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He removed his hand, silently chastising himself for allowing the contact. He needed to get a handle on himself or he would do something he would regret. Like press his lips to hers.
He shook his head to clear it of that thought. “You’re probably right.”
Chapter 18
Dani woke to the sound of the shower running. She stretched, enjoying the soft feel of the mattress. Yes, she’d practically begged Austin to let her take turns sleeping on the couch, but she had to admit the bed was much better. She wasn’t looking forward to this evening and taking another turn on the hard sofa.
A knock came on the door, and Dani scrambled out of bed. Who could be at the door? She glanced at the clock. Nine. It was her day off, so she’d slept in. Maybe it was housekeeping. “We don’t need anything,” she called out.
“Delivery,” a man said on the other side of the door.
Delivery? She crossed to the peephole and looked out. A young man held a bundle of helium balloons in bright colors. Her heart warmed. Had Austin ordered them? For her?
She opened the door and the man gave her a once-over. “Austin Scott?”
“He’s in the shower.” She wondered why he had asked for Austin if the balloons were for her, but it didn’t matter that much. They must have gotten things a little mixed up.
The man handed her the balloons along with a small teddy bear. “Okay. Here you go.”
She smiled, thrilled with the apology gift. Not that she was quite ready to forgive him yet. He had lied to her for days. And she still had no idea what his motives were for being so nice to her. But the balloons were a sweet thought. “Thank you.”
After closing the door, she set down the weight that held the balloons and pulled out the card that was tucked into the bear’s shirt. It had flowers on the front. She opened it.
I warned you.
Three words written in slanted handwriting. That was all it said. Dani read it over, an uneasy feeling closing her throat. This wasn’t an apology from Austin. This was something else entirely. Why would Austin send her something so creepy and mean? She threw the card down on the desk, her heart thumping.
Wait. The delivery man had asked for Austin.This was for him.
The shower turned off and Dani paced the floor, all kinds of terrible things running through her mind. This was so not good. Everything before had started with threatening notes. Of course she couldn’t remember, but she knew the events that had led to her mother’s death. The notes had been first. Then the phone calls. Then the break-in which led to the murder.
She waited another ten minutes for Austin to open the door. When he did, she approached him, her hands shaking. “You got a threatening note delivered.”
He squinted at her. “How did you know about that?”
“Wait, this isn’t the first one?” Actually, that made sense. This one mentioned a warning. Of course he’d gotten one before. He’d just kept it from her. Why was she uncovering so many lies from him? Her heart raced and she held up the card to him. “What did the other one say? What was the warning?”
Austin rubbed his hair with a towel, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. “It’s just my idiot friend trying to joke around.” He turned to the mirror and wiped away the steam.
The sick feeling in her gut told her that wasn’t the case. Something was going on. He was being threatened. “It doesn’t feel like a joke, Austin.” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed, trying to get a grip on herself.
He glanced at her and froze. “My word, you’re really upset, aren’t you?” He hung his towel and took her hands in his. Warmth spread from her hands up her arms. He smelled of soap and masculinity. It made her knees wobble. She scolded herself. Now wasn’t the time to develop a crush on the famous football player. Things were serious right now.
“I’m sorry he scared you. I’ll call him right now and tell him to knock it off. Okay?”
His smooth voice calmed her. Maybe shewasbeing silly. At this moment, with Austin standing before her, his hands on hers, she did feel a bit like she over-reacted. Austin was a big guy. She felt safe with him. She looked down at the carpet. “Yes. Please do. Thanks.”
He let go and moved past her to his phone. He called his friend. After a moment, he said, “Hey, how are you?”
Dani stared at the balloons while Austin had a conversation, her anxiousness increasing as it sounded more and more like this friend of his knew nothing about the notes.
“Why do you keep telling me you didn’t send them?” Austin paced the room. “Just fess up. I won’t be mad.”
She tugged at the hem of her pajamas as Austin finished up with the phone call. He hung up and tossed his phone on the bed, letting out a breath. “He says he didn’t send them.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” She hugged her arms to herself. “This is exactly how it started…” She let the rest of it trail off. He would know what she meant.
Austin clenched his teeth. “It’s not a stalker.”
