Yvette rolled her eyes. “He’s ripped.”
She said, “Yes!” like a victory yell.
Rushing on, Yvette said, “But we aren’t... We haven’t...”
“Well, damn. Why not?”
“Mostly because you interrupted,” Cannon said. “But I’ll forgive you just this once.”
Closing her eyes, Yvette said, “You’re on speakerphone, Vanity.”
Silence. Then in a scandalized whisper, “He was listening the whole time?”
“Yup.”
“Well.” Shaking off the awkwardness, Vanity said, “C’est la vie. I refuse to blush. In fact, jump his bones, I say. He sounds worth it.”
“Vanity.”
“That’s her warning tone, Cannon, just so you know.”
Cannon liked Vanity more by the moment. “Thanks.”
“And now here’s mine—be good to her.”
“We already worked that out, didn’t we?”
“Maybe. Yvette wouldn’t let you near her if you weren’t one of the good guys. Which is why old Heath got booted. But I meant sexually. She deserves—”
“Vanity!”
Fighting off a laugh, Cannon said, “Agreed.”
“I might visit.”
“You’d be more than welcome to stay with us.”
“Us?” More silence, and then, “Yvette, you hussy. You moved in with him? Why haven’t you called to tell me that?”
“We’re sharing her grandfather’s house,” Cannon explained.
“Tell me there’s only one bed, one shower—”
“I’m going to kill you when next I see you.” Yvette snatched up the phone to take it off speaker.
Vanity said quickly, “Wait! I want Cannon to hear this.”
“If it’s advice—”
Vanity snorted. “If he needs it, then you should move on.”
Though recent actions couldn’t prove it, Cannon said, “I don’t.”
“Didn’t think so. But anyhoo, I wanted to tell you about Heath.”
Cannon sat a little straighter, one arm going around Yvette. He had a very bad feeling. “What about him?”
“He hopped a plane last night and, sadly, he’s headed your way.”
“No,” Yvette said. “That’s...nuts!”
“Which describes Heath perfectly. He posted on Facebook that he was going, then did a status update at the airport. And get this, he said he’s going after what’s his. In case that’s not clear enough, he means you, toots.”
“He means me,” Yvette repeated, looking dumbfounded.
“Figuring time difference and flight times, I’m thinking he’s probably already there. So you might want to keep an eye out. You remember what an ass he was before you left—”
“Thanks for telling me,” Yvette interrupted as she scrambled off Cannon’s lap.
Which made Cannon wonder just what Heath had done, and why Yvette didn’t want him to know.
One hand in her hair, Yvette said, “I blocked him from my Facebook and from my phone, so I had no idea.”
“He’s seriously unhinged. I’ll keep watch and if I see anything else I’ll text you.”
“Do me a favor,” Cannon said. “If you see anything over-the-top, copy it and send it to me. I’ll give you my contact info.”
“Will you kick his ass?”
He had no idea what the right answer might be, so he said, “I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
Yvette propped her hands on her hips. “Stop it, both of you. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”
The silence following that statement only infuriated her more. She gave a low sound of frustration. “Vanity, thank you. Seriously. You know I love you.”
Vanity made kissing sounds into the phone.
“But it might be best if we just ignore Heath—”
“Oh, hell, no. Tried that last time and look where it got us.”
She scowled, probably because she realized Cannon would insist on knowing now.
Thanks to Vanity, he didn’t even have to ask.
“He broke in,” Vanity stated. “He rifled through your stuff. He’s an unbalanced perv, Yvette, and you shouldn’t forget it.”
* * *
THEY DIDN’T GET to run, not after Vanity blabbed about Heath. But Cannon got in his exercise by following her around the house and grilling her in great detail.
He paced around her while she drank her coffee and ate a muffin, leaned against the sink as she brushed her teeth, didn’t budge when she got out clean clothes, but at the shower, he relented and gave her some privacy.
When she emerged, dressed and slightly refreshed, Cannon was on a laptop checking out everything he could find about Heath. “I can’t see much since we aren’t Facebook friends,” he said, “but I connected with Vanity.”
Which meant he could now see her photos, and he’d know just how gorgeous she was. “And?”
“And what?” He closed the laptop and stood, his gaze going over her in that heated way.
“Did you look at her photos?”
“I saw a few of you with her.” Moving closer, he said, “Including one with you in a bikini.”
That was what he’d noticed? Next to Vanity, she all but faded away, or so she thought. “Vanity was in a bikini, too.”