Tonks started barking.
Oh God!
Hutch was here.
I took my phone from my ear and covered it, ordering in the dog voice Hutch taught me to use, “Tonks!Quiet!”
She let out a soft roo-roo and dashed to the door.
I put my phone back to my ear, moving to the door myself.“Hutch is here to train Tonks.”
“Okay, I want a callback, but real quick, how Bryce saw it?Well, I saw it because Marcy saw it and told me about it.Which, as you’re aware with Marcy’s big mouth, means people we know saw it.And some of those people also know Bryce.Obviously, they showed it to him.Apparently, and this is all hearsay, but we know Bryce…”
We sure did.
“…and he’s lost his shit at the idea you’re with someone else.”
I’d unlocked the door.
But at what she said, I had to hold myself very still so my head didn’t explode.
“Can I spread the word youarewith someone else, missing out the friends with benefits thing?”she asked into my stony silence.“Because I’m not sure Bryce looked real close at the video.If he did, he’d see the president of the board could wipe the floor with his bony ass.Babe, that one arm lift?Lawd.”
At this juncture, the door opened, Hutch walked in, took one look at me, and although Tonks was winding up to give him her usual throaty welcome, she didn’t when he barked, “What’s going on?”
“I have to go,” I whispered into the phone.
But Mona’s back was up.“Is he mad at you?”
“No, he’s mad for me.I’ll call you later.”
I thought I heard her mutter, “Friends with benefits my ass,” before I disconnected.
Hutch watched my hand with the phone drop and then his gaze zoomed right back to mine.
“Talk to me,” he demanded.
“It’s not the Waco whackos,” I said.
“That isn’t an answer to my question,” he said.
“Okay, can I…er, give you a little history first?”
“You can give me whatever you want if it explains that look on your face.”
There it was.
This friends with bennies wassoworking.
“Okay, before I moved to Misted Pines, I was engaged to somebody.”
His attention flew to the phone and back to me.“Is he calling you?”
“Maybe, but I have him blocked.”
He drew in a sharp breath and urged, “Go on.”
“It was…I mean, obviously, since we were engaged, I was in love with him.”
