“He did. Took Tate with him, though. Might be a while. Those two…” Reilly shook her head and laughed again. “I think—”
Stone planted his palm over her mouth, cutting her off before she could tell him something he couldn’t unhear.
“You’re Tate’s best friend,” he told her. “So you’re obligated to listen to his stories. I’m not. I don’t wanna hear it.”
She smiled, her eyes crinkling. She said something, but it was too muffled to make out.
He dropped his hand. “What’s that?”
“You sure?”
“More than I’ve ever been.”
“Fine. But only ’cause you’re just gettin’ your sea legs. Once you’re settled, I make no promises.”
With that, she skipped off to get more of her stuff.
***
When the phone rang, Stevie grabbed thesmall remote and clickedstopto silence the music.
She ensured she had a smile so it reflected in her voice when she said, “D and S Landscape Solutions.”
“Hey, Stevie. It’s me.”
Since Nico was well aware she blasted music when she was alone, she pressed play, and Christian Kane’s sexy voice came pouring through the speakers again.
“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere right now?” she asked, snatching her iPad off the counter so she could pull up the calendar. “At the … uh … the place … with the … uh…” She stalled as she flipped to Friday’s appointments. There shouldn’t be any since, technically, they didn’t take appointments on Friday. But Stevie had learned a long time ago that the customer was always right, and if they wanted something done on a Friday, Nico would make it happen.
“The Jamesons,” Nico supplied.
As soon as he said the words, she saw the calendar details. Deborah and Owen Jameson. Yep. That was the one.
“So? What’d Deborah say? Did she like the design?” Although Nico’s designs were just short of brilliant, Stevie always added a few touches to make them a little more unique—to give them some flair, if you would. She’d been quite proud of the idea she’d come up with for the Jamesons.
“She asked me to give the info to Donovan.”
Well, that was disappointing. “Did you?”
“No.”
Putting her hand on her hip, Stevie turned to look out the window, pursing her lips. She hated it when Nico got all cryptic on her. Which he did. All the damn time. She tolerated it for several reasons. One, Nico was her business partner and had been since they opened D & S Landscape Solutions eight years ago. Two, Nico was Niyah’s brother, and since Niyah had been Stevie’s best friend since fourth grade, it was part of the BFF code. And three … well, the third reason was something that Stevie and Nico never, ever,evertalked about. At least not when they were sober.
So.
“Should I move the appointment to another day?” Stevie asked before she set down the iPad.
“No. I’ll get with Deborah later.”
“Okay. Where’re you headed now?”
“Anywhere but here,” he muttered.
Stevie detected something odd in his tone. “You okay?”
“Not really, no.”
“Why?”
