I nearly laugh out loud. “Yeah. Well, look at us now.” I tug her a little closer, and my heart fills as she leans against me.
I want to tell her how much she means to me, but I’m worried about shooting my shot too soon and ruining everything. So I clear my throat and very suavely change the subject by asking, “What are we going to do about Bradley Ruche?”
“I think we need to fill in José. It’s time for him to know everything.”
I lean back against the kitchen counter, wishing like hell that I could have this thing with Nora without dealing with the attached José and Pansy mess. “She could come up with a reasonable explanation for why she hasn’t told him.”
Nora waves a hand toward the living room. “You heard theguy. Pansy broke up with him using a plagiarized Post-it. That’s cold.”
I take a swig of my drink, savoring the bite of the ginger. “What if she says he was cheating on her?”
“She probablywouldsay something like that,” she responds grumpily.
“And what if hedidcheat on her? He seemed kind of—well, you said it best. He’s a douche.”
She puckers her lips. “This sucks.”
“Not necessarily. Maybe you can hire Pansy to work on the bathrooms at The Ginger Station.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Ugh. No. I don’t have a hundred grand to blow on some questionable upgrades, thank you very much.”
“But it won’t get that far. You’ll insist on a background check.”
“You honestly think her two failed engagements will pop on a background check? The worst we’ll get her for is a speeding ticket.”
“They wouldn’t show up on a normal background check, no. But Kenji’s security guys are thorough. We’ll use them.”
She considers this before shaking her head. “Small problem. We never do background checks.”
I scowl. “That’s not safe. You could accidentally hire someone dangerous.”
She smiles at me as if I’ve said something amusing. “You’re worried about me.”
“Now, I am.”
“It’s fine. We call their references.”
“That’s not enough. I’ll run security checks for you from now on.”
She looks taken aback, but she doesn’t outright refuse me.When she finally speaks, she says, “Fine, if it makes you feel better, but we can’t start with her. That would be suspicious.”
“Yes, God forbid.” I shift against the counter and tell her something she won’t want to hear. “Nora, even if he knows everything…he might still want to marry her.”
She tenses her hand around the neck of the ginger beer bottle as if she wants to bludgeon someone with it. “Look, we’re over-engineering this situation.”
“I’ve been accused of it before.”
“Why don’t I just text her anonymously, the way she texted me last year? I won’t be nasty like she was. I’ll send warning texts. I can say I’m Bradley’s buddy, and I know all about what she did to him and the other guys. I might be able to get her to leave José alone.”
I start pacing the kitchen, anxiety forming its tornado spiral inside of me as I consider the possible ramifications. Finally, I pause in front of Nora, shaking my head. “The fact that she sent you those messages to begin with suggests she’s potentially dangerous.”
“So am I,” Nora insists.
“Trust me, I know. I don’t want you getting thrown into jail either.”
She smiles. “Look, I’ll keep it mostly benign. I’m not going to say anything that’ll freak her out or drive her to violence. Then I can drop hints that I’m the one who’s been messaging her while we’re on that double date.”
I shake my head vehemently. “No. I’m not comfortable with that.” I swallow some ginger beer, then make a counteroffer, which I am also not comfortable with. It will hopefully save Nora from any danger, however, and is thus worth it. “I’ll be the one who does it. Leave it to me. And I’ll see if I can make contact with that guy Dean and also Micah. Strengthen our case.”
