Page 23 of Spark
Simon opened his mouth to say he was sorry they couldn’t help but nothing more.But Leo was Leo, and he couldn’t stand not being the center of attention—even when the attention was the kind that would land his arrogant ass in jail.
“You’re so dramatic, Simon.Of course, I’m not in trouble.”He tsked.“Two nights ago, I was at my restaurant, La Vielle Maison, until about nine, and then I came here, to the house, for the night.”
“Did anyone see you?”Detective Maxwell asked, and Simon said the only thing he could to gain enough control to end the conversation without suspicion.
“I did.I was up until eleven thirty, reading.Leo came home at nine-fifteen.I heard him set the house alarm system.”
“Ah.There we are, officers.”Leo gestured to Simon, problem solved.
“Detectives.Bothof us,” Detective Maxwell bit out again, but—in a bold move, considering the man’s sheer size—Leo ignored him.
“Speaking of the restaurant, I need to head over there to prepare for a few VIPs this evening.If you’ll excuse me.”
“Of course.Thanks for your assistance.You’ve been very helpful,” Detective Hale said, her smile offsetting her partner’s hard stare as they both disappeared through the door.
“See?”Leo said a few beats later, when it was clear the detectives were gone.“I told you it would be fine.”
Simon exhaled, slowly counting.“The police came to ask your whereabouts in a murder investigation for a crime you committed, Leo.This is not fine.”
“They asked, and I answered,” Leo said, waving him off.“They don’t have anything, because if they did, they’d have come with a warrant, and even then, theystillwouldn’t have anything, except maybe a defamation case.If they pursue this, Phil is going to have the RPD for fucking breakfast.”
Simon weighed the variables in his mind.The police had been trying to take them down for years, and Brinkman’s bodyhadbeen found smack in the middle of Navarro territory.The part about the warrant was also true—they’d clearly just been kicking at rocks to see what scurried out.
The trouble was, this wasn’t a carefully orchestrated deal Simon had set up.It was pure Leo, and Simon couldn’t trust him not to have left behind evidence that would point directly to them.
For a fraction of a second, Simon was tempted—sofucking tempted—to let Leo pay the debt his ego had racked up.Christ, it would serve the smug bastard right.But as much as he hated it, Simon needed Leo free and clear so he could remain under the radar.
Which meant he’d have to clean up whatever mess Leo had made, no matter how big.Or how bloody.
Andthatmeant he was going to have to do some homework on this investigation.
7
Tyler stood outside the Blue Barn Restaurant and Brewery, complete with its pastoral setting, dozens of spots handcrafted for the perfect #happylife selfie, and huge, hand-lettered sign boasting, “We host weddings!”, and questioned the fuck out of his life choices.Granted, the venue that Ryan and Addison had chosen for their bachelor and bachelorette party—which was now happening in T-minus ten days—was pretty, and after a quick online glance, Tyler could admit both the food and beer actually looked kind of great.But this wedding was getting very real, very fast, and he couldn’t deny it.
His thoughts of Chloe were driving him crazy.And if there was one thing he didn’t do—wouldneverfucking do—it was get crazy about a woman.
“Oh, knock it off,” Tyler muttered to himself, starting to walk up the wildflower-lined path leading to the restaurant’s front door.So, his indecent thoughts of Chloe hadn’t budged since he’d given her a ride to and from the Thirty-Third the other day.He’d promised to be Ryan’s best man, which meant planning this party with her, andthatmeant meeting with the restaurant’s event coordinator.He could stuff his feelings down and have a conversation with her.Hell, they’d had a great conversation on the way back to her car the other day, teasing and easy, just like always.Of course, he’d botched that by impulsively mentioning their kiss, but he could be a decent guy and not think of her scorchingly hot mouth while they did one little walk-through of a party venue.
Or not.The second Tyler caught sight of Chloe standing just outside the restaurant’s front door, his eyes—the mutinous little assholes—went straight for the lush, pink bow of her lips.
Which, it took him a beat to realize, were firmly shaped by a frown.“What are you doing here?”
His answer flew out, untouched by his brain.“Writing a eulogy for my ego, thanks for asking.”
“I didn’t mean…” Chloe trailed off, blushing to the tips of her ears.“I wasn’t expecting to see you at this meeting with the event coordinator.How did you even know about it?”
“Addison texted me yesterday and asked me to come,” Tyler said, confusion slipping through him.He pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans, scrolling to her message and reading aloud.“Any chance you can meet @ Blue Barn tomorrow at three to go over party stuff w/ the event coordinator?”His dignity didn’t add, “should be easy-peasy, promise!”because really, Addison was the only person alive who could pull that saying off.
“Aren’t she and Ryan coming, too?”Tyler asked, scanning the neatly kept pathways winding around the restaurant grounds.When Addison had texted him, he’d just assumed they’d all be here.
It was a sharp reminder of the whole ass + u + me lesson.“No.They have a cake tasting today.I told her I had this under control,” Chloe muttered, and a light bulb went off in Tyler’s head.
“Wait.You were going to do this meeting alone on purpose?”
Her distinct lack of a game face was all the answer he needed, and damn it, he’d known the handful of small tasks Chloe had asked him to handle had seemed too easy.“What else have you taken on by yourself without telling me?”
“Not alot,” she argued, but at his arched brow, she caved.“Okay, fine.I might have handled the preliminary party menu.And the catering agreement.And the decorations.And the invites.And the communication with the restaurant coordinator.But only because it’s no big deal.”
