He showed them all he’s not ashamed of me.
“Won’t you congratulate me?” His voice is low and smooth.
“Congratulations.” Leaning forward, I press a kiss to his cheek. His masculine scent settles deep inside my lungs and sets off a buzz beneath my skin.
The next fifteen minutes tick by with Lottie auctioning off more items. When she announces they're going to take a short break, Rowan’s warm hand appears on my knee.
“I promised Sam I’d say hello to the mayor,” he says. “Do you want to join me?”
Why ruin my good mood? I shake my head, hyper-aware of his warm touch. “I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll see you back here.”
The bathroom is just outside the ballroom, and by the time I reach it, there’s already a line out the door. One of the attendants tells me there's another one farther down the hall.
I do my business and fix my makeup in the mirror. The butterflies in my stomach still haven’t settled down, and I’m not sure they ever will, because I keep replaying the moment Rowan placed his final bid over and over again.
As I step out of the bathroom, I see Brett leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. His expression is dark and brooding. “Blake.”
Trepidation coils inside my stomach. “What do you want, Brett?” I ask, my voice coming out sharper than intended. We haven’t spoken since the day after the fire. He tried to call me several times last week, but I’ve ignored the calls.
“I didn’t think you’d be here tonight.”
“I’m Rowan’s date.”
His expression darkens even more. “I gathered as much.” He reaches into an interior pocket of his blazer and pulls out a folded piece of paper. “I want you to look at this.”
“What is it?”
He unfolds the paper and hands it to me. “Rowan’s background check.”
I frown, confused. “Why do you have this?” My gaze drifts over the document.
“Look.” Brett points at a line on the page. “Huge gaps in his history. Didn’t you say he moved here from New York? He didn’t, Blake. It says he was in Vegas.”
Rowan told me he lived in Vegas, so that isn’t news to me. And the fact that New York is missing… What is that supposed to mean? I have no idea what a background check entails. Is this even real?
I give the paper a shake. “Where did you get this?”
“I asked the police chief to run Rowan through their system.”
My eyes narrow. I can’t believe him. “Were you hoping he had a criminal record or something?”
Brett’s cheeks redden. “There’s something off about that guy, Blake. You’re too wrapped up in him to see it, but I’m watching out for you.”
Fury pulses through my veins. How dare he? “My God. You were hoping to dig up some dirt on him, and all you got isthis? What do you think this proves?”
“It proves that he’s a liar,” Brett bites out.
“You think this is a good use of police resources? You’ve got everyone in this town in your pocket, huh?”
He clenches his fists. “I asked the chief to do me a favor because I'm worried aboutyou.”
“If you actually gave a shit about my well-being, you wouldn’t have stripped me of my income for two weeks.”
“I did that so that you would come live with me! I would have taken care of you!”
“I don’t need you to do anything except stay the hell out of my business,” I snarl.
Brett’s jaw clenches. “What’s this I hear about you dating him? Lottie was spreading that bullshit earlier today before I told her to stop talking about things she has no clue about.”
