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“You’re the best.” Quinn hugged Calista before running off and up the stairs.
As soon as Quinn was out of earshot, Calista turned to him and whispered, “Don’t get too excited. It’s just that I need to figure out what’s going on with Stella. I might have broken into her phone and turned on a track-my-friends app. And it’s snowing and you have four-wheel drive, which is the only reason I’m inviting you to help me on this mission.”
“Mission?” Tristan laughed, not surprised at all that Calista had broken into her sister’s phone. He’d met no one more resourceful or caring than her. And had he mentioned sexy? Going on a spy mission sounded kind of hot.
“Yes. It’s called the knock-some-sense-into-Stella mission.”
It’s about time somebody did something, he thought. “I’m game.”
“Great. Get the kittens ready and I’ll grab some snacks and the binoculars.”
Tristan chuckled, wondering how in the world he had ever let her go. No other woman he knew would think to take kittens and a snack on a recon mission. Or go on missions at all.
“And—” She paused midstep. “Don’t get any ideas about trying any funny stuff in your truck.”
He slapped a hand across his chest. “What kind of a guy do you think I am?”
She gave him a thoughtful glance. “Honestly, I wish I knew.”
Tristan faltered, taken aback by the sting of her statement. While her words bore no malice, they still pierced him. To hear she didn’t know what kind of man he was haunted him more than anything. “Let me show you. Let’s get to know each other again,” he pleaded with her. There he went with the sledgehammer again.
She stood, frozen. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why? Because you’re scared you might still like me?” He stepped a little closer to her, holding himself back from taking her into his arms and embracing her until she knew she could trust him. “Or perhaps you may still have some deeper feelings for me.”
Her breath stilled as she tried to think of something to say.
Tristan had expected her to say she hated him, but she just turned and hustled toward the kitchen.
It wasn’t often he got the better of her. But that wasn’t important. The only thing that mattered was that she made his life better. She always had. Now more than ever, he was sorry he had forgotten that. He was going to do whatever it took to prove to her he wasn’t the man who’d left her. He would leave no doubt in her mind what kind of guy he truly was.
CALISTA
I STARED OUT THE WINDSHIELD at the steadily falling snow through my binoculars. Any flake that hit the glass died a speedy death as Tristan kept his truck running to keep us warm. The seedy motel my sister was at, according to the app, came into view. It was on “my” side of the lake. Definitely not a five-star location like Stella normally insisted on. The rundown motel’s lime-green paint was peeling worse than skin after a bad sunburn. The blinking red Christmas lights strung along the roof with several missing shingles only added to the creepiness of the establishment.
“You don’t think my sister is selling her body, do you?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Tristan grabbed the binoculars from me and looked for himself. “No.” He shuddered. “Why would she? Jonathon left her his entire estate. She’s worth millions.”
“I don’t know. Maybe for the thrill. Why else would she be here?” This place screamed that if you checked in, you would leave with an STI at the very least. And your throat slashed at the worst. I loved my side of the lake, but most people stayed away from this area of town. For good reason.
“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation,” he tried to make me feel better, but it wasn’t working.
“There is nothing logical about this.” I was holed up in my ex’s truck under a blinking payday loan sign, spying on my sister, Bing Crosby crooning on the radio, with two kittens in tow.
Tristan lowered the binoculars and turned toward me. “We’ll figure it out together.”
Together. I couldn’t afford to think about that word where we were concerned. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop thinking about it—and him. He was making it impossible for me to ignore him. Worse, he was reminding me of all the reasons my feelings ran so deeply for him. Few people would agree to accompany me on such an excursion. I kind of hated him for it. How was I supposed to remain ambivalent toward him when he was being so wonderful? It was getting to where I either hated him or loved him.
I picked up the blanket holding the sleeping kittens from the middle of the bench seat and placed them on my lap, needing some comfort. “Together is a dangerous word.”
He took advantage of my moving the kittens and inched closer to the middle of the bench. The smell of peppermint candy canes lingered on his breath. “I’m sorry I made you feel like that.”
I shrugged, trying my best to hold on to the hate, even though part of me wanted to pull him to me and fog up the windows in a spectacular fashion.
Tristan wasn’t deterred. “While we wait for your sister to come out, let’s talk.”
“About what?”
