I briefly considered calling Kel, but… whatever he had going on seemed like a true emergency. This… wasn’t. Technically. No matter how hard my heart was beating.
I’d wait for him to come home so we could discuss this in person, with context and care. Because he wasn’t a fucking source for an article; he wasBrewer.
The man I was falling for.
And while we were talking, I was going to tell him that, too. Tell him about my feelings, no matter what his reaction was.
Then, if I was very, very lucky, we’d get to the part of the day with the jam closet because Brewer had promised we’d execute his plan?—
I froze in my seat, hearing Brewer’s deep, woodsmoke voice in my head.We’re just reconfiguring it slightly. A tiny tweak to the blueprints. The architect never has to know.
“The architect never has to know,” I told the dog, recalling the words Brewer had spoken. “The architect never has to know!”
Teeny lifted her head curiously.
All this time, I’d been lamenting the fact that Anthony Harmon couldn’tprovehe’d seen a second, detailed set of official site plans that Empire had used to manipulate him, that Cornerstone Development insisted didn’t exist. But what if they’d used adifferentcompany to develop those plans?
I pulled out a notebook and began googling urban planners in Upstate New York, then contacting all the likely candidates. It was on my third phone call that I finally got a hit.
With shaking fingers, I typed out a text to Brewer.
Hey! Hope things are okay with Kel. Got a lead on my story and I need to check it out. I’ll tell you all about it later. Be back by dinner.
Then I said goodbye to Teeny, grabbed my keys, and ran out the door.
Because there wasn’t a question in my mind thatBrewerwas my priority here. Brewer was the person I wanted to make things fair and right for.
I didn’t know if getting this evidence would fix things for the man I cared about, but I was damn well going to try.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
BREWER
When Kelfinally pulled into Delaney’s driveway, my knee was jumping, and my brain was buzzing.
I’d only been away from Delaney for a couple of hours, but it felt like years. I wanted to touch him. To kiss him. To ask him if he could see us building a future together. To promise him I was done holding back.
I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morningandas nervous as a student rolling into finals without cracking a book. The very large coffee I’d consumed hadn’t helped matters.
Neither did seeing an empty parking spot at the end of the driveway where Delaney’s Audi had been.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“Problem?” Kel asked.
I shook my head. “Looks like Delaney’s out. He and I were going to talk when I got home. Maybe he’s at Tam’s.”
I reached into my pocket for my phone to see if he’d messaged me, only to realize I didn’t have my phone on me at all. It was probably sitting upstairs on the floor of Delaney’s room, where I’d undressed last night.
“Fuck.” I dragged both hands through my hair.
“I mean… you’ll talk later, right?” Kel said reasonably. He studied my face like he didn’t understand my overreaction. “It’s not like he’s left town.”
“Of course not.” I scowled, too amped up to appreciate reason and platitudes. But honesty compelled me to admit. “Not yet anyway. He’s going to Costa Rica soon.”
Kel’s eyebrows winged up. “Yeah? Dang. I was hoping he’d stick around more, now that you two are… sleeping dependently.”
“His career is part of who he is,” I said hotly. I realized I sounded more like Delaney at his most prickly than like any version of myself. “He makes the world a better place by making sure everyone’s story gets told.” I shook my head. “I’dneverwant him to give that up.”
