Me: …
Me: …
Me: Why would I have?
Ryker: Interesting response time.
Me: What’s interesting is how smoothly you just pivoted from friend to Tess.
Ryker: You just called her Tess.
Well, shit.
Me: This is stupid. I’m hanging up on this text.
Ryker: That’s not even a thing.
Me: Watch me.
Ryker: Blake.
Ryker: Blake?
Ryker: Fine. But if you’re lying to me about either of them, they’ll never find YOUR body. That’s not a threat. It’s a promise from your lawyer.
54
TESSA
“This is a terrible idea.” My steps dragged against the sidewalk as we approached my front porch. “I still don’t see the point.”
“We’ve been over this,” Blake’s voice carried that infuriatingly calm doctor-knows-best tone that made me want to simultaneously strangle him and kiss him.
“Even on the one in a million chance you’re correct …” I shot him a look when he dramatically clutched his chest at my lack of faith. “There’s no way we’re going to find it.”
“Stop. Your confidence is making my ego too big.”
“We’re not drug-sniffing dogs. This is pointless, and I’m worried.”
For the first time since this wild theory of his took root, Blake’s spine stiffened. Something dark flashed across his eyes, and I watched his unwavering certainty crack, just for a moment.
“You should wait outside,” he declared, placing his hand over mine on the doorknob.
“And leave you alone in my townhouse? I think not.”
He smirked, but there was steel beneath the playfulness.
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you. If there’s even a chance that what you’re saying is right and you stumbleacross it, you could get sick. You’re a doctor; you can’t afford to get sick.”
“Let me get this straight.” Blake stepped closer, his presence making the air feel suddenly warmer. His fingers brushed against my cheek, sweeping away a fallen strand of hair. “Faced with the very real possibility that someone has been poisoning you, your primary concern right now is thatIcould find it and get sick?”
“You find that amusing?”
Blake shook his head, something soft and wondering crossing his face. “If kindness was a disease, yours would be so extreme that it’d be fatal.”
“I disagree. Don’t you remember my grade-A bitch phase when I was mad at you?”
The lock clicked open beneath my fingers, the door creaking on its hinges.
