Page 62 of Entwined Hearts

“Well, be sure to tell me when and where I can see it,” Patricia says.

Anya sighs.

“Land sakes, look at the time,” Patricia says, squinting at her phone. “I’ll just go freshen up, then I need to be on my way.” She lifts her purse from where she placed it on the counter, then strides toward the bedroom.

Anya’s face freezes in panic.

“What?” I whisper.

“The trash can…in there…” she says, grimacing.

“What’s wrong with the trash?”

“The condoms?” she hisses, glaring daggers.

I suppress a laugh, but clamp it down even harder when her glare gets more intense. I made sure to dispose of everything discreetly, so unless Patricia snoops in people’s bathroom garbage, there shouldn’t be any surprises. And so what if there were? This is Anya’s house, her life.

I stand to kiss the top of her head. “I’m going to take a load to storage so you can have a moment with your mom to say goodbye. Okay?”

Behind me, I hear Patricia’s heels clicking on the floor and her lilting voice.

Moments later, I’m closing up the tailgate when she exits the house, her purse dangling from her elbow.

I give her a little nod. “Nice meeting you,” I say, intentionally leaving out the “ma’am.”

She saunters over. “You look like a man who’s good with his hands,” she says, lifting a thin eyebrow. “Would you mind having a look at my sunroof? I think it’s stuck.”

“Uh, sure,” I say, then follow her to the car. I climb into the driver’s side, then squint at the sunroof. When I give it a hard tug, it slides grudgingly.

“Just so you know, her trust is protected,” Patricia says behind me.

I glance over my shoulder. “Sorry?”

Patricia’s face is a mask. “It’s no fortune or anything, but you can’t get at it. I just thought you should know since you climbers are always so broke.”

Anger flares like a lit torch in my chest. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Here’s my card, handsome,” she says, obviously unaware of my growing distaste. Pinched between her glossy, red fingertips is a white rectangle with crimson text. “I’m staying at the Luxor,” she adds, leaning in so close I can smell her perfume. When I don’t take the card, I feel her slip it into my back pocket. “In case you need anything.”

I step back, forcing a breath into my lungs. “I have everything I need right here,” I say. Did she just suggest what I think she did?

She smiles wryly as if she just won our first round, then slips daintily into her seat.

“Ta-ta for now,” she says with neutral, red lips.

As she pulls away from the curb, I watch her car get smaller.

The fuck?

I return to the driveway, but I feel frozen.

“Let me guess, she warned you about the trust,” Anya says from the doorway.

I jump. How long had she been standing there?

Okay, breathe. You didn’t do anything. Anya doesn’t need to know what just happened.

“Sorry,” Anya says.

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