Page 104 of Rival for Rent

“Amir would probably enjoy the show,” he said with a snicker. “Might even ask to join in. But I suppose I can go put on another shirt. As long as you promise to take it off me later.”

“Try and stop me.” I grinned and moved to the sink to wash my hands. “Now go change before everyone gets here. I’ll keep an eye on the food.”

It turned into a really lovely evening. Kai came back down in a soft blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up and just enough of the buttons undone to show his collarbone. I had to remindmyself I’d get him my time alone with him later. There was no need to rush.

Not that I wanted the night to end early. Dana was supposed to bring a friend with her, though it turned out he was late. She showed up with a bottle of wine instead. Amir brought two more. Carolyn brought a bottle of apricot rakija from Croatia, and Amber from Wardrobes for the Win brought dog treats and warm hugs. We all sat out in the backyard under string lights while Bella rolled around in the grass, clearly living her best life.

We’d finished dessert—chocolate mousse that I’d made earlier, since Kai refused to make it himself for fear of giving everyone salmonella—when Amir raised his glass, now full of rakija, and said, “I’d like to propose a toast.”

“To yourself?” Kai said, eyebrow arched.

“Well, obviously. That hardly needs to be said. I know you’re all thanking me for my existence every day of your lives. But just this once, we can focus on someone else.”

“How very humble of you,” I said.

Amir grinned. “I have my moments. Anyway, as I was saying, I’d like to propose a toast—this one to both Kai and Mason. To Mason, for breaking Kai out of his shell, and getting him out of his rut—”

“And saving my life,” Kai added.

“—And to Kai, for waking Mason up to the pleasures of a big, hard co—”

“Ahem,” Dana interrupted, giving a very pointed glance at Carolyn and Amber, both of whom were still technically Kai’s work colleagues.

“—Coffee in the morning,” Amir finished smoothly. “A hot, throbbing, creamy cup of coffee. And for getting his head out of his ass, besides.”

“Thanks…I think?” I said.

“For the record,” he added, “if you ever decide to expand your horizons and take your coffee black sometimes, well… You know who to call.”

Kai caught my eye and started laughing.

“Did I say something funny?” Amir asked.

“Not at all,” I said, biting back a grin. “Kai’s just remembering something we talked about earlier. But I’ll, uh, take your offer under advisement.”

“Excellent. Now, if someone would like to do the honors of speaking aloud the words of praise for me that I assume are engraved upon all your hearts, I’d be pleased to listen.”

“Forget that,” Dana said. “I want to hear the update on the Myers situation. Where do things stand now?”

“Not much new for now,” I said. “He’s been formally charged for harassment, stalking, assault, and attempted murder.”

“Not one to do things by halves,” Dana murmured

“He tried to get a plea bargain by giving up the people who helped him attack me. But the DA isn’t having it. The trial’s scheduled for another month,” I continued. “Kai and I will both have to testify, but the lawyer you sent us says we’ve got a strong case. Especially with that video of Myers that Amir plastered all over the internet.”

“You’re welcome for that, by the way,” Amir said with a broad grin.

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” Kai put in. “The lawyer also said it’s going to be hard to find jurors who haven’t seen the video already and are actually unbiased.”

“I’m still glad you did it,” I said when Amir’s grin started to dim. “The department had to fire him because of that. Whether we win the case or not, at least he won’t be able to get another police job anywhere.”

“Maybe it’s selfish, but I’m glad too,” Kai said. “Once people found out that Myers was the one trying to shut the center down—and saw what he did to me—suddenly everyone was a lot more forgiving aboutmylittle video.”

“So everything’s back on with the Butterfly Center?” Amir asked.

“Absolutely,” Amber said. “Not that they should have cut ties to begin with. I think they learned their lesson about jumping to conclusions.”

“And I learned a lesson about putting things on the internet,” Kai added with a sheepish laugh. “First thing I did when they asked me back was insist we start offering a media literacy class. Maybe it’ll save someone else from making the same mistakes I did.”

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