Deciding now wasn’t the time to be aroused, I walked out of the living room and toward the office space the guys shared. Mostly Devan used it, but sometimes the guys would do video meetings and shit in there. I crept down the hall, not wanting to interrupt River if he was still on the phone. And maybe a little because I wanted to know what they were saying without monitoring their words around me.

“How was I meant to know the bitch was a psycho? The NDA was meant to protect me. Protect us,” River grunted.

“You and your fucking need to date crazy-ass bitches was always going to cause us problems in the end. The problem is that she isn’t giving a tell-all fucking interview. No, she’s setting you up. Setting Nova up.”

There was a huge sigh, though I wasn’t sure which of them it was coming from. “She said someone told her we’d be there. I don’t think Marissa knew ahead of time that I was going to be there. Someone tipped her off.”

A chill went down my spine. “You think you have a stalker?” Devan’s surprise was evident.

Whatever River said next was too soft for me to hear, but the next bit was clear. “Unless my stalker is a pap, I doubt it. Someone was there, ready with the camera. They knew there was going to be a problem, though how the paparazzi would know about Marissa, know she’s fucking crazy, know where I’d be at the park, that’s the real question.” There was a long pause while they pondered. “You think I should, I don’t know, bow out from this thing with Nova? She doesn’t need me to drag my fucking issues to her doorstep. She doesn’t deserve that.”

I bit my lip to prevent myself from gasping. At the same time, I heard Devan’s derisive snort. “Nut up, bro. Nova isn’t your parents. She isn’t going to run away emotionally if shit gets hard. We both know that. You’re just worried that she’s going to reject you, but I promise you that if you don’t give this a chance—give her a chance—you’ll regret it forever.”

“Maybe I should use your nuts. I’ll go and ask if Nova can grab them from her purse, since you’ve obviously lost them somewhere along the way,” River teased, and I heard the thump of a fist hitting flesh, along with River’s hissed laugh. “I’m scared, man. I feel like I’m already fucking this up and it hasn’t even been two weeks.”

“Running away now would be a bitch move, Cooper. So suck it up. We’ll face this hurdle together, and we aren’t going to preempt what Nova wants. If she thinks it's too much, then we’ll face that together too.”