“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I can promise you right now.”
Something flickered across his face. Pain maybe. Or understanding. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“We’ll table it.” He stepped back, but not before his thumb brushed across my wrist. “But, Faith? When this is over, we’re having that conversation.”
I yanked my hair into a ponytail while Ryker tucked his shirt in properly.
Ten seconds. Ryker grabbed the tea box while I tried to look natural. Normal. Not like I’d just been making out with my brother’s best friend while accused of murder.
Five seconds. Ryker cleared his throat.
The door opened.
But it wasn’t Blake who walked inside. It was Jace.
And he looked, well, pissed …
“Ryker, a word?”
20
RYKER
“You were kissing her?”
I didn’t even look at Jace. He’d ushered me outside, to the corner of the small yard, where we could talk without interruption.
“Axel couldn’t wait five whole seconds before running his mouth. Said you looked like you’d been attacked by a Sephora employee.” Jace leaned against the fence, arms crossed. “His words, not mine.”
“That absolutechild.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, probably smearing whatever evidence remained, but truth be told, I could tell Axel’s sarcasm had eased Faith’s tension. And I appreciated him for that. “Who else did he tell?”
“Just me.”
“Great. So, you’re here to give me shit too?” I rolled my shoulder, trying to work out the knot that had taken up permanent residence there. “Because Axel already covered that ground pretty thoroughly.”
Jace studied me with that CEO look, the one that dissected quarterly reports and found every weakness. “I suspected you had feelings for her. Hell, Axel called you out at poker night when she showed up, covered in blood. But kissing her? Present tense?” Heshook his head. “That’s not suspicion anymore. That’s confirmation.”
I stayed quiet. No point denying what he’d already figured out. Craning my neck, I caught a glimpse of her. Faith had rejoined our friends by the fire, settling into one of the chairs across from the flames. The orange glow washed over her skin, turning it almost golden.
That smile.Christ.That smile could bring a man to his knees. I wanted to bottle it up, tuck it away for the dark moments when the world felt like it was crashing down around me.
After holding her in the kitchen, my arms felt empty without her.
The rational part of my brain knew we had work to do once everyone left. Her defense wouldn’t build itself. But the selfish part? The part still tasting her on my lips? That part wanted to set fire to every case file and spend the rest of the night learning what made her laugh.
Very professional, Counselor.
“Earth to Ryker.” Jace snapped his fingers. “You’re staring.”
I was. Like a lovesick teenager who’d just discovered his favorite song.
“Blake’s noticed.”
I shifted my gaze. Sure enough, Blake’s eyes were locked on me from across the fire, his expression somewhere between homicidal and already picking out my casket.
Axel, standing near him, caught Blake’s death glare and smirked over his glass. He raised it in a mock toast that clearly said,You’re a dead man walking.
