Oh my god. My ovaries might burst for possibly the first time in my life.
“Thank you.” She twists her arms together.
“And how old is Princess Sophia today?” River asks her with a wide grin.He likes her.
“I’m four.” She giggles, holding up four fingers.
“Yes, you are.” River lowers her into the grass and she straightens her ball grown dress. “This is my friend, Lux.” River looks up at me.
I lower to meet Sophia at eye level, smiling warmly at her. “You look like a beautiful birthday girl.”
“You’re pwetty.” She twirls her corkscrew blonde hair.
“Why don’t you go see Grandma,” Felix says.
Nancy grabs her daughter’s hand, leading her away from our group. “Come on, baby.”
“See you later, River.” Her tone takes on a sensual nature, and I see red.
Glaring at her until she’s a comfortable distance away, my eyes drag back to River only to find a slight smirk on his face. Slightly embarrassed about being caught, I feel my cheeks flush. He turns his attention back to Felix, but not before sending me with a slick wink.
Felix sips his pink lemonade. “So where did you guys meet?”
My stomach drops at his question. With how carefully curated River’s double life is, we failed to prepare an explanation for us if anyone asked.
“Lux reached out to the office to do research for a novel she was working on,” River adds casually.
Stunned by his quick response, I have no choice but to go along with it.
I swallow cotton. “Yeah, River has been very helpful.”
Felix’s eyebrows rise. “A writer, sounds intriguing.”
River changes the subject before Felix asks me more questions, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m not that great of a liar, and if he continued, I might accidentally say something I shouldn’t.
“I bet Sophia’s going to get some fun gifts today. I saw the present table on the way in.” The expression on Felix’s face suddenly changes. “I’m afraid to ask what you got Sophia.”
River pats his shoulder and gives him a mischievous smile. “A pony is being delivered in less than an hour.”
Felix’s eyes grow wide. “Fuck you. Really?”
I chuckle at the rapport they have and the fact that River really bought Felix’s daughter a pony. Of course, the way she interacts with him, and how gentle and caring he is toward her gives me a glimpse into what type of family man he could be.
As River continues to charm everyone at the event for the rest of the afternoon, I stand by his side watching how well he can control both parts of his world. But underneath the friendly good-guy facade and the passionate lover I see in the bedroom, is a natural killer—hunter prowling the city streets of Seattle in search of the nextbad guyto take down. It’s fascinating, and only serves to make my affection for his passion grow deeper.
And by the time we’re in the car heading back up the hill to Thompson Manor, my adoration for him has grown even more.
Chapter 32
River
The red banner rolling on the bottom of the TV screen catches my eye as I walk out of the bathroom.
PRESS CONFERENCE SOON, UPDATE ON CABIN WOMEN’S CASE
Wrapped in a white towel around my waist, I stand in front of the TV with the local news playing. The police will never find the bodies of the men as they’re all swimming with fish, but they will discover the connection between them once Nolen and Duncan are officially reported missing.
Which reminds me that I haven’t heard from Andrew. I assumed he’d touch base with me after my night with Duncan, but he’s been silent. Which leads me to believe he may have caught on to everything we’re doing and is backing off. Or maybe the police reached out for questioning.
