T: Since I know what ingredients I have in my kitchen, I would have to disagree with that.
Next, he sends over a selfie of himself, Harvey, and Karma on the couch. I also see chips, dip, and the corner of the TV with what I think is a baseball game on. Joey has a huge smile on his face, one that makes my heart beat faster, and Harvey looks like he might be amid an eye roll. Either that or he’s about to have some sort of seizure.
J: Your plan has backfired. Harvey is my best friend now. You might have stolen Karma’s loyalty, but I have Harvey’s now.
I laugh, not sure how to fight back with that.
“Teagan, come meet my friend!” Sasha waves me over.
I look up from my phone, seeing a hot man next to her. He’s deeply tanned, fit, and well-dressed.
“This is Conner. We were best friends in college,” Sasha explains then places a hand on my shoulder. “This is Teagan. She’s my new friend and about to take Joey down so hard that he won’t know what is up and what is down.”
“Oh, really.” Conner’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline as he gives me a second look. “I hoped it might take a man to tie that stud down.”
“Apparently, it just took me, in an interrogation room, in a pink onesie.”
Conner laughs, and I admire his smile.
“Conner is an Instagram model extraordinaire,” Sasha explains.
“Oh really, that sounds different,” I say, not even sure what that means.
“Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s all too common,” he points out.
Sasha shakes her head. “He’s downplaying. He has over fifty thousand followers, and he hasn’t even had to leak a pretend nude photo scandal to have them all fall in love with him and his big—”
“Girl.” Conner blushes as he waves at Sasha’s face, trying to shut her up.
“Fine, but we both know your number would be more if you dumped that boring asshole, Dull, and told your fans you are single again.”
“Not going to happen. And you know his name is Dale, not Dull,” Conner says with a glare.
“It should be Dull. That man is less interesting than a sack of potatoes.”
Conner reddens, his anger obvious. The last thing I want is to be in the middle of some fight, not when I’m still enjoying my happy bubble with Joey.
“I don’t suppose you would take a photo with me? Since you’re Instagram royalty and all?”
Conner looks delighted I asked, while Sasha is overly dramatic about having to take the photo.
“How come, when I want a photo, you make me lend you my shoes, but Teagan here gets a freebie?”
“Because, Teagan’s shoes look too small to ever fit me,” he sasses. “And because you always want embarrassing photos.”
Sasha rolls her eyes as she hands me back my phone before complaining that he is saying she has big feet.
T: We’ll see what Harvey thinks when I offer to set him up with my new friend.
I smirk at my empty threat until Joey obviously betrays me and shows my message to Harvey.
H: Teagan, I do not do setups.
T: Why not?
H: I can get my own dates.
T: But he’s hot!
I don’t know why I’m arguing this point. I already know Conner has a boyfriend. And that hadn’t been my intention, anyway. Stupid Joey for showing Harvey that message.
H: I can get my own dates.
T: But we’re best friends. Best friends are allowed to set you up.
H: I can get my own dates.
T: I wish you could get some new words to send me.
H: If you try to set me up with that guy, I will tell Joey he can be my best friend.
T: You wouldn’t dare!
H: I would.
J: Will you stop messaging my best friend? You’re distracting him from the game.
T: He is not your best friend!
J: He is.
I glance over to Sasha, who is chatting animatedly with Conner, and then down over the shopping bags at my feet. My eyes snag on the lingerie one and an evil grin breaks out as an idea pops up.
I open the bag, seeing the mostly lace, some silk, and all deep reds, pinks, and black items inside.
I snap a photo of them, making sure a bra and pantie set are on top, and send the photo to Joey along with some text.
T: Since I have lost my best friend, I have some returns to make. I’m too depressed to think about wearing any of these.
I only wait a few seconds for Joey to reply.
J: You return anything in that bag and I’ll go out and rebuy them for you. You can have Harvey.
T: You’re saying you’ll give him up for some lingerie?
J: You and lingerie will outshine almost anything.
T: Good to know. If you’re good and keep a respectable “regular” friend only boundary with Harvey, then maybe later tonight you’ll see me in some of these.
H: Can you stop whatever the hell you’re doing to Joey? The man looks turned on and that’s making me seriously uncomfortable.
I laugh at reading that.
“Teagan, time to go,” Sasha calls out.
I look up to see Conner giving me a wave, while Sasha is just finishing up her latest purchases by the cash register.
I grab the bags at my feet, glad nothing weighs too much, but wishing all the same I didn’t have to carry them all around.
We ate lunch earlier, but I’m already starved.
I wonder what Joey and I should do together tonight for our first date. Perhaps a dinner at home would be for the best. No need for us to make a scene, or get arrested for said scene happening in public.
“Teagan?”
When a voice calls out from behind me, at first, I’m relieved I won’t seem like a total loser to Sasha. She’s not the only person who can bump into people she knows. When I turn around, though, that relief speeds directly into dread.
Hart is jogging toward us.
“I thought I saw you,” he huffs, smiling at me while he roams over my shopping bags.
I’m not sure if he sees the lingerie one, but I’m super uncomfortable either way.
“Hi, Hart.”
“Hello,” he says when he arrives in front of us, looking to Sasha now. “I’m sorry, I recall you were at the club the other night, but your name has slipped my mind.”
“I’m Sasha,” she mutters, not sounding concerned, but also not her usual overly friendly self, either.
“Lovely to see you again. You both look gorgeous today.” He smiles at us.
I don’t look to see how Sasha reacts. I just give him a small smile and hope I don’t look as freaked out as I feel.
“Look, Teagan, I called you a couple times today. I wanted to say I had a great time last night, and I would love to schedule another date with you.”
“Date? You guys went on a date last night?” Sasha gasps.
Oh, shit. Declan didn’t want Sasha to know.
“Yes, and unfortunately, we had to cut it short. Are you free again soon?”
Sasha’s phone blasts from next to us. I curse when she turns away from us to answer it.
I’m on my own here.
“I’m really sorry, Hart, but I’m not sure that would be a good idea. I had a nice time, too, but I realized I’m still not ready to date yet.”
“Teagan, it’s been a year and a half since your divorce was finalized. You don’t even share his last name anymore,” Hart retorts, sounding frustrated.
“I don’t believe I told you how long ago Jarrod and I divorced.” Or that I changed my surname back to my maiden name as soon as I could.
“Ah, well, I, uh, had one of my guys look into you. It’s standard practice when I date someone new. You’d be surprised how many women make things up to try to impress me.”
I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make it okay or not, but right now, that isn’t really my main concern.
“Right, well, either way, I’m not ready to date. So, thank you for the
offer, but no thank you.”
“Teagan.” Hart’s voice is quiet as he reaches out and grabs my arm, moving too fast for me to step back in time to avoid him. “You are making a mistake.”
“I don’t believe I am.” I quickly glance over to Sasha, hoping to catch her attention, but she looks to be in the middle of some heated words with whoever she is talking to.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
Before I can ponder what that means, or ask him about it, Sasha finally turns her attention to us.
“Sorry, we have to go. Girl emergency. We have a friend who is three blocks of chocolate deep into a breakup. Nice to see you again!”
As Sasha pulls on my arm, there is a moment when Hart grips my other arm tighter, his eyes intense and angry. When he finally releases me, I run a few steps so I’m beside Sasha, and then we speed walk back to her car.
“You okay?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” My voice shakes, so I suppose that’s answer enough.
“That was Zander on the phone; he’s watching. Told me to get us away from him.”
“It looked like you were fighting.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because the asshole suggested I tell him my water broke. I mean, do I fucking look pregnant?” Sasha shakes her head, clearly still annoyed by this. “You would think the man could think better on his feet, given his job.”
We make it to Sasha’s car, and after dumping our bags into the back seat, we make quick work of leaving the parking lot and heading home. Well, I thought we were heading home, until we pull into the parking lot of a grocery store.
“I need to pick up some things,” she explains, getting out of the car.
I feel dead on my feet, more so since having to deal with Hart. However, since she’s my ride and I don’t feel comfortable enough in our friendship to disagree with her, I follow along.
“Now, how about you tell me what the hell that asshole meant when he said you went on a date with him last night?”
“Oh … that.” I gulp, my arms drooping, not only from the stress of not knowing how to handle this, but also because Sasha hands me a basket and almost immediately begins weighing it down with meat. She places a dozen steaks, two dozen sausages, and enough ground beef to make me question what army is coming over to hers that she has to feed.
“Yes, that. What the hell is going on?”
I don’t suppose I can get out of this, and a curious Sasha seems more dangerous than an informed one.
“Hart asked me out the other day, and I told him yes.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because I wanted to help the guys with their investigation. I managed to slip a couple listening devices into his office, and then the guys provided a distraction so I had an excuse to escape. I went home, and now that I’ve done what was needed, I’m trying to let Hart know that I’m not interested in a repeat.”
“Didn’t seem like he was all that interested in listening to your wishes.”
I nod, figuring that to be true, too.
Joey was afraid that me going on a date with him would put me on his radar. I was clearly already on it, but now I think I just upped the ante by becoming a challenge.
“He scares me,” I admit quietly.
“He scares me, too.” She reaches out and squeezes my arm gently in support. “I can’t believe Joey allowed this.”
“He wasn’t happy about it, but I was determined to do what needed to be done. You know the story, and you know what they think Hart is involved in. I couldn’t not do something.”
Sasha stops scanning the shelves and gives me her attention. “I don’t like that you had to get involved, and I now realize that story about someone stealing from your work was likely bullshit. I’ll kill Dec later for lying to my face about that, but I get you. I would have done the same.” She wraps her arm around my shoulders, bringing me in for a side hug. “I’m proud that you went through that, and it just reiterates to me that you will fit in perfectly with our group. We’re all badass women.”
I wouldn’t classify myself a badass, especially since I was a shaking mess when I got home last night when nothing even remotely scary happened. Regardless, I keep my mouth shut, take her praise, and give her a wobbly smile.
“Now, you got any special requests for tonight?”
“Tonight?” I scan my brain, trying to figure out if I forgot something I agreed to. I didn’t double-book on my date night with Joey, did I?
“Yeah, we’re having a barbeque at my place.”
“Oh, well, I’m not sure if—”
“I already texted Joey,” she cuts in, giving away that this is a last minute, forced invitation. “He’s going to meet us at mine in an hour or so. He told me he’ll try bringing Harvey with him.”
“I think Joey and I were going to—”
“Gemma isn’t working at the club tonight. Way I heard it, she works there four nights a week. Two nights she keeps an eye on Hart herself, and one night she has off. Tonight, all the guys are free, so we’re having a family dinner.”
I’m touched that she has included me in this, and even Harvey, but I’m not sure I’m up for a big gathering tonight. Then again, I can’t bring myself to disagree.
I find myself dragging the rear as we make our way to the veggie section, where Sasha loads my basket high enough that I need to hug it to my chest just to be sure I don’t drop it.
Looks like my quiet night with Joey will have to wait.
Dammit!
***
Declan is outside, cooking on his own, while Sasha marinates the meat in the kitchen, when Joey, Harvey, and Cynthia arrive.
As Joey walks straight up to me, I feel everyone’s eyes on us. Then he wraps me in his arms and all I feel is safe.
“Sorry Clayton cornered you today. I promised you that wouldn’t happen,” he mutters into my hair.
“It’s okay. There was no way you could have known that would happen.”
“Still, I’m sorry you had to go through that. You okay?”
I take a few deep breaths, assessing the fact that I would have said I wasn’t okay a few minutes ago. But now, wrapped in Joey’s arms, I feel much better.
“Yeah, he scared me. He seemed angrier today, more intense.”
He leans back, cupping my face and moving in until he is all I can see. “Remember what I said before. Scream and shout as loud as you can and get away from him. When it comes to Clayton, there is no overreaction.”
I nod, hoping it won’t ever come to that.
“I never asked earlier, but have you gotten anything useful out of the listening devices yet?”
He shakes his head, his own disappointment mirroring mine. “Jerry is going through the audio now. Hopefully it won’t be long before we get some useful information.”
“What is the deal with Jerry, anyway?” I ask, determined to get a proper answer out of him.
“That is a long conversation,” he answers. Either reading my determination or deciding I deserve to hear more, he continues. “Basically, he’s just a voice on the other end of the phone.”
“Like a computer program?”
Joey snorts. “You know, sometimes I wonder.” He shakes his head, tightening his arms around me before he stares back into my eyes. “He’s just a recluse, but also the smartest hacker I’ve ever not met. He’ll find something.”
His words reassure me that last night wasn’t all for nothing, and that hopefully this will all be over soon.
“Stop making gooey eyes at each other and be useful. Declan is sulking outside; go tell him to get over it,” Sasha says, waving Joey out the door before turning to me. “You’re on salad duty.”
“We’ll have a dinner together tomorrow, just the two of us,” Joey promises, surprising me with a quick peck on the lips before he heads outside.
Harvey steps up next, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him. “This will be all over soon,” he promise
s.
I nod, feeling touched at this display of support.
Just a month ago, I spent every night alone, staying indoors and thinking I was happy and content with that. Now I have friends, a best friend, and Joey. I feel like I have it all.
“Thanks,” I whisper, smiling up at him, loving the kiss he places at the top of my head before he lets go. Then he grabs two beers from Sasha, grunts a hello to her, which gets him an eye roll, before he heads outside, too.
“I swear, by the end of tonight, I will get a full sentence out of that man!” Sasha grumbles, heading back into the kitchen.
“Heard you had the date from hell last night,” Cynthia says, handing me a glass of wine before leading me into the kitchen.
“It wasn’t a bad date, really. Just bad company.”
“I bet. I haven’t had any luck lately in the dating department,” Cynthia commiserates.
“You never said what happened with that Ravello chick,” Sasha says, continuing to marinate even more meat for the guys to grill.
“She’s not ready to come out, and I’m not willing to wait around. I don’t know. She keeps texting me, so who knows what will happen? I’m just not feeling it as much now.” Cynthia sounds sad, and I feel sad for her.
“You shouldn’t settle for less than someone who makes you happy,” I tell her.
“I know, but sometimes it feels like even wanting that is asking too much. Like I’m setting the bar too high.”
“Happiness is nonnegotiable,” Sasha calls out, her head in the oven where I notice she is cooking a pasta bake.
There is a lot of food here; how many more people are coming?
“Hello?” a new voice calls out, and we move out of the kitchen to greet Ava, Zander, Jensen, and a teenage boy I have never met before. He looks far too old to be a kid of either Ava or Zander’s.
“Hey.” Sasha gives everyone a hug and kiss, not that the young man looks too happy about it. More resigned. Sasha then steals Jensen from Zander’s arms, directing him to where the beers are stashed before pointing outside to where the guys are.
“Who is this?” I ask, hoping it’s not rude to ask.
“Oh, sorry. This is Zander’s baby brother, Van,” Ava rushes to introduce, eyeing my glass of wine enviously.
“I’m not a baby. That is a baby.” He points at Jensen who immediately screws up his face.
I Burned Down His House (Love at First Crime Book 3) Page 18