Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
West’s lips moved to my ear, and he whispered, “Don’t worry. Enjoy having a day off, maybe find Finn and plan for your new restaurant. But don’t worry, okay? I’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I promised, knowing it was a lie.
“Okay,” he said, dropping another quick kiss on my mouth. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Come on,” I said to Sterling. “I’m going to go see if I can get Finn to give me some breakfast.”
“Good luck with that,” Sterling said. “You know he doesn’t like to feed us once the dining room is closed.”
“True, but I got arrested yesterday, so maybe he’ll be feeling some pity.” I headed for the stairs to the lower level, trying to turn off all my worries and think about the plans Finn and I were making for adding a restaurant to the brewery. That was it—focus on the future, don’t worry about the present. West had asked me to trust him, and I did.
“I have an idea,” Sterling said. “Go see Finn. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I stopped at the head of the stairs. “What kind of idea?”
Sterling smirked at me. “A secret idea. If it doesn’t pan out, it’s better if you don’t know.”
“You can’t just leave me with that. It’s bad enough I have to sit here while West goes out and finds the bad guy,” I protested.
“I’ll be down in a few minutes,” she promised, “and then I’ll tell you.”
“All right,” I said, knowing I’d have to be satisfied with that. Ever since Sterling had started working with Sinclair Security, she’d gotten mysterious at times, and I’d already learned there was nothing I could do to get her to talk if she didn’t want to.
Hoping Finn had enough pity in him to make me a cappuccino, I jogged down the stairs, crossing my fingers that it wouldn’t take West long to find what he needed to clear my name. Heartstone Manor was almost a castle, but if I couldn’t leave, it wouldn’t take long before it would feel like the jail I’d just escaped.
Chapter Twenty-Six
WEST
Griffen watched his sisters stride across the entry hall to the stairs, then turned back to me. “Got a minute?”
I followed him to his office, taking a seat in one of the armchairs opposite his desk.
“You need a coffee?” Griffen asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll get one later.”
“What’s the plan?” Griffen asked.
I propped my ankle on my knee. “The plan is I find out who set that fucking fire.”
Griffen nodded. “If you need any help—”
I shook my head. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that. I want to do this thing by the book. I don’t want there to be any question that Avery is innocent.”
“And you’re sure—” Griffen began.
I squinted and shook my head. “There’s no way she did it. I can’t believe you’d even ask,” I said.
Griffen shrugged a shoulder. “Avery’s got a pretty good moral compass,” he said. “Always has. And I absolutely can’t see her burning down a fellow brewer’s place, but...” Griffen shrugged again, lifting his chin. “If you’d told me the brewmaster’s house had burned to the ground—”
I barked out a laugh. “I might have been a little less sure if that were the case,” I agreed. “Though Avery has too much class to play games like that with her ex.”
“Good point,” Griffen agreed. “You’ll keep me posted?”
“Of course. I’m not going to let her get railroaded like Ford. It’s not happening,” I said, knowing Griffen would understand why I’d let Ford go to prison but would do anything to keep Avery from the same fate.
I didn’t have to tell my best friend I was in love with his sister. The fact that I’d gotten her out of jail, when by all rights she should still be sitting there, told him everything he needed to know. It also saved us an awkward, mushy conversation neither of us wanted to have. One of the many benefits of a long friendship.
Griffen sat back in his chair, propping his ankle on his knee in a mirror of my position. His eyes level on mine, he asked, “You coming to Thanksgiving?”
“Yep,” I said. “Avery invited me and my parents. Already asked my dad—he says they’re in.”
“Good deal,” Griffen said, nodding.
And now Griffen knew I wasn’t just in love with his sister, but that this was serious—again saving us a conversation we didn’t really want to have. I’d grown up running in and out of this house, never thinking I’d feel like a part of the family. But now, sitting in my best friend’s office in perfect accord over my relationship with his sister, one I hadn’t seen coming and would fight to the death to keep, a warm glow spread in my chest that offset my worry over Avery.
I had no doubt I was going to find who set that fire. There was no room for failure, and I wasn’t alone. Avery would be better off in the long run if I could do this by the book, but if I couldn’t, Griffen had access to all sorts of ways to solve this problem that I’d normally never touch. But this was Avery. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe.