Page 27 of See It Through

I guess I’d been so distracted I’d forgotten he was lurking about.

Jerking away from Phoebe, I stared at Remi, my mouth slightly agape. Then I moved to the counter opposite him, leaning on my palms.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop, Remington.”

He cocked his head, his jaw rippling. “I walked in with you. I wasn’t hiding behind a corner; I’ve been here the whole time. Now, tell me about being run off the road.”

Again, my mouth flopped like a fish, no sound exiting it. Phe stood next to me, linking her arm through mine.

“He’s an idiot,” Phoebe explained. “Hannah’s success has emasculated him, so he takes it out on her by trying to steal her clients and being a general nuisance. This is the first time I know of him doing something dangerous, though.”

Remi’s nostrils flared as his narrowed gaze slid from Phe to me. “You’re going to the police, right?”

I shook my head. The thought of doing that was exhausting. “It was a prank.”

Before I knew what was happening, he snagged my hand and lifted it in front of my face. “Is that why you’re trembling? Doesn’t sound like a prank to me.”

I wanted to argue, but my sister squeezed my arm. “He has a point. Cleve may have thought he was being funny, but he went too far. You should make a report, let the cops givehima scare. Maybe he’ll think twice about harassing you next time.”

“I—” Any argument I could have had was eaten up by Remi’s fierce glare and Phoebe’s pleading eyes. I blew out a breath in defeat. “Fine. I’ll go to the station. But not before I eat two donuts.”

Making the report wasn’t as terrible as I’d thought it would be. It had taken less than an hour to recount the incident and leave my contact information. Not that I’d really needed to since the officer had been in Caleb’s graduating class, but I appreciated him doing things the official way.

I made my way outside, exhausted to the bone from my long day of working and everything that had come after. A scorching shower followed by vegging on the couch were my only plans for the rest of the evening, and I couldn’t wait.

My steps came to a halt when I spotted Remi leaning against the brick wall next to the station entrance. He saw me at the same time and straightened, eyeing me expectantly. I drew in a breath, prepared to bustle by him, but he easily fell into step with me.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“Fine.” I glanced at him then faced forward, heading in the direction of my apartment. “You didn’t need to wait.”

“Felt like I should since I was the one who insisted you do this. Are they going to do anything about it?”

I shrugged. “They’ll give him a visit. I’m sure Cleve will deny it happened, and since I don’t have any proof, that’ll be it.”

“They tell you that?”

“They didn’t have to. It’s why I hadn’t wanted to bother in the first place. I don’t want anyone going out of their way for me.”

“Hannah, you deserve people going out of their way for you.”

It was such a Graham thing to say; I sucked in a sharp breath. Too sharp to be disguised. Remi’s head whipped my way, his gaze boring into me. When I didn’t look back, he must’ve decided I’d answered enough questions and didn’t press for more.

I pointed toward the building down the block. “That’s my place. I can get there on my own.”

“I guess you didn’t read the fine print when you signed the contract. This is door-to-door service.”

My lips twitched, almost smiling. “Funny, I don’t remember signing anything.”

“You did. Talk to Dell Rivers about it.”

I snorted a little laugh. “I’ll put that on my to-do list.”

He continued strolling with me, his arm casually bumping into mine. “Phoebe seems like she’s doing well for herself.”

“She’s a goddess.” I winged a brow when he didn’t immediately agree. “I saw you eating one of her lemon bars. I know you get it.”

He chuckled. “Absolutely. I’ve been a lot of places, eaten a lot of different food, and that lemon bar was top tier. It’s no wonder she always has a line.”

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