But here at the table, Griff reached slowly for his whiskey like he was stalling for time. "Then you heard wrong."
I gave him a skeptical look. "If you say so."
"I do."
The guy was so full of it that I laughed. "Is it true you're working for food?" I leaned in, like I was giving him a mission. "Because I've got some stuff that needs doing."
He frowned. "Like what?"
"Remember that barista?"
"Which one?"
The question was ridiculous. In my mind, there was only one – a certain blonde with eyes full of secrets and a smile worth chasing. Still, I kept my tone easy as I replied, "Raisin Girl." Or at least, that's what Griff had called her on that very first day.
He shrugged. "Yeah, what about her?"
A shrug? Seriously?The guy was obviously nuts, because Tessa Sinclair wasn't someone you shrugged off like she was nothing. I was still leaning in. "Who is she?" Sure, I had answers of my own, but like a master negotiator, I wanted him to go first.
Did it work?
Hell no.
Captain Quiet took another sip of his whiskey, like we were discussing the traffic or weather. Eventually, he asked, "How should I know?"
Fuck.It was like pulling teeth. I shifted in my seat, preparing to toss out a bone. "The wayIhear it, she's living with your boss."
Thatgot his attention. Slowly, he set down his glass. "So they're roommates?"
I stared.Was he for real?
Shit.The way it looked, I was givinghimthe scoop and not the other way around. I shook my head, incredulous. "You didn't know?"
"Why would I?" he said. "I've known her all of two days."
Whoa.In the big scheme of things, two days was just a blip. And yet, for who-knows-why, it felt like I'd been chasing this for weeks.
As I mentally backtracked, I hit the brakes.Wait a minute.Griff's calendar wasn't adding up. "Three," I corrected, recalling his arrival. "There was that thing at the dock." I meant, of course,the tug-of-war between Griff and a tourist, along with – holy fuck – I just realized something.
A cute brunette – she'd been there at the dock. I'dseenher. And Griff had acted all funny when I'd mentioned her later on – so of course, I'd had to comment on her ass, just to annoy him.Was that Maisie?
It had to be.She'd been wearing some sort of work-shirt I hadn't bothered to track. I added that to my intel and gave Griff an expectant look.
"Fine," he said. "Call it two and a half. But she never mentioned a roommate."
See, this was the thing about Griff. Because he didn't talk much, he spent too much time out of the loop.
Normally, I didn't care.
Hell, sometimes it was nice to have a friend who didn't yammer nonstop. But even for Griff, this was pretty damned disappointing.
Scratch that.I wasn't merely disappointed.I was ticked."What, you've never been to her place?"
He just looked at me.
Oh, for fuck's sake.I cocked an eyebrow just to piss him off. "Don't tell me you do it above the boathouse."
He stiffened as if I'd just mentioned a three-way with his sister – which would've been hilarious except he didn't have a sister and I preferred things one-on-one.
