I narrow my eyes at him and rest my palms on my desk. “Scarlett’s manuscript. I’m almost done with this pass.”

His smirk widens into a smile, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. This is starting to get really irritating.

“Say it, Casey.”

“We haven’t talked in a while, is all. You’ve been…busy.” The way he says it has me bristling. “I wanted to see if you have anything new in your life.”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” I say. His eyebrows tick up with curiosity. “And I have you to thank,” I continue.

He removes his ankle from his knee so he can lean forward and rest his forearms on his thighs. “Yeah?” Casey has always been an insufferable gossip. I’m not surprised he’s interested, but it is way too easy to get him excited.

“Yeah.” I eye him across the desk to draw it out a little longer. “For kicking this manuscript to me. It’s really great, man.”

Casey leans back in his chair so violently that I’m surprised it doesn’t tip over. “Come on, Ryan. I know you’re seeing Scarlett again.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

That gets him flustered. His eyes widen slightly, but he recovers and clears his throat. “I have my sources.”

“Who?”

“I can’t disclose that.”

I glare at him over the top of my glasses. “This is a publishing house, not a newspaper.”

“And either way, you didn’t deny it.” He’s changing the subject, but I can see I won’t get his source out of him anyway.

Sighing, I nod silently. This must be all the confirmation he needs, because he chuckles darkly and shakes his head.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asks, wincing.

I frown. “A second ago, I thought you were excited.”

“I don’t know how to feel about it. And it’s not really my feelings that matter. You’re the one who got your heart crushed so badly that it fundamentally changed who you are as a human being.”

“That’s a little dramatic,” I grumble.

“It’s not,” he insists. “You’ve been pining for her for so long that you got her words tattooed on your arm.” He rolls his lips together as if it could stop him from saying the next thing, but he takes a breath and barrels on. “If I had known that manuscript was hers, I never would have asked you to look at it. I would have told Trina she was out of her mind to come around here with Scarlett’s work again.”

I arch an eyebrow and laugh. “Are you feeling guilty or something?”

“Not yet, but I will if this goes south.”

“What makes you think it will?”