“My oldest brother. He’s a few years older than you, and a great guy. My brothers are trying to set him up with someone, and I think you two could be a good couple.”
Her smile droops. “I’ve seen him around and he’s definitely cute, but a couple?” She eases back out of the closet. “Yeah, I’m not interested.”
“He’s not your type?” Because I could have sworn she looked interested a moment ago.
“Oh, he’s definitely my type. Sebastian is everyone’s type. But I’m not looking for a relationship. I prefer to get my romance from books.”
“What did you mean by dating?” I don’t know why I’m pushing this, but I had a flash of an image of her and Sebastian together, of her bright mood lifting his and his no-nonsense attitude about work and life grounding her.
She presses her lips together, clearly thinking her answer through. “Can I be sure I won’t hear about this at the coffee shop tomorrow morning?”
I mime zipping my lips and throwing away the key. “You have my word.”
She nods. “It’s not like it’s even a secret, really, but you know how people talk.” She pulls in a deep breath. “I’m not relationship material, but I’m in the market for a more casual arrangement. In layperson terms, I’m looking for a friends with bennies sitch, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what Sebastian wants.”
“Ah,” I say, my hope dying. “No. Sebastian takes his relationships with women very seriously. Probably too seriously. It’s how he got his heart broken last—” I realize what I’m saying and stop myself. “Can we just forget this whole conversation?”
She smiles, but the way she’s wrapping her hair around her fingers and tugging gives away her true feelings. “What conversation?”
I wait until she’s left, the door closed gently behind her, before I boot up my laptop and get to work.
Annabelle answers on the first ring. “Please tell me you’ve got some good news. I need to bring this guy in or my ass is grass.”
“Nobody says that anymore,” I say as I type furiously.
“I say it. What have you got for me?”
I give her everything I’ve been able to find on the bail skipper she’s been trying to track down. Annabelle and I dated for a few months three years ago, before deciding we were much better as colleagues. She runs a private investigation business out of Aspen Cove, and I do any work for her that requires computer hacking skills, or really any computer skills at all. She’s better at the physical aspects of private investigating, like tailing a suspect or chasing and tackling them to the ground.
“What have you got for me about Harley Lendew?” I ask. “Was your friend able to make contact?”
“Yep,” Annabelle says. “He made contact and made it very clear to Harley what the consequences will be if he shows up at the wedding.”
“Great. Thank you.” Relief drops my shoulders and un-tenses my jaw.
Brodie’s fiancée mistakenly sent a wedding invitation to his father after Harley somehow tracked down his son and sent him a birthday card. When Brodie called me, freaking out about his father coming to his wedding, I promised him I’d take care of it. Annabelle has graciously helped me out.
“You’re welcome. Now, how much time do you have before you fly out?” Annabelle asks.
“Enough.”
“Good. I’ve got a job for you.”
Chapter Four
Gentry
“Ifold.” I stack my cards and toss them onto the discard pile.
Ellery does a little happy dance in her seat and looks at Hailey Holiday, the only one still in this hand. She’s Lazy’s little sister and my oldest friend. “What about you? Raise, call, or fold?”
Hailey narrows her eyes, her red hair falling like a curtain over her face as she bends to study her cards. Finally, she looks up and tosses three more chips on the pile. “I raise fifteen.”
Ellery’s smile doesn’t falter as she adds her own three chips to the pot. “Show your cards.”
Hailey shrugs and tosses her cards, face-down, to the discard heap. “I was bluffing. I’ve got nothing.”
“Yes.” Ellery lays out her cards to reveal a pair of tens. “I win again.”
