Page 18 of Survive the Night
“Maybe if you’d quit getting shot and breaking bones, then I could ‘obsess’ less,” Otto suggested. Sometimes he felt like the ground crew for two reckless acrobats, running around trying to catch them before they hit the ground.
Jules hurried over to their table and poured him some coffee. “How are you, Otto?”
He couldn’t honestly say “good,” since he was living in a hot swamp of still-fresh humiliation after his last encounter with Sarah, plus he’d had to wake up every three hours to bottle-feed puppies, but any response other than “fine” would awaken Jules’s curiosity, and he didn’t want to deal with the interrogation that would follow. Instead, he raised a shoulder and grunted.
“Uh-oh,” Jules said, meeting Theo’s gaze. The two exchanged a look that Otto knew boded poorly for him. “There’s a story here. Hang on. Let me get the Lynches their breakfast platters, and then I’ll be back to hear the whole thing.”
“There is no ‘whole thing,’” Otto protested, but Jules was already gone. From Hugh’s laughter, his huffy mood had disappeared as well.
Theo leaned toward them. “Before she gets back, what did you learn?”
“About what?” Otto’s brain felt foggy from lack of sleep.
“The newest houseguest,” Hugh prodded. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet, and Grace still won’t let me near her. You’re the only one with access. Did you manage to get a look at her driver’s license?”
It seemed like he couldn’t escape from reminders of Sarah. A fresh wave of humiliation flooded him. “No.” Otto didn’t just mean he didn’t see her license; he meant that there’d be no discussion about Sarah…not until he could forget what he’d said, which probably meant they could never talk about her. Otto would be okay with that.
“You didn’t?” Hugh sat back, wincing slightly and reaching his good arm to reposition his leg. “I knew I should’ve followed you up there, but Jules threatened my life if I did. What’s her last name?”
Pressing his lips together, Otto gave a single, sharp shake of his head.
“Are you blushing?” Hugh asked. “Holy monkey balls, you are! Why are you blushing, Ninja Paul Bunyan?”
“I’m not.” Shit.
“You are.” Theo eyed him from across the table. “Why?”
“What did you do?” Hugh gave him a feigned look of horror, and Otto resisted the urge to punch him.
“What could we have done?” he scoffed instead, staring down at his untouched coffee. “It was two minutes. Grace was there.”
Theo was still studying him. “You like her?”
Opening his mouth to deny it, to say he felt nothing, Otto found he couldn’t get the words out. Instead, he gave the same half-assed shrug he’d offered earlier.
“Yeah?” Hugh sounded fascinated, and Otto had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn’t that uncommon. “You have a thing for her? The last time you had a thing for someone, it was that dispatcher who moved to Cleveland right after you got up the nerve to ask her out. What was that—two years ago?”
“Three,” Theo corrected, his gaze not leaving Otto’s face. “Consider doing a background check before you get in too deep.” Otto gazed at him evenly, and Theo gave a half smile and a shrug. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
“If you like her,” Hugh said, “you’re not the right one to be investigating her. Things get fuzzy when there are emotions involved. I should know. Want me to dig around for you?”
“There will be no digging,” Jules stated as she pulled a chair from a nearby table and plopped down next to Theo. “Hey, sweetness. I’m on break so you can kiss me now.”
Theo gave her a smile and obliged. Otto focused on his coffee until they came up for air.
“Okay.” Jules sounded a little breathless. “Now what’s this about digging?”
“We were talking about gardening,” Hugh lied easily, and Otto held back a snort.
“Uh-huh.” Jules sounded as skeptical as she should be. “Gardening. In November.”
Hugh gave her a sweet smile. “Never too early to start planning.”
“Right.” After giving Hugh a suspicious look, she turned to Theo. “What were you really talking about?”
“Otto likes Sarah.”
Mouth open, Otto stared at Theo. He’d expected Hugh to spill the beans, but Theo? “What the hell?”
