Page 49 of Romance Is Dead

Teddy held up his hand. “I’m just saying, are you sure your past isn’t influencing your theory here? Maybe you’re still a little salty he broke up with you?”

I gaped at him. “Absolutely not. I was the one who broke things off with him.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so. In fact, I’m going to update the suspects list.” I retrieved it from where I’d stashed it on top of the microwave. Next to Brent’s name, I jotted “has motive, Trevor got him fired.” Then, I took the liberty of crossing out Mara’s name at the bottom.

“Hey! I saw that.” Teddy came up behind me, looping one arm around my waist as he grappled for the list with the other. Succeeding in snatching the paper out of my hand, he dashed back to the couch as he tried to scribble out his own name.

“I don’t think so.” I dove for the list, straddling Teddy’s lap as I yanked it out of his hand before he could cross himself out. “You still haven’t given an alibi for before you came to my trailer.”

“You know. . .” Teddy’s hands settled on my hips. “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

“Sounds like something someone guilty would say.”

Out of breath, we stared at each other, our faces inches apart. Teddy ran his thumb under the hem of my shirt, rubbing the skin above my hip bone. It was a small gesture, intimate.Toointimate. Rattled, I hopped off his lap and reached for the list, now lying crumpled and half scribbled over on the floor.

“I still think we should try talking to Brent again. See if he offers up any more information.” I moved to the opposite end of the sofa, putting as much space between us as possible. “Maybe you can take the lead on that, though. He gives me the creeps.”

Looking momentarily thrown by my swift departure, Teddy recovered quickly. He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up in a smirk. “Oh, really? You guys looked awfully cozy earlier tonight.”

My cheeks burned. “I was trying to get information out of him.”

“Sure you were. Listen, I make bad decisions when I’m horny, too.” Teddy was smiling gleefully now, his hands folded behind his head as he leaned back against the couch. Any illusions I’d had of him being jealous quickly fled my mind—he was having way too much fun teasing me.

“I’m not horny! Now or then or ever.”

“Ever? Jigsaw, please. There’s nothing wrong with being horny. I get horny all the time.”

Obscene images flickered in my mind: Teddy, sweat beading at his brow. Teddy, breathing hard as he moved above me. Teddy, gripping his—

“Well, I’m not. And we’re not here to talk about horniness, anyway—mine, yours, or anyone else’s.” I stood and grabbed a copy of the script that happened to be nearby, desperate to change the subject. “We should start rehearsing.”

Teddy cocked an eyebrow. “Rehearse? Now? It’s awfully late.”

I glanced at the clock. He was right—it was after midnight. “Yes, well. We still need to prepare.”

“Fine.” He stood and stretched his arms over his head, his white tee riding up a few inches to reveal his abs. “If you insist.”

We both flipped to the correct page of the script with the scene between Teddy’s and Chloe’s characters. In it, he confronts her after Brent’s unfortunate demise via boat propeller. He suspects she knows something about how to banish the witch, and he tries to seduce her to get the information.

Once we were ready, I cleared my throat in my best Natasha impression. “Action!”

Immediately slipping into character, Teddy narrowed his eyes. “I thought I’d find you here.” He took a step toward me. “Isn’t it dangerous for you to be in here all alone?”

“What’s it to you? Shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend?”

“My girlfriend?”

“Yes!” I said indignantly. “I saw you two on the boat! Before the awful thing that happened. I saw what you two were doing.”

“And? What did you think?” Teddy took another step closer.

“Nothing. I didn’t think anything about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I made my voice wobble—this was where Chloe’s character started to lose her resolve.

---