Page 58 of Too Much In Common
Chris caught it easily. “Is there a drowning monitor?”
“No, but there should be. When I first looked at the pool to see if it was empty, I didn’t notice you underwater. I gave Dana the all clear, and then you surfaced.”
“There are other things you could have said to get us to leave the pool. Tian is paranoid that the building is watching her.”
“It is. At least in all the public areas.” Javier’s acknowledgement wasn’t anything Chris wasn’t aware of before. Then it hadn’t inconvenienced him before, either.
“I told her I’d beat you up.”
“Ha. Like you could.”
“Sparing. Anytime. Hastings.”
“Tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m.?”
Chris’s phone pinged.
Tian: Abbie is sending a car for me. Says she wants to do an advanced defense session tonight. Late dinner?
He stared at the phone for a long moment. If Abbie was sending a car, she must be doing the personal class at her estate. He’d heard stories about the gym Abbie and her husband had set up.
Chris: Sure.
He pocketed his phone and turned back to Javier. “5:00 a.m. works.”
Javier raised a brow. “Who killed your puppy?”
“What?”
“The text. What’s up?” asked Javier.
“Tian is having a private self-defense lesson with Abbie tonight.”
“As in Abbie Hastings Harmon?” Javier flipped his fingers, making a clicking sound Chris could never master.
“At her estate.”
“Wow, are these your apology sessions?”
“Yup.” Chris set his phone on the charging pad.
“You better hope there are not too many of them, or she’ll end up being able to take you down.”
“Correction. You better hope there are not too many of them. She was less than thrilled about the pool commentary you made.”
Over the next three hours, Chris completed any number of chores, including cleaning his bathroom and mopping the kitchen.
Finally, Tian’s text rescued him.
Tian: Home. Are you still hungry?
Chris: Yes.
Tian: Come on over.
She didn’t need to ask twice. Chris bolted from his room and down the hall, barely maintaining a walk.
Tian answered his knock. “That was quick. You must be starved.”
