Page 146 of No Headlines Please

Delaney glanced toward my office door. "Who?"

"Not today," I clarified. "What I meant was—"

"Hang on." Delaney held up a hand. "I don't mean to be rude, but I think we're doing this backward."

"Backward how?"

"Honestly? It doesn't seem fair that you're asking questions at all without answering some of mine. Like…right from the start, you had my photo on your phone. And apparently, you were showing it around the lobby."

I held up a finger. "To one person."

"So?"

"So I wasn't showing it to everyone."

She stared. "So that's your defense?"

I wasn't trying to defend myself. I was trying to reassure her. "That's not what I meant."

"So what did you mean?"

"I just don't want you thinking half the building saw your photo. It was just the one guy who worked there. And I only showed it to him because we happened to cross paths."

She looked far from reassured. "Yeah, well...maybe that's one person too many."

I understood what she meant, but I couldn't agree. I moved closer and stopped just within arm's reach. "Look, I owe you an apology, but not for showing a guy your photo."

Her mouth tightened. "Are you serious?"

"Completely." I held her gaze. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I'm sorry I let you believe I'd lied about my name. I'm sorry I never told you about the photo or the business card." I shook my head. "But I don't regret trying to find you."

She frowned. "So…why were you trying to find me?

"Because Ryder asked me to."

She looked thunderstruck. "Ryder Vaughn? You mean the guy who paid my sister's rent?"

The rent thing was news to me. "He did?"

"Yes, actually."

"I didn't know about the rent. But yeah, your sister was worried, so Ryder asked me to help out."

Delaney's brow creased in confusion. "But…Tessa never mentioned it."

"I'm not surprised. The way she talks, you've been pretty hard to reach."

"Not that hard. Or at least, not recently."

"But this wasn't recent. It was back in the spring, before you and I met. She ran into some problems with a client, and she was worried about you getting caught up in the middle."

"She was worried? Really?"

"Really."

In a stunned, quiet voice, Delaney asked, "So she asked Ryder Vaughn to find me?"

I nodded. "And I owed him a favor, so…" I let the words trail off without finishing.