Page 47 of Hidden With You

“That’s it?” I ask. “No one else is coming?”

He laughs. “You’re complaining? Two seconds ago, you were upset that I invited anyone. I was trying to find the perfect balance.”

I move closer to him, then rise up to give him a kiss. “You’re right. It’s the perfect number. Thank you. But why exactly are they coming?”

“To drink and chat and have fun. If you’re worried we won’t have anything to talk about, we’ll pull out Pictionary. Or Trivial Pursuit. Maybe rely on charades. That’s always a crowd pleaser.”

“I think I’ll rely on the drinking part,” I say, making him laugh.

I climb out of bed and hold out my hand. “If they’re about to descend, we should get dressed. I want to shower. Am I showering alone, or will I have company?”

I can tell by the look on his face that I’ll have company. I grin, feeling happier than I can remember feeling in a long time.

“Don’t even think about it,” I say. “Quick shower. If we don’t want them walking in on us in bed, we definitely don’t want them walking in on the shower. And because you didn’t give me any warning, I need to clean the place up.”

“This place is tiny. And you have no things. How long could it possibly take to clean up?”

“Keep teasing me, and I’ll keep you out of the shower.”

He laughs and makes a motion like he’s locking his lips. He reaches to grab me, and I skip happily out of the way, then lead him to the shower.

He’s a little handsy when we’re both soaped up, totally breaking my rules. But we manage to get clean and out of the shower in less than ten minutes. By the time Frank calls from the gatehouse to authorize Ollie’s arrival into the subdivision, the house is clean, and I’ve even put out some snack food, thanks to an emergency call to Tricia, who whipped together a few trays for this little shindig.

Jasper checks the control panel, then opens the gate for Ollie’s car. I hurry outside to greet him and Jamie, surprised when Ollie gets out with Trevor, who I met briefly when the team came to check out my security.

“Good to see you again,” I tell him, even as I pull Ollie into a hug. I haven’t known him for long, but he’s one of Jamie’s best friends. Since we met after Intercontinental was optioned, she and I have had lunch a few times to talk about the characters and the screenplay, and Ollie tagged along once or twice.

“Is Jamie in a different car?”

“She couldn’t come. Some sort of work crisis. I asked Trevor to come with me. He’d called to see if I wanted to grab a movie—instead, I’m bringing him here.”

Trevor grins. “I’m the new Jamie.”

I laugh and tell him he’ll do just fine. “Just be loud and have no filter,” I say, and Ollie and I laugh.

The three of us go in together, and I point them toward the wine and the liquor. “Help yourself,” I say.

While Trevor is filling his plate with cheese and snacks, Ollie corners Jasper. I notice, and sidle over to join their conversation.

“Do you have any leads?” Ollie asks him.

“Are you talking about me or something else?”

“You,” Jasper says. “Right now, you’re the only thing I’m worried about.”

He turns his attention back to Ollie and shakes his head. “Nothing. But also no new threats. We have a possible idea about where the threat might have come from, though,” he says, then gives Ollie the quick and dirty rundown of the discussion he had with Matthew Holt earlier.

Ollie nods. “I know Matthew.” He looks between the two of us. “If you want me to, I can follow up. Also, I can take a look at the site, check out the surroundings, see where someone might set up a sniper. Pull files and see if anyone has ever been in that situation before. See if there’s any chatter about someone trying to hire a sniper.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Jasper says. “We’ve already got the SSA on it, of course, but I’m happy to have all hands on deck.”

Ollie nods. “I’ll coordinate with Ryan to make sure we don’t waste time doing the same work. But I may have resources he doesn’t have. Although, to be honest, I’m always impressed by how many resources Stark and Hunter have managed to line up for the agency.”

“Do you work for the SSA?” I ask him. It’s not a question that’s ever occurred to me before. All I know is that he’s a former lawyer turned FBI agent.

Ollie shakes his head. “No, but we worked together on projects. And Ryan and I go way back.” He looks at the two of us. “I’ll let you know if I find anything out.”

“Part of me doesn’t want to go to that gala,” I tell Jasper when we’re alone. He reaches for my hand and squeezes it.