Page 100 of Fall to Me
“I’ll be right back.” He lifts to stand.
“Before you go . . . I’ll give you the information you need.” He lowers back down to his seat, and I continue. “The date was November twenty-first. I arrived at our building a little after six twenty. River and I had plans for a date that night, and I was supposed to be home by six, but I got held up at work. Nigel, the concierge stopped me in the lobby and wouldn’t let me go up to our penthouse. Brian, one of the security guards, brought Riverdown to meet me in the lobby until your officers arrived. That should be on your footage.”
“Anything else?” he asks, writing everything down on his notepad.
“River’s sister, Aspen Miles, owns the Blaze organization. She’ll be glad to provide you with video evidence of what time I left the facility that night to clear my name.”
A knock sounds at the door, and an officer enters. “Mrs. Graham is causing quite the scene out here.”
I chuckle and lift one brow at the detective.
“Do you want me to toss her in the tank? She refuses to go home without Mr. Graham, and they’re about to restrain her.”
I can only imagine the hell she’s raining down on them right now.
Jesus.
“Actually, I think I have what I need here,” Detective Matthews says, closing his folder. He directs his attention to me and slides his notebook over before standing. “Can you write down your contact information?”
I write down my cell number and email, then slide the notebook back to the detective. He pins me with a curious look then hands me a business card.
“I’ll be in touch, Mr. Graham.”
I stand and offer my hand to shake his. “I sure hope so.”
Thirty-One
River
“Oh man. It smells amazing in here,” Carter says, shaking Cal’s hand and slapping him on the back, the warm scent of garlic hitting us in the face.
“Cheat meal, brother. We got some pasta, homemade bread, and a little salad.”
Cal leads us through the foyer and into the living room just as Aspen appears from the kitchen in an oversized sweatshirt and her hair tied up in a knot. How does she always look so perfect even when she’s not trying? I swear she’s able to pull off just about anything.
“You’re late,” she says, pulling me into a quick hug.
“But we’re here. And I’m freaking starving to death, so I hope the food is ready,” I say, looking around the living room at the garland and twinkling lights, their Christmas tree decorated to perfection. “It’s so pretty in here.”
“Thank you. I really put Cal to work.”
“You did all this? Ever think about going into interior designs?” Carter asks with a sarcastic smirk.
Cal throws a middle finger in the air and shakes his head. “Nope. I think I’ll stick with hockey. That tree was a bitch. Come on, Carter, I’ll grab you a beer.”
Now normally, I have better manners, but I’m with my family, and all good manners are abandoned when I spot homemade garlic bread. I make a beeline to the sink to wash my hands with Aspen’s gingerbread scented soap, then snatch up a slice of garlic bread, stuffing half of the buttery, garlic goodness into my mouth.
“Mmm. Oh my God, this is heavenly,” I say around a mouthful. “You know what would make this even better? Ranch dressing.”
I head over to her fridge and pull out the ranch, squirting it on the bread, then set the bottle on the table for dinner. I shove the rest of the piece into my mouth.
“Oh. That’s it. That hit the spot.” All three of them look at me like I have two heads as Aspen picks up the plate of bread and sets it on the table.
“What? I told you I’m starving.”
Aspen shakes her head. “That was disturbing, River . . . Ranch? On garlic bread? Really?”
I shrug and sit down at the table right in front of the lasagna. “You must not know what’s good.”
