Page 84 of Animal Beats

There’s no use in arguing, and I am hungry. Damn if I will offer him a bite, though. “Fine.” I settle into the chair.

Río watches my every move. When I don’t touch the burger right away, he drums on his leg, his ankle bouncing.

“Fine,” I repeat, and pick up the cheeseburger.

“While you eat, I will talk. Got it?”

My cheeks stuffed with the delicious—if not messy—cheeseburger, I nod.

“Good. I spent the night in my suite upstairs. I already had breakfast. I lied about the hotel being sold out.”

Using the straw, I slurp my vanilla shake. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I’ll let your comment slide. Now listen up, Hayden Vaughn. I want you to hear this loud and clear.”

I wipe my mouth on my napkin. “This ought to be good.”

He resumes the pacing he was doing last night. Runs his fingers through his hair. Without rancor, I notice he’s wearing the dark green shirt he picked up in Rome. Bully for him.

We remain at a stalemate. Him pacing and me eating. At least the burger’s tasty.

“Here’s the thing,” Río finally says. “Your shampoo smells nice.”

With deliberation, I place my shake onto the tray. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah. I like the citrus.”

When I unpacked, I noticed I was missing my shampoo and used the one the hotel provided. “Guess I know where my bottle went.”

He nods. “And if you want it back, you’re going to have to go to my room to get it.”

I slurp the remnants of my shake. “I’ll buy another bottle when I’m at home.”

He moves to the wall and uses it as a drum. “That’s not what I want. Damnit, Hayden, I’m sorry for what I said last night about your parents. That was uncalled for.”

I hold his gaze. Then give in—an inch. “What I said was bad, too.”

The words don’t land the way I want them to.

I exhale. “I shouldn’t have said that either.”

The air feels somewhat lighter. Not fixed. Not even close. But different.

He stares into my eyes. “The truth is, Babysitter, you’ve gotten under my skin. You understand me.”

Despite our apologies, I huff a laugh. “I didn’t understand too much about yesterday and the boat.” I eat a fry. “Why did you get drunk?”

“Jump right to the heart of the matter, why don’t you?”

My eyebrow raises.

He leaves the wall behind and sits on the bed. His shoulders rise, then fall. “Yesterday, when you were in the shower, I got a phone call.”

He gets calls all the time. “And?”

“It was from my mother.” He clears his throat. “My biological mother.”

“Oh.” The woman to whom I gave his phone number when I didn’t realize they weren’t on speaking terms. I cross my leg.