“I'd like you to come to dinner at Heartstone on Sunday,” he said simply.
“You're inviting me to a family dinner?”
Royal grinned at me. “I need a shield. Ophelia and Bryce are moving into the Manor—thank God—and it's going to be a circus. Can you brave it? For me?”
Despite the frisson of nerves in my gut, I grinned back at him. “I'll protect you. What time should I be there?”
“I'll pick you up at six.”
“I'll be ready.”
One more sweet, slow kiss and he was gone.
I was exhausted but too wired to sleep. I had to get to bed so I could be up well before dawn. I'd pulled in two last-minute custom cake orders that I'd have to fit in before everything else I had on the schedule.
I straightened my kitchen, put away the dishes I'd left drying on the rack, and turned out the light, hoping that laying down would prompt my brain to stop thinking and fall asleep.
Ten minutes staring at the shadows on my ceiling told me that wasn't going to happen. I wanted to be back on the porch swing, the river in one ear and Royal's heartbeat in the other. I could have stayed there all night.
Missing Royal was enough to propel me out of bed. Not bothering to turn on the lights, the faint moonlight enough to illuminate my small kitchen, I set up the electric kettle and got out the herbal tea Grams had pushed on me the day before, swearing it put her out like a light every night.
I was stirring in a spoonful of honey when headlights flashed below the kitchen window. A door opened and shut, followed by another.
Voices, one of them familiar.
What was my dad doing behind the bakery at this time of night?
In the dark, I was invisible. They probably couldn't even tell the window was open. I didn't resist the urge to eavesdrop. I hitched my hip onto the edge of the sink and looked down to see my father standing beside an unfamiliar car. I couldn't tell the model, but it was shiny and sleek and looked expensive. Not his car.
A woman stood facing him, hands propped on her hips. I couldn't make out all of her words, but her tone was aggravated. I caught enough of her to see shiny dark hair and red lips. She was tall, taller than my dad in her heels, and voluptuous.
I couldn't see my dad cheating on my mom, but what was he doing meeting this woman in the dark? And why here?
She shifted, looking even more annoyed, her voice louder than before. “Don't even think about giving me any of your bullshit, Darren. We're on a timeline here. If you fuck this up I'm not the one you're going to have to deal with. Do you understand?”
“You know I do. You can depend on me.”
I imagined I could see the woman's eyes roll as she tossed her hair, but maybe that was projection. Her next words proved me wrong. This woman knew my father. “If I had any other option, I never would have brought you in. You're a weasel and you're lazy.”
“Hey, that's uncalled for.” I marveled at how genuinely offended my dad sounded.
“I disagree, but you're what I have to work with. Get the job done or I'll let my partner deal with you.”
“If it's so important, why don't you do your own dirty work?”
“I'm too well known to pull off this stage of the plan and you know it. Get the job done and I'll get you the cash you need. And if you don't, you'll have a bigger problem than empty pockets.”
“Hey, just tell your partner I've got it under control.”
“See that you do.” The woman got back in the car and pulled out. I watched my father duck out of the parking area behind the bakery and head down the alley to the street. Silently crossing my apartment, I moved to the windows overlooking Main Street, tracking him as he walked back toward the road to Grams' house.
Crap. Now what was I supposed to do?
He was up to something, but I'd known he'd been up to something when he came back to Sawyers Bend. Now I knew he had a partner, but I had no idea who she was. It'd been too dark to see her features clearly, but what I'd seen I didn't recognize, and I don't think I'd ever heard her voice before.
Whatever was between them, I couldn't imagine he was cheating on my mom. I didn't get that vibe. She'd seemed dismissive and pissed, and he hadn't struck me as a guy trying to seduce a woman. More a man putting off his boss over a late assignment.
I didn't even know if what he was up to was illegal. She'd told him to get the job done and her partner would be mad if he didn't, but that didn't necessarily mean they were breaking the law.