The Confession

Beck snorted. “Yeah? I really like islands in the South Pacific, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get one.”

“Right?” Seth swallowed a bite of steak. “So what were you going to say? Pike asked you to what?”

“Have lunch with Jasmine so I could put in a good word about him to her.”

“So you lied to her?” Beck spouted off.

“No. I might have skirted the truth a little, mostly because I don’t know him that well.”

Seth raised a brow. “And he asked you to use that pretty mouth to ‘skirt the truth’ because you owed him a favor and he knew everyone else would have been too honest?”

Heavenly rolled her eyes. “You two are horrible.”

“We’re right,” he groused.

“Anyway, Raine and I both liked Jasmine. We’re going to grab pedis together later this week. And Raine talked her into having a conversation with River.”

Seth sat up straighter. “Oh, that will give him a…um, big thrill.”

Beck scoffed. “You mean a big boner?”

“Well, yeah. He’s dying to get his hands on her again.”

Beck smirked. “That’s not all he’s dying for.”

Heavenly winced. “The feeling isn’t mutual. Raine had to twist her arm for this meeting, and Jasmine only agreed because Raine told her that River is a private investigator. That scared her. She doesn’t really want him to find her.”

“But he will,” Seth said. “Just a matter of time.”

“That’s what Raine told her, so it looks like River will get his wish at some point.”

“Wait. Let me get this straight.” Beck leaned in. “These two brainiacs are fighting over a woman who doesn’t want either of them?”

A smile cracked Seth’s previously solemn face. “That’s priceless.”

“She isn’t looking for a relationship,” Heavenly volunteered.

Beck shrugged. “That won’t stop either of them.”

Heavenly bit her lip. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that.”

“Poor bastards…”

She couldn’t disagree. River and Pike had a hard road ahead if they each wanted her, especially if River intended to invite Dean into bed with them. That could have disaster written all over it…

Silence fell. Reality came rushing back to Heavenly. Their conversation had seemed so normal, so much like old times, she’d almost forgotten about the elephant in the room.

“Did you do anything besides work today?” she ventured, glancing Seth’s way.

Did you think about us?

Instantly, he got quiet. “Let’s finish dinner. Then we’ll talk.”

What little appetite Heavenly had suddenly vanished. Her stomach tightened. With a trembling hand, she set her fork on her plate. She felt Beck’s eyes on her. Seth wouldn’t meet her stare.

That terrified her.

For the next ten silent minutes, she pushed food around her plate and gulped water to wet her suddenly parched mouth. Beck finished his beer in tense silence. Half his steak went untouched.