I clenched my fist at the mention of his name. “That’s ancient history, believe me. She and I are…” I closed my eyes, deciding the proposal wouldn’t come as such a shock to Drew if he knew we’d already laid the foundation. “Living together.”
“You’re shitting me.”
I smiled at my friend’s reaction. Everyone knew how Briar felt about commitment so Drew’s response was to be expected. “I’m serious. I’m, uh, staying at her place.”
“Why her place? Why not yours?”
I knew that question would come up. “It’s closer to her office. All of her stuff is still there. You know how it is with women, they get pissy when they have to live out of a suitcase for too long. They need their shit.” I didn’t know if that was true or not, but it sounded feasible.
“Yeah, I guess.” Drew laughed. “Man, I can’t even believe this. You and my sister, for real?”
“It’s as real as it gets.” I wanted him to be prepared for what was to come, so he wouldn’t feel blind-sided, like I’d betrayed him by not letting him in on the secret. “I’m in love with her.” I let those words sink in. Jesus, they came way too easily, and I didn’t want to analyze what the hell that meant.
“You’re in love with her,” Drew repeated. “Wow. And she feels the same way?”
I heard the disbelief in his voice, not that I could blame him. Briar had a hard time with the L word. I’d never even heard her tell her parents she loved them, though I knew she did.
“She does.” Part of me wished she did. Hearing those words from her, knowing she’d probably never uttered them to another man would feel like a gift.
“I’m happy for you, Rhett. Jesus, Christina swore this would happen. She always said you guys had crazy-chemistry.”
“Your wife’s a smart lady.” It seemed it was obvious to everyone that we had something special. I wondered how long it would be before Briar had to acknowledge that too.
“That’s what she keeps telling me. So, Briar’s birthday… what did you have in mind?”
“How about we do it at Spezzo?” I knew that was Briar’s favorite Italian restaurant and they had several private rooms for functions. It was short notice, but I was one of their best customers, and not because I dined there a lot hoping to run into Briar.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Anything we can do to help?”
“No, I’ve got it covered. But can you make some calls for me? Your folks, Briar’s friends. Anyone you think she might want there.” I hesitated. “I want this to be a special night for her.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this than you’re telling me?”
“Patience, my man, patience. You’ll be in the know soon enough.”
“Rhett—”
“I gotta go, my friend. I’ll text you the details just as soon as I firm up the plans, okay?”
He sighed. “Okay, see you tomorrow.”
* * *
I’d laid the foundation for Briar’s birthday tomorrow and she was preparing dinner while I combed over every text, email, gift, and photo she had from her stalker. I was creating my profile, getting to know this guy, what made him tick. It was one of my areas of expertise, profiling criminals, but it was hard to remain objective when I just wanted to drive over to his house and knock his teeth out.
I’d been doing my research on him too. He’d freelanced in cyber security before going to work for a local company last year. Apparently he worked from home a lot, which explained how he could make time to shadow Briar.
He’d never been married. No kids. Engaged once, right out of college, but the woman moved out of state after the break-up. I’d already messaged her on social media, so I could get some insight into his behaviour patterns in relationships. Had he been jealous, possessive, or violent? Did he end it or did she? Did he stalk her? Is that why she moved out of state? I needed answers, but I knew my friends at the police station would be too busy to take on a non-violent stalking case, so I made it my personal mission.
“How’s it going?” Briar asked, peeking over my shoulder as I made notes at her kitchen island. I had my laptop open to her ex’s social media account.
“Did he ever mention her to you?” I asked, pointing at the photo on my screen. “They lived together for a while, right after college.”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about living with someone, I think.” She shrugged, like it was inconsequential. “I think she got a job offer out of state, so they broke up.”
“Hmm.” That fit what I’d learned, so far. “Did he mention any other serious relationships? Did you meet any of his friends? Names you can give me?” I wanted to see how Davie-boy would feel when I started invadinghisprivacy.
She pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. “No, I never met any of his friends. It wasn’t that kind of relationship, Rhett.” She placed her hand on my back, leaning in to read more notes. “It was really casual, at least on my end. We went out to dinner, maybe once a week, for a few months. I slept with him a couple of times, and that was it. I ended it.”
