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He heaved a weary sigh and sat next to her. “I don’t know. She showed up at the gala, but we didn’t speak. Before then, I hadn’t seen her since we broke up.”
“How did she get into your house?” Her hollow voice tore at him.
Rory savagely rubbed his beard. “She must have a key I didn’t know about. I’ll have to get the locks changed. I had no idea …”
“She did this?” Vi motioned around the room.
“Yes. Let me make coffee. Ask me anything you want. Anything.”
He hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee package and filter. Twinges of pain fluttered around his head from lack of caffeine. His leg throbbed from the cold weather. Worst of all, his heart ached. Why had Stella chosen this night to make her vitriolic presence known?
Months had passed since their breakup. Rory had dared to hope she’d moved on. He should have guessed she wouldn’t let it go—especially after the cutthroat glares she’d given him at the gala. When the aromatic brew dripped, he inhaled a calming breath.
Vi wandered in, stashing the food cartons in his fridge. She found paper towels and cleaned up the counter spill, then retreated to the living area again.
His foot tapped with the quick drip of coffee into the pot. As soon as humanly possible, he fixed two cups and returned to the couch where Vi sat with a glum expression. She accepted a cup, blowing on the hot liquid before taking a sip. They sat in silence, processing what had happened.
Swiveling to face him, Vi grimaced. “What made her think she could simply walk in?”
Rory circled the rim of his cup with a finger, choosing his words carefully. “I have never said anything to make it okay. I made it crystal-clear we were done, and now she’s—” The idea that she’d come back made his head hurt. He willed Vi to understand. “The breakup wasn’t her idea. The only thing she hates more is not getting her way.”
“Were you intimate?”
The swallow of coffee Rory had taken threatened to come back up. Vi’s bluntness astonished him. “No. I’d moved in with Jesse while she decimated this place.” His brows raised at her look of relief. “I knew it would break Jesse’s trust if I didn’t stay straight.” He gazed at her miserably. “I don’t deserve any gold stars, Vi. If not for Jesse’s tough questions, it could have easily gone the other way.”
Vi’s sapphire eyes never wavered. “Stella knows it.”
She placed her coffee mug on the table. “I get you didn’t see this coming, but I’m fresh out of sympathy. I need space. Please take me home.”
Words of protest formed on Rory’s tongue. He wanted Vi to stay, but her response wasn’t surprising. A month ago, she would have bolted without bothering to hear an explanation. The tiny bit of progress brought a pea-sized glimmer of encouragement.
Stella had left a sour taste in both their mouths.
Hours later, Rory couldn’t get comfortable. His mattress resembled a bag of rocks. A sigh escaped. The bed had nothing to do with it.
Earlier, when he’d walked Vi to the door, she’d submitted to his hug with the emotion of a board. Their warm, vibrant afternoon had been replaced with distance and preoccupation. She’d effectively shut him out. How could he mend this rift?
He gripped his phone and texted.
Are you awake?
His screen eventually shut off.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Cyrus, down!” Vi issued a sharp command as they prepped for the next phase of an assailant scenario. Bright sunshine tamed the nippy lake air.
The dog rumbled a protest as he sat.
Vi handed the leash to Silas, then he walked with Cyrus to the boardwalk. Another person, a K9 officer dressed in protective gear, hid behind the broad trunk of an oak tree. Luis had instructed them through the drill. Now they would practice in earnest.
Vi felt eyes watching her ever since the night Rory pulled a gun on the strange men in her house. When she’d mentioned it to Silas, he’d insisted on calling a friend from the police force. She’d rather have run her concerns by Rory. However, it was safer for her heart not to have him around so much.
Silas lifted his arm, signaling they were ready to begin. Luis stealthily zigzagged through scraggly bushes, then darted toward Vi on the bridge. Cyrus barked, lunging on the leash, though Luis elicited little noise. Silas released the leash. The dog bounded onto the bridge, snarling with menace. Luis reached to grab Vi. Cyrus bared his teeth and attacked, clamping onto the protective gear. Luis danced about, trying to disengage the large black dog. Straining, he lifted the dog in the air, but Cyrus refused to back off.
“Cyrus, down!” Vi issued a sharp command. The dog obeyed most unhappily.
Luis stood with a hand on his hip, breathing hard.
