“I’m not good enough for Reese.”
“You had me on the defensive more than a few times today. Trust me, you’re ready.”
“I’ll lose.”
“Probably,” Daly admitted. “But it’ll be the best fight of his life to this point because you’re better than you think you are.” He twisted sweat from the bottom of his shirt. “I know I’m asking you to take a risk here, but it would help us out. You too. Jensen’s the kind of guy who never forgets a favor. And you’d be helping us get some good publicity for my gym.”
Colin wiped his face again before deciding, Why the hell not?
“Okay,” he said. When he left the gym, his mind was on Johnny Reese. Yet he found himself strangely unexcited, and by the time he’d driven halfway home, he wasn’t thinking about the upcoming fight at all. The only things on his mind were the man who had sent the roses and how someone other than Ken could have known Maria had thrown them away.
“That’s quite the day,” Evan commented. They were on the porch, Colin drinking water and Evan nursing a beer. “Reese, huh? He’s pretty good.”
“Thanks for avoiding the obvious.”
“Oh, you mean about Maria and her stalker? That’s what you want to talk about?” Evan paused before going on. “All right. Have you considered the idea that Ken might have hired the guy to buy and deliver the roses?”
“Then why get them from someplace an hour away?”
“Maybe the guy he hired is from there.”
Colin took a long drink from his glass of water. “Maybe. But I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t think Ken has anything to do with this.”
Evan picked at the label on his bottle. “If it’s any consolation, I think you’re right. It isn’t her boss. But on the plus side, all your private-investigator, stake-out-the-roof, and photography activities paid off in the end. Which means you’re not a total idiot. Even if you’re no closer to learning who it actually is.”
“I learned something else, too.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ll bet whoever it was watched Maria from that same spot on the roof where I took the picture.”
“Why on earth would you think that?”
“Because the gravel had been smoothed out where I was, and there were gum wrappers littered around that hadn’t blown away. Meaning that someone had been there recently. And from that vantage point, I could see directly into Maria’s office. Same thing with her car and the Dumpster. Whoever it was could have spied on her for hours. I didn’t put the pieces together until right before I talked to you.”
For the first time, Evan was quiet. “Huh,” he finally said.
“That’s it?”
“Maybe you’re right or maybe you’re wrong. I don’t have the answer for you.”
“And now, I’ve got this fight next weekend.”
“So?”
“I’m having second thoughts.”
“Why?”
“Because of everything that’s been going on with Maria.”
“You train to fight. You like to fight. You’ve been offered a fight. What does any of that have to do with Maria?”
Colin opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
“You know what? You give me crap all the time about how Lily has me wrapped around her little finger, but it’s pretty clear that I have my relationship a lot more figured out than you do. Because right now, you’re trying to live your life based on what might happen or whether you can solve her problem, even when she’s told you she doesn’t want you to. Do you know how messed up that is? You told me she wanted to watch you fight, right? Ask her to come, take her out for dinner afterwards, and call it a date. Boom. Problem solved.”
Colin offered a partial smile. “I think you want me to fight because you’re pretty sure I’m going to lose.”
“And? Fine, I’ll admit it – you’re such an endless pain in the ass that it might be fun watching someone smack you around.” When Colin laughed, Evan went on. “Good. So that’s settled. On another note, are you excited about tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“You and Maria? With Lily and me? We had plans, remember? I made reservations at Caprice Bistro at seven thirty, and afterwards, we’re hitting a club that’s playing eighties music.”
“Eighties music?”
“Is there an echo in here? Yes, eighties music. Lily’s a closet Madonna fan. A leftover from her supposedly rebellious teenage years, she says. So we’re doing this? As long as Maria’s still game, I mean.”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Maybe because you ruined her mood with what you learned?”
“I haven’t told her yet.”
“Mr. Honesty? I’m shocked.”
“I was planning on telling her tonight.”
“If you do that, make sure you don’t make too big a deal about it. I don’t need you putting a damper on the evening. For all you know, it was a one-time thing and it’s over.”
“Or maybe,” Colin said, “it isn’t.”
CHAPTER 16
Maria
Colin had been quiet since he’d picked her up, which made Maria nervous, given what he’d been up to for most of the day. Though he volunteered nothing, she knew he was thinking about the flowers. As she watched him respond to her small talk with a distracted air, she felt a pit growing in her stomach. By the time they pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, she couldn’t contain herself any longer.