“You’re right,” Rem said. “Her obsession is with him, and his obsession is with you. Sounds like motive to me.”
“Have you been rereading Nancy Drew?” I teased, tossing a balled-up napkin at him. “Usually, you keep your conspiracy theories in check until we watch some true-crime documentary.”
“Maybe,” Rem said with a shrug. “Or maybe I’m onto something. Do you know a lot of people here in Eagle River?”
“Well, yeah, I grew up here.”
“Okay, how many of those people do you randomly run into on a whim?” he asked. “Anyone who isn’t your family or close friends—do you always cross paths?”
“Not really,” I said. “Eagle River is just big enough that occasionally you run into the same people, but it’s less frequent than people think.”
“Have you run into Amanda quite a bit?” Rem asked, and suddenly I knew where he was going with this.
“You think she’s following me, too?” I asked, and he nodded, lowering his voice again.
“She’s pretending she doesn’t see you, but I bet she knows you’re sitting right here.”
I punched my friend playfully in the shoulder, wishing I could do more damage than just that, and Rem laughed, rubbing his arm.
“I’m only teasing,” he said. “For the most part, anyway.”
I stood from my chair and shrugged on my coat, making it a point not to look in Amanda’s direction. I didn’t care if she was there, even if itwasa little convenient. All I could think of besides confronting her and being wrong was to relay the information to Korbin. He was the one she couldn’t stay away from, it seemed.
“Sugar, it was so lovely to have brunch with you,” Rem said, linking my arm in his as we walked out of the bistro and back towards our parked cars. He kissed me on both cheeks, then touched my face. “It’s not been fun without you. I miss my sidekick.”
“Don’t forget that you are welcome to come and stay with Korbin and me at the flat any time,” I reminded him. “He has a spare room that isn’t even touched.”
“Do you think he’d mind?” Rem asked, and I giggled and shook my head.
“Not for a second. He just comes off as more intimidating than he is.”
“I suppose I will take you up on that sometime.” Rem squeezed my hand before unlocking his car and sliding into the driver’s seat. As I waved and turned to go to my car, he stopped me, hand snapping out to keep me rooted to the spot.
“Ouch,” I said pointedly, but he ignored me.
“Be careful with that woman,” he said quietly. “She gives me bad vibes.”
“Everyone gives you bad vibes, Rem,” I reminded him, but not even this silly quip made him crack a grin.
“I’m serious,” he said. “Keep your eyes open, Peyton. There’s something off about her.”
I drove home with Remington’s concerns edging into the forefront of my mind. I’d always been put off by Amanda, and now after Korbin’s hints that she could have been responsible for the car—which I still had a difficult time believing—this was only making it worse. The police still hadn’t found my harasser, and I was tempted to go into the city and confront Jake myself. While the phone calls from the unknown number were becoming fewer, they were still coming.
I reached the high rise a few minutes later, parking the car and riding the elevator to our floor. I felt on edge suddenly, and I couldn’t figure out why. Amanda’s shenanigans had never bothered me like this before, but suddenly I was wary, doubting what I knew about her and the situation. But what could I do? She hadn’t harmed me, hadn’t even threatened it. There was nothing I could do.
I locked the deadbolt and the chain over the front door before kicking off my shoes and slipping my feet into a pair of warm slippers. I’d also tried hard to make Korbin’s place my place by adding the cozy décor and making it more than just some bachelor pad. It was nice now, nice and homey, and I went to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and a glass before cozying down on the sofa in the living room, pulling the warm throw over my lap. I wished Korbin was home; I felt like I hardly got to see him anymore now that he was back working full-time. At the same time, I didn’t mind it because I knew he loved his job. He was meant for it.
I turned on some old sitcom in the background and reached for my phone, finding a text from Rem that he’d made it home and another one from Korbin saying that he wished he could be home with me but was thinking about me, anyway. I smiled and typed back a quick reply, longing to be in his arms. It was only eight now, but it still felt late enough for me to comfortably go to bed. Without Korbin, there wasn’t much else to do. Besides, the sooner I fell asleep, the sooner he would be home, gently waking me with a light kiss in the morning when he was finally relieved of his shift.
Pushing all thoughts of Amanda aside, I rinsed my wine glass and puttered to the bed, triple checking the front door to ensure it was still locked. Then I set the alarm for the morning to take the chain off before Korbin came home. I didn’t know what I was worried about, but it made me feel better having it there anyway.
