Page 102 of While You Were Trending

“I wanted to map out ideas for the gift shop layout, but when I got here, I found an envelope of cash,” I blurt.

My cheeks are on fire. I’m positive I’m blushing from my roots to my toes.

Not because I’m embarrassed that I’m a grown woman who kisses men on occasion.

More because I’m embarrassed that I did it because I wanted to be bad.

I’m such a goddamn expert when it comes to self-sabotage.

“Cash?” Heath repeats.

“Probably at least 10K,” Declan says, completely unaffected, goddamn him. “And a note.”

He passes Heath the hundred-dollar bill with the pink sticky note.

“These real?” Heath asks.

Declan lights up.

Hefucking lights up. “One of myFoxy Goes Therevideos that I haven’t posted yet is about a day I spent working at the Denver Mint. Look. See this mark when you hold it up to the light? I think it’s real. And I still have one of those markers. We can check it the official way too.”

Heath stares at him.

“What?”

“You sound like Cricket.” He glances at me. “Who did this?”

“Someone who could’ve gotten into the tasting room,” Declan answers as I hold up my hands, my face still burning.

Heath turns the bill over like the backside might give him clues, then shakes his head. “It was open during the wedding.”

“It was?” I whisper.

He grimaces, which is a face you don’t get out of him often, but which suggests Lav had something to do with it.

Possibly his cat and Pip too.

“So it could’ve been anyone,” I say.

Anyone from a neighbor who realized the door was open to one of the wedding guests.

Or even Pip herself.

It would be like her to have a secret stash of cash in the house that she wanted to donate to the cause without drawing attention to the fact that she’d been sitting on a pile of cash while we’ve been fretting about money and foreclosure because of the loans Dean took out before he died.

“We’ll take it to Mabel.” Heath looks at me as a roll of thunder rattles the windows. “You want a ride back to the house? I drove.”

I don’t.

I want to stay here.

But I can’t look at Declan, and Flow’s whining again.

So I nod to Heath. “That would be great. Thanks.”

He looks at Declan.

And while I half expect Heath to tell Declan he can walk his ass back to the apartment, instead, Heath says, “You can ride in the back seat.”