Page 44 of Romance Is Dead

Sinking into the seat next to me, Teddy reached out an arm and rested it on the back of my chair. I froze. Had that been intentional? He shifted, moving his arm closer until it was tucked around my shoulders.

Yep. Definitely intentional.

“We’re barely a week into filming.” Mara shuddered. “A boat’s been tampered with, the house was vandalized, and poor Trevor. . .”

Chloe’s eyebrows jumped. “You think one person was responsible for all of that?”

Mara shrugged. “Maybe.”

As everyone chatted, the only one silent was Brent, across the table from us.

Keeping my eye on him, I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned toward Teddy. “I have an idea.”

“Oh?”

I tipped my head toward Brent, who was already almost finished with his first drink. “We need to find out when he was in the attic and if he knows anything about Trevor. This could be a good opportunity.”

Teddy nodded, one thumb rubbing my shoulder absentmindedly. “Why don’t we make this interesting?”

I raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“If I can get information out of Brent, you owe me a back rub. That shoot yesterday was very physically taxing.”

“Waiting in the water was physically taxing?”

“Yes.”

“How is that my fault?”

“It’s not.” Teddy shrugged. “Those are just the rules.”

“Fine. And if I get the information?”

“I’ll give you a back rub, obviously.”

My heart thrummed. There was nothing I loved more than winning, especially if someone was trying to prove I couldn’t. That was why my heart rate had spiked—the thrill of the competition, not because I was imagining what, exactly, it would feel like to have Teddy’s hands rubbing my body.

“Deal. Better limber up those hands.” I eyed Brent as he hopped to his feet, wavering for a second before heading back to the bar.

“I don’t think so, Jigsaw. You’ll be massaging this trapezius before you know it.”

I considered, for a moment, that maybe losing wouldn’t be so bad after all. But I quickly brushed the thought away.

“We’ll see about that.” Despite his bravado, Teddy hadn’t noticed that Brent had left. His eyes hadn’t left my face, and I intended to use that to my full advantage. Jumping up, I made a beeline for where Brent was waiting at the bar.

“Cheater!” Teddy called after me.

Muffling a grin, I rested my elbows on the bar top and focused my attention on Brent.

“Hey.” I nudged his shoulder with mine. “Better day today?”

Brent huffed out a laugh. “No. Definitely not.”

“Really? Natasha seemed in a better mood. I thought things were running a little smoother.”

“Yeah, well.” Brent’s face darkened. “It was a different story with me.”

Interesting. Natasha could be abrasive, but she was also quick to forgive. Did Natasha know something I didn’t?

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