Page 6 of Wild Dreams

Marigold smiled at him. "I thought you'd like it."

A slow smile spread over Eli's face as his gaze moved from me to Marigold. Then he went inside the room.

At the steps, Marigold said, "I can handle it from here."

"Thanks again for the room, and your book recommendation."

"Did you like the book?" Marigold placed her hand on the railing.

"It was more of a mystery, and I couldn't put it down until I knew what happened."

Marigold's eyes widened. "You read it in one sitting."

"I had to find out what happened. When I got to the end, I remembered the title of the book."

"None of this is true."

I shook my head, a rueful grin on my face. "I have no idea what happened and what was a lie."

"I thought some of it was true."

"Did you read the book?" I asked, surprised.

Her cheeks pinkened. "I wanted to make sure it was good. You were trusting me to make a good choice."

I stepped closer, and she looked away.

"Marigold." I waited for her to look up at me. "I can't believe you went through that much trouble."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was no big deal."

My brow furrowed. "You read all the books you recommend?"

She frowned. "I read the reviews online and can usually get a good idea."

Why had she done more for me? I could say it was because we were friends. She'd helped me and Eli with Scarlett. I'd have to stew over that one for a while. I stepped back because she seemed uncomfortable with me in her space. "I thought as a police officer, I could see through the lies, but the author was good at creating doubt."

Marigold smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You should have a lively discussion."

"I hope everyone read it. I need to talk to someone about it." I edged away, moving backward toward the door to the meeting room. I didn't want to miss any of her facial reactions. She was so expressive.

"I'm happy to talk to you about it if you'd like," Marigold said, then ducked her head.

I wanted to spend more time with her, and in this moment, I couldn't remember why I shouldn't. "That would be great."

"Have a good meeting," Marigold said as she headed down the stairs.

Eli popped his head out of the room. "Are you coming? I thought you were in charge of this meeting?"

Marigold's laughter drifted up the stairs to us, and I couldn't help but smile at the sound.

"Come on." Eli ducked inside, and I followed him.

The guys made themselves comfortable on the couch and chairs. Xan took my spot, which was typical. He wanted whatever anyone else had. It had been that way since we were kids.

Eli stood in front of the window, squinting into the darkness as if trying to see how much of a view there was of his family's ski resort.

Oliver sat on the couch with his glasses perched on his nose and the book in his lap. He always came prepared.

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