Page 16 of Ballrooms & Blackmail

“You don’t have to go,” I tell her.

“I need to finish my loop,” she tells me. “I have to get my steps in.”

“I feel that.”

Another smile and she pushes to her feet. “Maybe I’ll see you around again some time.”

“You’re welcome to share my bench anytime you want.”

A chuckle before she rolls her shoulders and continues down the path, disappearing around the corner.

I sit for a few more minutes.

Then it’s growing dark enough that the shadows are beginning to cling to the edges of the buildings and I know I need to move.

My stomach rumbles on that thought.

“Exactly,” I whisper to myself, retracing my steps and walking over to my apartment.

It’s not a leisurely stroll this time.

Not with the sun almost down and the shadows spreading and my hunger growing by the second.

Leftover soup and bread and daisy-shaped cookies with plenty of sprinkles.

Yum.

And a book with a hero who reminds me of?—

“Thorn,” I say.

But it’s in surprise.

Because he’s standing right outside my apartment door.

Six

Thorn

I needed to check on River’s security.

That’s ostensibly why I called Pascal—the head Brooks’s security team and one of the most important men in my life.

Not that I let anyone know the last.

Pascal and my history is…complicated to say the least.

But when I asked him for River’s address, he didn’t hesitate in giving it.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

I turn to River, tearing my gaze away from the parking lot, from the sensation of being watched, and shrug. “Wanted to check out your place.”

“Y-you—” She shakes her head, dislodging a strand of hair from the messy bun on top of her head. It falls forward, curls around her cheek. “You wanted to check out my place?” she asks, clearly aghast.

Another shrug. “Yup.”

“Wh-what—” She opens her mouth. Closes it. “Have you lost your freaking mind?”