Page 3 of Kiss Marry Kill

I shrugged. “After lunch?”

“Mind if I come along?”

I frowned. “You don’t trust me to keep my cool?”

He gave a sheepish laugh. “You already dislike him.”

“To put it mildly,” I murmured.

“It’s my job to keep the peace.” His tone was coaxing.

“True. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have you along. You are exceedingly levelheaded.” I smirked and picked up my veggie burger.

He took a cue from me and started eating too. We consumed our food in companionable silence, although my mind raced with uncharitable thoughts of River. I’d have loved to have been a fly on the wall during one of Lucas and River’s private conversations. Did they find it amusing to toy with me? Lucas didn’t seem as smarmy as River, but he was his BFF. That must mean he was fine with how River behaved.

Royce finished his burger much faster than me, and he went to the kitchen sink to wash his face and hands. When the doorbell rang, I scowled and wiped my fingers with a napkin. God only knew what fresh hell awaited me at the front door. Since Royce was busy wiping his face dry with a paper towel, I got up to answer the door.

Grumpy circled my legs, barking, and when I opened the door, I was shocked to find River himself standing on the porch. “Oh… what are…youdoing here?” I said brusquely.

He gave me one of his sickeningly sweet smiles. “Maxwell, can you ever forgive me?”

I hadn’t expected him to run into him so suddenly and had no idea how to respond. I simply stared at him, feeling annoyed. I had so many things I wanted to say, they were all tangled up on my tongue.

“When my property manager called me and told me what he’d done, I was mortified,” River wailed, pressing his hands to his chest.

“Your property manager?” I repeated.

Royce appeared at my elbow, and River’s expression morphed from despondent to admiring. “Well, hello there,” River cooed, practically batting his eyelashes. “I thought you’d be at work, Royce.”

“I came home to have lunch with Max.” As he spoke, Royce rested his arm around my shoulders.

River’s sharp gaze flickered. “How nice.” He cleared his throat. “I was just explaining to Maxwell about how upset I was to hear my property manager, Tristen, had sent a threatening letter to Maxwell by mistake.”

“By mistake?” Royce echoed.

“That’s right.” River sighed and shifted his gaze to me. “The cat’s out of the bag now, I guess.”

Lifting my chin, I demanded, “Why was the cat ever in the bag? Why didn’t you tell me you’d purchased the land where my clinic is located?”

Grimacing, River glanced around. “Do you think perhaps I could come inside? Discussing business on the porch is so awkward.”

I certainly didn’t want to invite him in. I was tempted to push him off the porch into the esperanza that grew along the verandah. Unfortunately, Royce stepped back and gestured for him to come inside. I grudgingly moved so that River could enter the home. He breezed past me, winking at me as he did so. I gritted my teeth and followed him into the living room.

River turned in a circle, eyeing the rustic décor. “Royce, I just knew your house would look just like this.” He smiled with a little twinkle in his eye. “A grizzly bearskin rug in front of the fireplace. Howdelightful.”

Royce pushed his hands into his jean pockets, looking self-conscious. “That was my grandfather’s.”

“Oh!” River laughed gaily. “Here I pictured you hunting down that grizzly with your bare hands.”

“Uh, no. I’m not a big hunter, and even if I was, there are no grizzlies in Texas,” Royce drawled.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” River said. “I’m a California boy, after all.”

I cleared my throat. “If we could get back to the reason you’re here, River?”

River gave a bright smile. “Of course. I got distracted by that ferocious-looking rug.”

Trying to contain my impatience, I asked, “So, why didn’t you tell me about the purchase of the land?”