Page 139 of The Wrong Play

“How are you planning on doing it?” Parker asked, ever the supportive king, and still ahead of Matty in the rankings.

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “Accidental plumbing issues? Health code violation? Maybe a break-in. Somethingminor, of course. Just enough to shut the place down for a bit.”

Matty groaned again, rubbing his temples like he was developing a stress headache. “I’m not going to be able to break you out of jail. It’s not in my skill-set.”

I waved him off. “Relax. It’s not going to come to that. Hopefully. But something has to be done. Something is making her upset.”

I studied the footage. “Coffee shops are dangerous. Slippery floors. High risk of burns. Annoying customers. It could be any of those things.”

“Or she was just having a bad day,” Matty deadpanned.

I shrugged. “Possibly.”

Parker snickered. “Matty, he can’t leave things to chance. Come on.”

Matty let out a long, suffering sigh. “Okay, so what exactly is wrong with her working thereright now?”

Like the universe itself wanted to assist in proving my point, the answer strutted right through the door.

A guy.

I narrowed my eyes, watching as some dude in a leather jacket sauntered up to the counter, all confidence and cocky grins—all things that were firmly inmyrealm. Riley didn’t seem to notice at first, she was too busy being an excellent employee and wiping down the espresso machine. But when she finally looked up, he leaned against the counter, saying something that made her lips possibly twitch a little.

I didn’t like that.

I didn't like that at all.

I set my popcorn down, sitting up straighter. “She’sdefinitelydone with that job.”

Matty threw his hands up. “He’s a customer. She’s just being nice.”

“Well, of course, she’s being nice, Matty.He’sthe one not being nice.”

“I don’t think this has anything to do with her bad mood yesterday, Jace.”

“Thinkis the operative word in that sentence, sir. You need to leave the big-brain thinking to QB and me if that’s the energy you’re bringing to this conversation.”

Matty sniffed in outrage.

Parker smirked. “What’s the plan, big guy? You’ve got that twinkle.”

I grinned. “Oh, I’ve got a few ideas…”

Matty groaned. “Of course you do.”

Parker leaned closer to the screen, watching Leather Jacket Guy make another move, and then he snapped his fingers. “We could kidnap him, take him out to one of those lakes where they’ve been finding gators, and make him fight one. See if he’s still feeling brave then.”

I turned my head slowly to stare at him. Matty did the same.

I blinked. “I was thinking more along the lines of breaking his nose, but sure, Parker. Let’s start with reptilian combatives.”

Matty shook his head slowly, still staring. “You always go straight to kidnapping. It’s honestly concerning.”

Parker just shrugged, completely unbothered. “You guys never wanna have any fun.”

Matty crossed his arms. “I have a crazy idea—you just let Riley exist in the world without orchestrating a hostile takeover of her entire life.”

I turned to him, unimpressed. “That was yourcrazyidea?”

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