"Remember that barista?"
"Which one?" I asked.
"Raisin Girl."
Oh. Her."Yeah, what about her?"
He leaned forward. "Who is she?"
I took a lingering sip of the whiskey, savoring its warmth on the way down. "How should I know?"
"The wayIhear it, she's living with your boss."
I didn'thavea boss, not the wayIsaw it. I had a place to pass the time and some cranberry-free sandwiches to preserve my cash. Even so, I knew exactly who Ryder meant.
Maisie. Again.I set down my glass. "So they're roommates?"
I hadn't thought to ask Maisie about her living situation – or anything else about her, really. I'd kept it surface-level on purpose. It was the way I'd wanted it, but suddenly I wasn't so sure.
What else was I missing?
Ryder studied me across the table. "You didn't know?"
"Why would I?" I said. "I've known her all of two days."
"Three," he corrected. "There was that thing at the dock."
The dockside duffel argument felt like ages ago. "Fine. Call it two and a half. But she never mentioned a roommate."
"What, you've never been to her place?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you do it above the boathouse."
Asshole."We're not 'doing it' at all." And then there was the thing Ididn'tsay. Even if we were, we wouldn't be doing it in a reeking boathouse with a bed that creaked like a prop in a low-budget porno.
Just the thought of it pissed me off. Maisie was a decent person and deserved better. I gave Ryder a hard look. "Just for the record, I don't see where it's any of your business."
This only made him laugh. "Since when doyouget shy?"
It was a fair question. I had never been one to brag about my exploits, but I hadn't kept them under wraps either. But that was then, this was now.
The thing with Maisie was different. One – it wasn't true. Two – even if it were, I still wouldn't want her name dragged through the gutter like she didn't matter.
Shit.Maybe the small town was rubbing off. Or maybe it was Maisie. Either way, this whole jacked-up adventure wasn't going how I'd planned.
To Ryder, I said, "Since when doyouget nosy?"
"Nosy?" He laughed. "A few days, and you're picking up the lingo. Small towns, am I right?"
Forget the town. I'd probably picked up the word from Maisie, whether I realized it or not. But this wasn't something Ryder needed to know. "Fine," I gritted out. "Since when do you get curious?"
"I'm always curious," he said. "But hey, I'm glad you asked, because there's something I want you to find out."
NowIwas the curious one. "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah." His tone grew serious. "What's up with the barista?"
At this point, I was just glad he hadn't mentioned Maisie. "Raisin Girl."
"Yeah. Her. She looks familiar." He frowned. "And I wanna know why."
