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“You know that doesn’t bother me.” He smirks, then licks his palm.
She rolls her eyes, then quirks a brow. “Maybe I’ll bite next time.”
“Again, wouldn’t bother me,” he says, then leans in and lightly nips her neck. Heat flushes across her skin as she glances at the rest of us.
She clears her throat. “Noah’s turn,” she announces, picking up her mug from the table.
“So it is,” I agree and reluctantly drop my gaze from her down to the letters I have. A moment later, I place a few down and update the score on the notepad. “20 points.”
Max indignantly huffs beside me, and Rosy’s eyes twinkle as she rolls her lips inwards to bite down on the giggle I can imagine is trying to break free. She glances at me, noticing I’m watching her, and I chuckle lightly, then call out to Bry, letting him know it’s now his turn.
Rosy leans back whilst we wait, snuggling into Nate’s lap as she sips her tea. Apparently, being on the same team meant that they needed to share the same seat. In Nate’s opinion, that is.
She watches me across the table, and the corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles. A pressure against my shin has me glancing down, and I find a fuzzy socked foot pressing against my lower leg. I drop my hand down and encircle her ankle, brushing my thumb under the material of her leggings to stroke her skin.
Rosy continues to watch me, a look building behind her eyes that I can’t quite place. When her lips purse, I squeeze her foot gently. “What is it?”
Her bottom lip sinks between her teeth, and her fingers drums on her mug.
Nate rests his chin on her crown. “Just ask him, little tease. He’ll say yes.”
“If he doesn’t, then I will,” Max mutters, still clearly sulking as he stares down at his letters.
Interest rises within me, curious now about what she wants to ask me that has her so hesitant.
“Your birthday,” she blurts. “Will you spend it with me? Just the…um…two of us? Not the dinner part with everyone, but afterwards maybe?”
Warmth spreads throughout my chest at the idea. We don’t tend to put too much emphasis on each other’s birthdays, but the idea she’d like to do something for me is beyond sweet.
“I’d love to.” I smile broadly at her. “Do I get to know the plans, or is it a surprise?”
Her brows pinch, her face turning unsure. “It’s not a surprise. It’s not very exciting,” she says dejectedly.
“I get to spend it with you. I can’t imagine any better way to spend it,” I promise, wanting to dispel her worries.
Her phone rings, cutting through our conversation. She stares at the screen for a moment, then answers it.
“Hi, detective,” she greets, taps it on to loudspeaker, then places it back on the table in front of her.
“Rosy, hi. Sorry to call in the evening. I just had a couple questions to ask if you have a minute?” Logan requests.
She grips the edge of the table, and her eyes glance up to mine in confusion. “Yeah, okay. Now is good for me.”
“Great, thank you. So, your flat. Do you deal with a letting agent or directly with the landlord?”
Rosy shakes her head. “Um, I’m not sure. Steph lived there already, and I moved in with her. She’s always dealt with that side of things for us.”
“That’s okay. What about at work? Did you get involved with the letting agent there?” Logan enquires, and I can’t seem to follow his line of questioning.
“No, I thought Peter owned it. He never gave the impression he didn’t, but if it was rented, I wasn’t involved in that aspect either. I know he had an accountant, as he had meetings with them, but I don’t know who it was. He never gave me any details and didn’t meet with them at the office,” she informs him, her fingers twisting her thick braid around in circles.
“No, okay, it was a long shot, but I thought I’d ask,” Logan replies, the despondency clear in his tone.
“Did you find something?” Rosy presses, her tone rising with a glimmer of hope.
“We’re not sure. At the moment, we’re checking through everything to see if we’ve missed anything. It looks like both your flat and the office are managed by the same letting agent. We looked into it, and they’re owned by the same company, so we’re going to dig into that to see if we can get any more information. It might be a coincidence and another dead end. We’ll check it out, either way.”
Rosy’s shoulders slump, and it’s hard to see her so dejected about the lack of progress. With Peter still not caught, Rosy’s not able to move forward and continue trying to heal from everything he put her through. The progress she’s made in herself is something I’m so proud of her for, but she’s trapped here, unable to feel safe venturing outside.
