“That won’t happen,” I said before I could catch myself. I quickly pulled a clarification outta my ass. “You’ll be lucky if the bakery visit doesn’t take a few hours and involve you serving a customer or ten.”
That might not have been what I was initially referring to, but it was still the truth.
Lo didn’t look annoyed at that. Or happy. Or even confused. Her expression was blank as she murmured, “We’ll see.”
“Want me to go with you?” I offered, and for once, it wasn’t me being pathetic. It was me trying to help.
Or maybe protect her.
’Cause I loved that group like family, but they could be a lot to deal with.
She gestured around as she spoke quickly. “You’ve got your hands full. Call me if something happens, otherwise I’ll see you in the afternoon.”
Then, like a fire was lit under her perfect ass, she hightailed it out of the building.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
COOKIE PERKS
RHYS
What the hell am I doing?
But I knew.
I was being fuckin’ pathetic.
I hadn’t stayed at Rye as late as I’d planned the night before. Most of MayCo had cleared out around dinner, but Glitch hadn’t made progress on fixing whatever error he was getting. I’d figured I would have to kick him out—or crash there while he worked through the night. I forgot he wasn’t the same man as before. He might’ve stuck around a couple of hours longer than the others, but he had a woman to get home to.
I didn’t.
That didn’t stop me from leaving like I had someone waiting. I could say it was me being smart about not being alone on the off chance someone was still feeling shooty, but that wasn’t it.
I’d wanted to see if the detective’s shitty car was out front—it had been.
And if there were signs she wasn’t alone—I had no clue.
The light had been on, but the curtains blocked any view inside the place. I’d contemplated knocking on her door, but I had zero excuse to. And since we were supposed to be gradually building our fake relationship, my showing up out of the blue could compromise that.
Having Lo in my space was invasive enough, but at least she knew what she was doing enough not to cause a clusterfuck. If they pulled her and put in that incompetent partner she’d had that first night, the pointless investigation could be dragged out.
Which was also why I should’ve been at Rye right then, helping MayCo make the upgrades to speed the process along.
Instead, I was loitering in my own damn living room.
Fuck it.
I told myself I was leaving. Going to work. Getting my head on straight.
But even as I threw open my front door, I knew I was heading over to see Lo. To be neighborly.
She saved me the trip.
A squeak escaped her as she jolted, and fuck, it was cute. She quickly smothered it and schooled her expression. The only sign she’d been startled was her rambled, “Hey. Cool. You’re home.”
“I am.”
Her gaze darted next to me to see into my place, and if I hadn’t been paying attention, I would’ve missed the subtle raise of her brows. “Were you just leaving?”
