Page 34 of Worth the Risk

“Fuck, man.” I plop onto the couch across from him and lean my head back and close my eyes. “I just want my life to get back to normal. Work. Luke. A—”

“—little piece of Sidney’s ass on the side.”

I crack an eyelid open and glare at him. “You’re just jealous that’s an option for me.”

“No, I’m not.” He holds his hand up so his wedding ring is in plain sight. “No complaints here, but I’ll spare you the details that will make you jealous about how fan-fucking-tastic my wife is.”

“I definitely don’t need details on the fucking part.” Leave it to Grant to get me to laugh.

“So, is Sidney still hot? I mean, from what I remember from high school she was. Pretty but untouchable. Snobby but nice.”

“Annoying but . . .”

“Hot.”

“Gorgeous.” The word comes out automatically. There’s no denying it, even though I’d prefer to.

“And the problem with this is, what?”

“There is no problem with that. The problem I have is that there is an article in the newspaper about a situation only three of us knew about.”

“And we all know how much you love attention.”

I raise my middle finger to combat his sarcasm. “You know the why behind it, so don’t be an asshole.”

“Which why is that? How the Hoskins wrote Luke off and you fear anything on you may give them some kind of insight into Luke’s life? Or the how you are just the most selfless son of a bitch I’ve ever known and for some reason, you never want to reap the rewards for being a damn fine human being like every other person on the face of the earth would?”

“It wasn’t me who told the newspaper about the incident, and it sure as hell wasn’t Mick.”

“Mick?”

“The unarmed thug.” Being a cop, his eyes fire with recognition as my cell rings for what feels like the hundredth time today. People asking about the newspaper article. Attaboys about saving someone, even though I’m on desk duty for doing the exact same thing.

I switch the ringer off and shake my head.

“You really think she planted this story? Why would she do that?”

“Hell if I know. I even fucking accused her of setting it up, then dumbass me bought it when she said she’s not that conniving.”

“One bat of those lashes and shift of those thighs and poor Grayson’s blood leaves one head for another and impairs his thinking.”

“You’re being a dick.”

“And you got played.” He tsks. “The woman’s got balls.”

“Let’s hope not.” I laugh as I remember the heat of her body against mine last night.

“You know what I mean.” He leans forward so his elbows rest on his knees, and he levels me with a stare.

“Like I said, it’s all a ploy. The article. The hero thing. All of it.”

“If it’s a ploy to get you thinking about her, she’s doing a damn fine job of it.”

“Jesus,” I mutter.

“What’s the big deal about the contest, Gray? I mean seriously? Do the damn thing. Let Luke revel in the attention for a bit, let him think he has a famous dad. Win the damn thing and take him to Disney World like you’ve wanted to do for years. Let yourself relax for a bit instead of pacing back and forth, wearing a hole in the floor as you wait out this fucking stupid flight suspension. Like I said, your participating doesn’t give any information to the Hoskins that they couldn’t find by asking around town. And if it does, if it tells them that you’re better off without Claire, then good. Again, what’s it going to hurt?”

Of course, he has to throw Luke in there to get me to really hear him.