Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Oh, hold on… Tristan says he might have found something.”
“What? What is it?”
“He says he needs a little more time but that he might have a video from the nanny cam.”
My heart leapt to my throat. “Eric, if he gets video from that night—it might be all we need. We could end up knowing what happened to my mom before the night’s over.”
He nodded, sitting down on the bed next to me. He put a hand on my leg. “Whatever happens, just know that I’m here for you, okay? I’ve got your back.”
“Thank you, Eric. None of this would be happening if you weren’t here. I owe a lot to you.” I put my head on his shoulder, that overwhelming sense of being home flooding through me. Like stepping back into your grandma’s house after a few months of being away and smelling the same sweet aromas from the fresh bread she used to love to bake.
“You don’t owe me anything. You’ll never owe me anything. Whatever I do for you has no cost. Absolutely zero.”
“Still,” I said. “You took a risk in coming along for my crazy plan.”
“And it looks like the risk paid off big-time already.” Eric leaned in for a kiss. Soft and sweet. It made my pulse quicken as heat rose up to my cheeks, spreading out from my chest.
“It has paid off,” I said, looking into his eyes and realizing there was no one else I’d want to be with. Ever. I found bliss inside those soft brown eyes, and I never wanted to be without them again.
“I love you, Eric.” The words fell from my lips, colliding with him, his eyes opening wide for a moment before he smiled.
“I love you, too, Colt. You’re my other half. Always have been, always will be.” He kissed me again, lips still curved into a smile against mine. I felt like we’d been launched into the stratosphere. I couldn’t get higher if I tried. Hell, smoking an entire blunt wouldn’t get me as high as I felt in that moment. I’d been wanting to hear those words from Eric for years now, ever since I’d fallen asleep in his arms, back when I’d just turned twenty, new to feeling those intense emotions and scared to admit to them. I’d kept it to myself back then, realizing it was all too soon, but I knew it even back then: I was in love with Eric Ruiz, and I could say it out loud now.
We managed to break through the spell and finished getting ready without any further distractions. I wasn’t all that excited about the night, especially not when all I wanted to do was sit Archie and Wendy down for an hours-long interrogation session. Something was up with them, and I wanted to figure out what.
“Just absorb every little detail,” Eric told me as he walked through the wide hallway toward the dining room. “Even the small things could end up being way more important than you think.”
“I thought I gave this investigative life up when I dropped out of the academy.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I need a Watson by my side.”
I chuckled at that, squeezing his hand in mine. “Do you think they actually fucked?”
“Oh, for sure. Or at least touched tips.”
That got a belly laugh out of me.
“The tips of their magnifying glasses?” I asked.
“No, the tips of their co—hi, Jen!” We had just turned a corner and nearly walked right into my sister. She was wearing a white dress that dripped in jewels down to her ankles, clinking and sparkling as she took a couple of steps back, her red-bottomed heels catching my eye.
“Well, don’t you look like an absolute icon,” I said, snapping my fingers in the air as she gave a twirl. Her hair fell down past her shoulders in sleek brown waves, shifting with the light as she turned back to us.
“Thank you, thank you. Both of you cleaned up really well, too. Excited for tonight’s murder-mystery dinner?”
We both nodded in unison. Macy and Luna came down the stairs at that moment, Macy in a sharp evergreen blazer and pants and Luna in a more modest green dress with a white shawl over her shoulders. “I heard there’s a mystery to solve?” Macy said, giving Jen a side hug.
Good thing we’ve got a detective here tonight, huh?
I followed my family through the living room, chatting with Luna and Eric about Luna’s newest addition to the family: a tiny calico kitten named Marbles. Luna managed to show us about four hundred and fifty photos of Marbles before we made it to the dining room, where the rest of the family was already gathered. My dad sat at the head of the table, with Jax sitting at the furthest spot from him. Kendall scrolled through her phone as if she was already bored with tonight’s event.