Page 110 of Burning For You

He and Sara had drinks in front of them before she arrived, but Sara was still nursing her one beer.

“Be nice, Sean,” Sara said.

“I am. I’m being me.”

Sara smiled, but it was forced.

Skye just had to know at this point. It made little sense to her. “Can I ask why you wanted to have dinner? I’m not trying to be a bitch. I just thought maybe you wanted to get to know me more.”

Sean turned to look at Sara. Her brother’s girlfriend’s shoulders dropped. “It was me who was pushing it. Sean never talks much about his past. And now that I know some, I just thought maybe it’d be good if you two could at least be civil. He’s told me before how angry he was about life and isn’t now. Or I’ve never seen much of his anger.”

Skye frowned over that term. “I’ve never not been civil to you, have I?”

She didn’t want to be responsible for him losing control or feeling like he’d not put his past behind him. She knew what that was like more than anyone.

Sean held her stare. “No. I mean, we lived through the same hell, but I guess we got along, or in our way.”

“That’s right.” She held her hands up. “I’m not asking for a friendship. Or even to ignite some long-lost family bond.”

Sean snorted. “It’s not going to happen.”

She nodded. “Then we can just have dinner and talk about whatever you want to. It doesn’t have to be about family, you or me. And if in a few months or years you want to try again, I’ll be here.”

“Maybe that is for the best,” Sean said quietly. Like he was embarrassed to extend that olive branch, but she’d take it.

Somehow they got through dinner. Kind of in record time.

She was home in less than ninety minutes from when she’d left and happy for it.

If she was looking for something more with Sean, she had to tell herself that, if it happened, it was just going to take time.

Sara seemed nice and supportive, and that was all that mattered. If Sean was happy in his life, he didn’t have to be happy with her.

Skye had a good thing and she knew it. She refused to let herself feel any more guilt over it.

Especially after Keegan and Tate gave her shit this morning when they found out she’d gone home alone. Which meant that only Ash could have told them.

What a rat.

She wrinkled her nose and went to her computer. Might as well go back to her book now that she knew she could reach out to Rory Connors.

Good lord, she didn’t know if she had the courage to do that.

Though she had to tell herself that it was her boyfriend’s future brother-in-law. It wasn’t like he was a complete stranger.

Not really.

She flipped the lid on her laptop and got to work, then remembered to check her email quickly and felt the dread fill the pit of her stomach over the email waiting there for her.

Why? How? It wasn’t even a fire this person started.

But yet, there it was, flashing at her to open and read it.

She took a deep breath and didn’t do it.

Instead, she picked up her phone and called Tate first, then Detective Brown on the case.

Like she expected, she was told right away to bring her laptop back to the police department.