Page 79 of Vain

“Last time she came, she talked about taking her down a peg or two. That time, Daniel was actually helpful and took her to his car and drove her home.”

“Was this the day they were banned from the property?”

He shakes his head. “No, a couple of weeks after. She was mad I wouldn’t let her in. She had already tried to get past Phil that day. He told me at the handover. I expected more trouble when Daniel turned up, but he just apologized and told me he’d take her home.”

“Did he come back and pick up her car?”

“No, she never drives herself. She uses a service that drops her off. Then, she complains that she has no way of getting home.”

“Going for the sympathy vote?”

“Possibly, but it is hard to feel sympathy for a soul-sucking viper.”

I crack up laughing at that. “Can’t say I disagree with that. I will head up to the house to see Marley and Greyson. Call me if you think of anything else or have any other issues.” I pull a business card from my wallet and hand it to him.

“I will do, Mr. Church. Give my best wishes to Miss Carson for me.”

I nod and walk up to the house. The floodlights keep the place brightly lit, but I scan the area for possible threats. Taking out the key, I let myself in and close the door behind me just as Marley comes around the corner.

“Oh, I thought you were Greyson. How is she?”

“She’s okay. She has a concussion, so they’re keeping her in overnight for observation, but god willing, she’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank fuck.” He presses his hands to his heart. “I swear I’m getting too old for this.” He takes a few seconds to regulate his breathing before he looks at me. “Tell me you got the guy that did this.”

I sigh. “We have a lot to catch up on since we didn’t see you this morning.”

“Come to the kitchen. I’ll make you some coffee. You look like you could use it.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” I follow him in and sit on one of the stools as Marley sets about making me a drink. While the coffee is brewing, I fill him in about the dead flowers and the incident with the Post-it notes before moving on to the crash.

He slides me a mug of coffee before disappearing into the pantry for a moment. He returns with a large chocolate cake covered with a glass lid. “I made this for you both for a weekend treat, but you look like you need a piece now.”

“I think I just fell in love with you.”

He chuckles. “Funny you should say that because I call this myDo Me Dark and Dirtydessert.

“I’m scared to ask why.”

“Let’s just say this came to me on a weekend where there was bourbon, frosting, and a whole lot of questionable choices made.” He waggles his eyebrows as he slices a large piece and hands it over.

I take a bite and groan in appreciation. “Sweet baby Jesus, you need to move back to Tempest with me.”

“I’m not sure it’s me you need to convince.”

I wipe my mouth and lean my elbows on the counter. “Not sure Tilly moving is what’s best for her. Her whole life is here.”

“The second you go home, that last sentence becomes untrue. And you’ll never know if you don’t ask her.”

“I feel like I’m being selfish. After all, what’s stopping me from moving here? And I’m not saying I won’t. I don’t want a life without Tilly in it. I hate the thought of leaving all my family and friends. I’d always planned to settle down where I grew up.”

“You know there was a time when Matilda wanted to move.”

“Really? She never said anything.”

“It was before the acid attack. She was tired of acting and dabbling with the idea of directing something, but she struggled with being taken seriously. Her mother didn’t help with that. Every time that woman speaks in a public setting, she makes Matilda sound like a spoiled flaky princess when nothing could be further from the truth. Of course, the media doesn’t care about the truth, just sensationalism. Matilda figured a fresh start might be in order. She has a couple of other properties. Sheplanned to start as a vacation and see if the place spoke to her.” He shrugs. “It was then the universe couldn’t help but fuck with her. The Post-it notes began appearing the second she started talking about moving. And well, you know the rest. Ultimately, a fresh start became more terrifying than staying here, which felt familiar and safe.”

“Until now.”