Smith.
Walker made a disgusted noise. “You can’t blackmail me into letting you off the hook, Smith. I told your mother that I would call if I had any news. If you’re looking for something about Keira to go running back to your mommy with—”
“I’m just saying that if you tell mom about Susan, I’m not going to go quietly. I want to have a little fun. I want to see what things are like here on the wild side.”
“This is not the wild side. It’s not a game, Smith. What’s going on with Keira is none of your business. Please, go home and leave it alone.”
“From what I can see, what’s going on with Keira is that you’re too busy trying to get in her pants to worry about anything else.”
Oh. My. God. I cannot believe he just said that.
“If you ever say something like that again, they’ll be the last words you speak with your teeth in their current arrangement.” Walker’s anger leaked through the open door and the unexpected emotion in his voice made Keira suddenly aware that she was eavesdropping. She took a step back toward the plate-glass door. She should leave.
She really should.
Keira accidentally knocked into the door, sending the bells clanging.
“Someone’s here,” Walker said. “Listen, we’ll talk more later. In the meantime, behave.”
“Sure. I have to go pick Susan up for dinner anyway. I’m sure our conversation will be much more pleasant than this one.” The derision in Smith’s voice made Keira wince.
“Don’t do that. I mean it.”
Walker strolled out of the back room, his face pleasant, his eyebrows raised in a can-I-help-you look, which disappeared as soon as he saw Keira. His eyes flashed with pleasure but then he glanced back at the open door and she saw his jaw tighten.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, light as spun sugar and nearly as sweet.
Keira shrugged. “My dad was trying to get rid of me, so he gave me his car keys and money for music. I dropped off Susan’s homework first.” Without meaning to, she glanced at the back room, burning with curiosity. “But—if it’s weird, if I’m interrupting . . . ” She didn’t want to admit she’d been listening in, but she didn’t want to lie, either.
“Not at all. Smith stopped by to brag about Susan. It sounds like they had quite the day together.” Walker rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter though. He was just leaving. And anyway, I’d ditch him for you any time. You’re significantly more beautiful than he is.”
Keira ducked her head as the compliment caught her off-guard.
She tried to piece together the conversation she’d overheard and also peek into the back room for a glimpse of Smith. “It sounded like you guys were talking about me.”
A little crease of confusion appeared between Walker’s eyebrows. “What? I . . . oh. Yes and no. He’s looking for ways to get me in trouble with my aunt. Or rather, ways to keep himself out of trouble—if she’s busy being mad at me, it’s a lot easier for him to get away with stuff.”
“So, why did he sound so pissed off back there?” Keira asked.
Walker dropped his hands from behind his head and tore his gaze away from the ceiling. “He told my aunt that I’m dating you. She found out that he’d come to see me, and she was pissed, so he pretended he’d only come to check up on me out of concern. Aunt Holly’s not happy.” He rubbed his neck. “To put it mildly.”
“But they don’t even know me,” she protested. She’d only been out with Walker a couple of times—there was no reason she should care what his family thought about her. Still, it stung.
“That’s exactly what I said, but it’s not really about you. It’s about me. Aunt Holly doesn’t trust my judgment. She assumes that I’m incapable of making a decent decision. So if I choose you, obviously, it must mean something horrible.” Walker got up and headed for the bins of music, riffling through them restlessly. “She’ll come around.” He shot her a sideways glance. “And if she doesn’t, I’ll trade them both in for puppies.”
Keira’s forehead scrunched up. “Puppies?”
Walker nodded seriously. “Yep. Think about it—they’re cute, cheap to feed, and they keep their opinions to themselves. It would be a hell of an improvement, don’t you think?”
Keira laughed, but her insides still felt heavy and cold. She had a feeling that this was going to be a bigger problem than it looked like.
“So, is he just going to hang out back there?” Keira demanded. More than a little bit of her liked the idea of confronting Smith.
“No, he’s already gone.”
“Gone? How?”
Walker blinked. “Through the other door.”
Keira squinted at him. “That door’s been locked for years. Mr. Palmer always said if I could find the key, he’d give me any music in the store.”