AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I meet Shirley’s probing look. “I had no idea he was coming tonight,” I say, before darting across the room. I catch up to Garrett before he slides out the door, grabbing hold of his arm. “You’ve turned Todd against me. Congratulations.” I mentioned Shirley’s sweet tooth to him more than once.
Amusement crinkles the corners of Garrett’s eyes as they drift over my features. “What are you talking about? You and Todd are on speaking terms again because of me.”
“And what was that bullshit you shoveled back there? A plaque to commemorate the poet? Really?”
“I thought it would be a nice touch.” He mock frowns. “Unless you think memorializing four murdered bootleggers in a family park would be more appropriate.”
“Your plan won’t work. You can’t buy Shirley off.”
Sincerity smooths over his features. “I’m not trying to buy her off. That park is a two-minute walk from my project, so it benefits the residents for HG to invest and make it a selling feature. But more importantly, I’m trying to show Shirley that HG doesn’t have to be the enemy here, and that if we work together, we can do good for the community. You should help her see that.”
“Me?” I snort. “Do you realize how stubborn she is?”
“Almost as stubborn as you?”
“Way worse.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.” His eyes roam my face. “She seems to like you a lot, though.”
“Because up until now, she thought I wasn’t an idiot, and that’s rare.” I dare steal a look back over my shoulder to where Shirley sits, watching us. She’s going to have questions about this. My stomach rolls at the idea of being grilled by her, of having to admit that, yes, in fact, I am an idiot.
“In case you were planning on stopping by the apartment tonight—” Garrett’s voice suddenly so close to my ear startles me, causing me to jump back.
“I wasn’t.”
He smirks, pulling himself up to his height again.
“This is my turf. You can’t just come in here and stir things up like this.”
“Two minutes!” Nancy rings her cowbell twice.
“Oh hey, Nancy,” Garrett calls out. “Unfortunately, I need to drive home tonight, but it means so much to me that you offered.” His grin is pure smugness. “More than you could ever know.”
My teeth grind.
She ducks from my glare and busies herself with handing out the last of the bingo cards.
“You’re taking your buckets of money and big-dick energy back to New York, are you?” A flicker of discontent stirs that he won’t be around tonight for me to spar with later.
Not for any other reason.
“Yeah. And then I’ll be tied up with meetings in Philadelphia. You won’t have to deal with me stirring things up for a week or two, at least.”
A week or two, at least? My disappointment swells, but I swallow against it. I don’t want to feel this way for him. “Don’t rush back.”
“Maybe I will. This is turning out to be a lot more fun than I expected.” Reaching up to give my shoulder a squeeze, he steps around me and strolls away.
I hand out the bingo daubers in a daze until Shirley beckons me over with two fingers. “You’re getting to know that developer well.” Her shrewd gaze dissects me. “What was that about over there?”
“It’s just a game we’re playing.”
“A game?”
“He likes getting under my skin.”
“Huh …” Her eyes narrow, as if she doesn’t believe me. “Handsome fellow.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” I lie, earning her derisive snort. He’s not just handsome. He’s consuming my every thought.
And now his words linger. “That offer to spend money and fix up the park, though, that sounds like a sweet deal.”
“Don’t buy any of that.” She waves off my words. “It’s all smoke and mirrors. I can see right through him. Remember what I said about these guys saying and doing whatever it takes to get what they want.”
“Slick as sin, I remember.”
“That’s right. Fools fall for his type. And you are not a fool.”
“I am not a fool,” I echo.
Something flickers in her wrinkled expression. “One bastard in your life was enough, right?”
I realize what that was—worry. The prickly Shirley is worried about me getting hurt. That makes me smile. “Don’t worry, I see through him too.”
“Time to start,” Nancy drones, spinning the bingo balls.
Shirley yanks the lid off her bingo dauber. “So, who’s winning this game between you two, anyway?”
“I am. Naturally,” I say with as much confidence as I can muster.
Though I’m not sure I believe it anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Come on, give it to me raw. Can you make this better?” I stand in our living room with my arms held out, the sage lace horror hanging from my body in all the wrong places.
Dottie twists her lips in thought as she circles me, pinching the fabric here and there. The outfit she arrived in—leggings, baggy heather-gray sweater, and messy bun—is far more casual than her usual formfitting dresses, stilettos, and coiffed hair, but this toned-down version is refreshing. “I can’t make it worse. You’re wearing a doily.”
