Page 41 of Grant’s Blaze

Dog meet bone.

Damn it, the man was so much like Rio, and that realization instantly fed me another.

Maybe the reason Elijah and Rio weren’t getting along was because of how alike they were. They spent so much time arguing about who cared about me more, they couldn’t see what was so obvious to everyone else. It was actually kind of sweet, if they hadn’t put us all in more danger by obsessing over the wrong details. We were losing valuable time every second we stood around doing nothing.

“Do you think Bas would come over if you called him?” I asked, deciding to pop the top on this party once and for all.

His gaze bugged wide. “Now?”

“Yeah. I think so,” I returned. “It’s time. I’m pretty damn sure about that. We all need to talk. He needs to hear this shit as much as you do, and if I only have to tell it once, I’d be a happy man. Not talking about this shit at the office would be a great idea too. I don’t know, maybe the girls should be here as well.”

“Be serious, Grant. Now you’re talking crazy, and you know it. Bas will never go for that.”

“Well, I for one have not been thrilled about keeping Rio in the dark. And once Bas hears what I have to tell you guys, he may change his mind.”

“Well, let’s start here, with the three of us. Like it’s always been. If he wants to tell Abbigail, he can do that. As far as Rio is concerned, I’m shocked you haven’t told her everything already.”

“I’ve been trying to get my shit together. And to be honest, my first instinct was that you two could help first. When we had to push off the meeting this morning, I guess I took it as a sign to keep rearranging stuff for a bit.” I tapped at my temple. “And I think it helped—but still, I’m just not sure I want to drag her into the mire with me quite yet.”

To that, Elijah gave up a thoughtful “Hmm.”

“What do you mean, hmm?”

“Just be careful with her, man.”

That answer seemed conveniently ready and waiting, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“Be careful?” I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I just think that woman might be in way deeper emotionally than you are,” he explained. “You know what I’m saying?”

I replaced the scowl with a smirk. “Sure. Says the guy with submissives lining up outside his front door?”

“All I’m saying is your cute little chef was ready to stir-fry my balls the last time she was at my house just because she didn’t think I was shooting straight about your whereabouts.”

My small smile grew into a satisfied—and proud—grin. I loved that passionate, protective woman. It was so damn official. “If you say something so stupid about my feelings for her again, you won’t have to worry about her because I’ll be the one castrating you. Are we clear?”

Elijah held his hands up in surrender. “All right. Easy, killer.”

“Don’t joke about that shit either.” An icy shudder ran down the length of my spine. “Just call Bas. I don’t think he’ll even pick up the phone if I call him at this hour, let alone drive down here to have a nightcap and a chat.”

“Come on. You know he’s been worried about you. Let’s not drag him all the way down here so the two of you can circle around each other for a couple hours. I’ll throw you both out if you start that bullshit.” He stopped with such sudden fury, sand flew from his feet in damp chunks. “You with me? Because I’m tired of playing referee for the two of you.”

Well, shit. It was rare to see Elijah get pissed, but there it was. I blinked a couple of times as he walked past me and toward the sliding glass door that led into the back of his house. But I breathed a little easier as he took out his phone and pressed it to his ear.

I stood on the beach and let him go because I wanted to try calling Rio again. But now that we were close to Elijah’s house and I was on his Wi-Fi network, my phone dinged several times in rapid succession with notifications. Rio had called while we were strolling on the beach. Goddammit, I’d missed her. At least she’d left a voice message this time. After entering my password, I pressed the device to my ear and listened.

“Hey, it’s Rio. I called a couple times before. I was hoping you’d pick up, but I guess you must be busy. I was calling to see how the appointment went today. You’ve been on my mind all day. So, well…yeah. I guess I’ll talk to you later. Well, not tonight. I’m going to bed. I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but I’m going back to work tomorrow. I wanted to tell you in person…or not on your voicemail anyway. All right, guess I’ll see you around. Night, Grant.”

I gaped at the phone, noting the time she left the message. It must have been right when we got back and went down to the beach, because it was nearly two hours ago. She would definitely be sleeping by now.

I’ll see you around?

What the hell kind of crap was that?

Frankly, it was the exact kind of crap I deserved for leaving her in the dark this long and then not being available when she tried calling. Several times, apparently.

Awesome. More fires to put out to keep the peace with my beautiful Blaze.