Page 44 of The Broken Heart Playlist
I take a second to absorb this. “Is there something special about the house?”
“It’s a nice house,” Janine replies with a shrug. “But nothing special.”
Unease moves through me. It doesn’t make sense. Gideon could have bought anywhere. There are plenty of upscale houses for sale in Brown Oaks. Why did he want the one house that wasn’t for sale? Why was he prepared to offer the Martinez family way above market value for their house?
I can think of only one reason. But it seems bizarre to even think it, never mind admit it out loud.
The only reason that particular house is significant is because it’s directly opposite mine.
My conversation with Janine has left me so unnerved I decide to impulsively drop by Aaron and Tess’s house on the way to my shoot. On Mondays, they both work from home.
I sip lemon water in the kitchen while Aaron and Tess make coffee. I can’t have any more caffeine. My heart is already racing.
“I did some digging on Gideon,” Aaron tells me.
“I asked him to,” Tess interjects.
Aaron frowns. “I would have done it anyway.”
“Yeah, but don’t be mad at him,” Tess says to me.
“I don’t think Aaron needs you to protect him,” I say dryly.
“I don’t know.” Doubt laces Tess’s voice. “You can be pretty scary when you want to be.”
I turn my attention to Aaron. “Are you seriously going to do a background check on every guy who comes into my life?”
“Yes,” he says simply. “You know I’ll always watch out for you and Lisset.”
It feels a little invasive, but Lisset comes first. Always. Especially when I know I’m not the best judge of character. Look at what happened with Oliver. I can’t always trust my judgment, which is why I tend to regard everyone with a healthy dose of suspicion.
I feel a tug of affection toward my brother-in-law. Most people find him intimidating, but a tender and protective heart beats under the formal shirts Tess likes to tease him about wearing.
“What did you find out about Gideon?” I ask him.
“He’s clean,” he answers.
Relief spreads through me. I didn’t realize how much I wanted there to be no red flags associated with the man.
“That’s good news,” Tess responds in delight.
“Yeah,” Aaron states, but he doesn’t look happy.
“What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer right away. “He seems a little too clean.”
Tess nudges his shoulder. “You’re saying he’s a little too perfect? Why is that a problem?”
“Something feels off.”
“But you ran a search on him?” I ask.
“I did.”
“And you found nothing?”
“Nothing,” he confirms.
