Page 54 of Act Like You Don't Care
Miles’s eyes saw too much, I thought. "Is that what you did with your first big check? Bought her a condo?" He grinned and picked up his coffee, his eyes laughing at me over the brim.
I waved my fork at him, grateful for the redirection. That had been getting a bit dark. "Don't be silly. I bought me a condo, and it took my first two big checks. Then I got a mortgage for hers." I paused for a moment, remembering the state of my condo, then pushed resolutely on. "I'm planning to have that paid off in ten years. Or less, if I can manage it." Thinking about that brought my appetite back and I dug into my eggs. "What’s the plan for today?"
"There’s still a few things to sort out, but we can leave first thing in the morning if you want."
Was that disappointment? Or just wishful thinking on my part?
When had I become so needy?
I had to get back to work. Not having something to do let my mind make up all sorts of things.Remember, I told myself,you’re acting.And so is he. "I miss my phone," I said, grasping at straws. "I haven't been this disconnected in years."
“The police have it right now. I’m sure Mom’s looking into getting it back for you.”
I nodded, not really caring. “Sure.” I poked at the eggs again, then sighed and put my fork down. “I’m going to go pack.”
Miles
Tam was quiet on the drive back to L.A. Not surprising, after everything. He did ask about picking up the cat and whether he needed to book a hotel while the service we’d hired finished cleaning up the condo. I told him we were looking after it and he seemed content with that.
Since he seemed happy enough entertaining himself inside his own head, I used the time to try to straighten out the snarl of guilt and want and worry and sadness that had been taking up more and more space in mine. Since the first night we’d actually slept together.
I was a fool, but sometimes I wondered if he didn’t feel a little bit of something for me. It could happen. Only I was sure he’d had feelings for his other boyfriends too, at least for a little while. Until he didn’t. And his love-life was littered with the figurative corpses of alphas who’d thought they’d be the ones to tame the wild omega.
Idiots. For a moment, I teased myself with the notion that I would be the different one, the one alpha that saw the real Tam and who could make a relationship work. Then I thought about it again and realized that I had no idea what a real relationship with him would be like. Workaholic, perfectionist, control freak—none of those were strong indicators of a lasting relationship.
It was probably better to end it now, while we were still friends of some sort.
My phone rang. Mom. I picked it up through the SUV’s Bluetooth. “Everything good?” I asked.
“I thought Tam might like to know that I have his cat and we’re taking her over to the condo now. She’ll be all settled in before he is.”
Tam sat up and looked toward the screen in the car’s dash. “Thank you,” he said. “I bet she’ll be glad to get back to her cat tree.”
“We had the place thoroughly aired out and had it tested,” Mom added. “It’s a pretty volatile anesthetic, there’s no trace of it left that we can find.”
“Thank you,” Tam said again, then chewed his lip. “The guy. The Vinist? What are they going to do with him?”
“You don’t need to worry about him at all.” Mom’s voice was businesslike but still warm, like she knew Tam needed it. “He’s going to be held at the Metro facility until his arraignment. I suspect his bail will be high. You should get a lawyer. They can make sure you get the notification if he’s bailed out.”
I glanced across the car at him, fascinated by the shifting expressions on his face. He didn’t seem afraid to me, not in the way my mother was trying to head off. I couldn’t name it exactly, but my gut sent up an alarm, an internal klaxon blare warning me to head Tam off before he could get started. “Tam, it’s over. I’ll take you home, we’ll get some food and chill with Badness. Catch up with the studio and see when they want you back. I can’t even imagine the hours they’re going to want you to work to get caught up after this. Did you want to call Elijah now?”
He shook his head, sharp and determined. “No. I want to talk to him.”
I pretended not to understand who he was talking about, though my stomach was sinking even as I babbled, “Who? Elijah? Or Pete?”
He leaned toward me, the energy boiling off him so hard I could almost feel it against my skin. “The Vinist. I want to see him.”
“Tam—” I began, but he cut me off with a sharp slashing motion of his hand.
“Don’t Tam me,” he grated. “This wasmylife he was after.Methat he was fixated on. I need to see him.”
“Mom,” I said quickly, “I’ll call you back when we’re closer, okay?”
“Of course,” she said smoothly, picking up my lead. “I’ll let you know if anything changes on our end.”
I hung up and took a firm grip on the steering wheel. “You can’t go see him. He’s in prison, he’s crazy, it’s not going to do anyone any good.”
“It’ll do me some good,” he insisted, still burning with that almost suffocating energy. No wonder he could play an alpha so well, with all that pent up inside him.
