Page 57 of My Grape Crush
“You can add a timestamp. It gets prepended to the filename. I don’t know if that holds up as sufficient in the eye of the law.”
“If you need any help,” Rhys offers, “I have a SWAT team of lawyers. I try not to talk to them, butif you need an introduction…”
“Thank you,” I say, unsure if diving deeper into Brett’s pit of piranhas is the way to go. “I appreciate that. And sorry for dumping.” I give a shaky laugh and try to lighten the atmosphere. “I shouldn’t be telling you all these things.”
“Sometimes it’s good to vent,” he says, his voice softer, lower, as he crouches beside me. “People do weird things when they feel threatened. Your talent probably scares him.”
His eyes skate across my face. I shiver slightly at how it feels to have him watch me like this. Like he has secrets. And I do too, because I’ve watched him just as intently for years. How many times did I trace his features in my mind’s eye since then?
“Please don’t worry about all the other stuff,” I say. “It will sort itself out.”
“Hey. We're in this together.”
He touches my arm with a smile so endearing that myheart does a little flip in my chest. I feel the same way I did the first time I saw Rhys in the flesh—like my world has suddenly gotten a bit bigger and brighter.
I take a deep breath. “So, tonight….”
“How does eight sound?”
“Remind me again. Is it a swim or a race?”
He rises back to standing and offers a slight grin. “Both?”
“And we’re putting money on it this time?”
“I’m happy to win for free,” he says, and why not be carefree in his dismissal of me even standing a chance? I felt the water surge as he effortlessly passed me with his efficient, clean strokes and perfect flutter kicks. What rookie fool bets against an Olympian?
This one, apparently.
“Five dollars,” I suggest. “Just for the fun of it.”
He crosses his arms and chuckles, finding humor in what’s sure to be a losing proposition for me. “Wow. You’re the big league. I was going to order some pizza for dinner. We can make that the bet. Loser pays for pizza?”
I chew on the end of my pen, as good an outlet as any for my spiking nerves. “Deal.”
“What’s your favorite?” he asks, eyes skimming my office as if looking for clues.
I stop myself just before I sayGreek. It is my go-to, but it feels too preciously on point. “Hawaiian.”
He snaps his fingers and points at me in a gesture of—Called it!No smugness or macho overkill, though. And I like him even more for that.
“You got it. Meet you at your place at eight, pizzas in hand.”
“The weather is supposed to turn this afternoon,” I warn him. “They’re predicting thunder and lightning.”
“I’m willing to risk it if you are.”
His smile deepens, crinkles at the corners of his light brown eyes. It shouldn’t be so devastating, this whole sexy-sweet thing he’s got going on, but it is. Nothing about Rhys Trenton coming into my life is quite the way I imagined it would be.
Chapter Eighteen
RHYS
Build it,and they will come.
Or in my case,draw it into existence.
Either way, here’s hoping this manifestation stuff works.
