“Tessa? Stalker, creeper guy who lives next to her? Won’t stop showing up wherever she is and asking her out?” Her tone held thatI’m-waiting-for-you-to-rememberirritation, and just as she continued, he seemed to.
Recognition and disbelief fell over Gray’s features, and his head slowly shifted in her direction as her voice filled the space, repeating words I’d already heard just before I’d stormed in here.
“You’re the one who said it sounded like one of yourKolachecases and?—”
“Donut,” Gray mumbled over her, but Emberly went on without missing a beat.
“Yeah, love those too—and you said you’d look into it the next time you were here.”
Gray held up a hand, his head slanting and teeth flashing in a way that looked like an award-winning, butterfly-inducing smile, but I knew it for what it was: pure annoyance and challenge. “I did not.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he did,” Cayson mumbled.
Emberly lightly smacked her husband’s chest. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Cayson rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth tugged up as he pulled her even closer with a low, “Yes, ma’am.” His smirk shifted into a wide grin, and I silently cursed this stupidly attractive family and their ridiculously distracting dimples.
It was no wonder there were so many kids running around.
“Apparently, you did,” Cayson told Gray, the words dripping with amusement.
“Nice,” Gray muttered before focusing on Emberly. “Except, I didn’t. You told me Tessa had mentioned there was a guy in her building who seemed to show up wherever she was. In the same breath, you also said you’d never once seen the guy at the shop, and that Tessa had admittedmultipletimes that he was a ‘super nice guy,’ which is why you thought she was being dramatic about the entire thing, because Tessa doesn’t like nice, clingy—” Gray caught himself before he could finish, his stare flashing my way and brows drawing together regretfully.
Right . . .
Tessa liked guys likeGray.
Charming, yes, but far too impish to be considerednice. And the exact opposite of clingy.
“I told you to let me know if it turned into anything real,” Gray continued with a subtle clearing of his throat. “I said if it did, and if the cops didn’t handle it first, I’d see ifwecould look into it—that we provide services called Donuts for people in bad situations.”
Emberly stared blankly at Gray before dully saying, “Right, and now I’m ninety-eight percent sure it’s real, and you’re here.” She made a face like she wasn’t sure why she’d had to explain information that she’d, most likely, been the only one privy to.
It was all I could do to keep my expression neutral when my stomach twisted and pitched with remorse as I quickly thought back to the way I’d stormed in here and through everything I’d said. Everything I’d insinuated.
But, before I’d done any of those things, Emberly had said,“Honestly, we shouldn’t have been surprised that Hudson brought you with him to work on the Kolache case thingy for Tessa. But I’m selfishly excited because now we can really get to know you.”
“Oh, I heard about that,”Madison had whispered.
Emberly’s sister, who was married to the youngest Dixon, had quickly added,“I forgot that’s why he was coming back!”before she’d turned on me and asked,“How long do you think you’ll have to stay for it? Not that we want you to leave—obviously. I just don’t know if these things take days or weeks or what. Also, coworkers- and best-friends-to-lovers is the best—trust me; I would know. And I’m so here for your story.”
“You already plotting it out?”Emberly had teased.
“Fully,”her sister had said with an excited shrug.
I hadn’t asked what they’d meant by any of it. I’d barely muttered an excuse before slipping away to get my answer aboutthe Kolache case thingy for Tessastraight from the source.
I hadn’t had a reason to question or doubt them on why Gray or I were here when the three of them had spoken as confidently as they had. But I’d been there for the aftermath. I’d watched Gray’s real-time reaction, and it had me rethinking everything...
Namely, Wren and Aruba.
Another situation where I’d gotten my information from other people, rather than witnessing it firsthand—where everyone had been so sure that what they were saying was true. Another situation where Gray had been furious that anyone—thatI—would’ve believed it.
My gaze betrayed me by searching out the man at my side. Taking in the subtle hardening of his jaw and the hurt he still wasn’t able to fully conceal, even as he teased Emberly.
“You’re really something, you know that?” he asked her.
“The best?” she lifted one of her shoulders in feigned arrogance. “I know.”
