His only reply was a grunt.

Holden, Nick, and I shared a raised-brow look because that was more of a Cash response than a Seth one.

“You know you’re at a party, right?” Nick asked. He and Seth had been friends since school, so it wasn’t unusual for them to give each other a hard time.

Seth was silent for another few seconds as he typed something in, then he flashed a scowl at Nick. “Busy, in case you couldn’t tell.”

“Testy too,” Nick said. “What’s so important that you need to be a dick at your brother’s reception?”

I was glad he asked. It wasn’t like Seth to be grumpy or unsocial.

It took him another few seconds to answer, as he typed another something into his phone. “I’ve got some woman inquiring about renting the garage apartment.” He’d been remodeling it for the past few weeks so he could rent it out.

“At nearly eleven p.m. on a Saturday?” Holden asked. “Haven’t you had it listed for a couple of weeks without a single inquiry?”

Seth nodded, looking perplexed. “She wants to know if it’s available tonight.”

“Does she know it’s a monthly rental and not a hotel?” Nick questioned.

“That was my first question. She said she’ll pay for a month up-front. Didn’t mention whether she planned to stay that whole time.”

“That’s pretty weird,” Nick said. “Like run-a-background-check weird.”

Seth shrugged. “If she needs a place to stay, she can have it as long as she follows the rules.”

“Gotta admit I’m curious as hell,” Nick said. “Woman on the run?”

“Maybe she robbed a bank,” I said, grinning.

Holden laughed and said, “Maybe it’s some hot chick who saw your photo on the restaurant website and needs a little lovin’.”

“Fuck off,” Seth said distractedly as he tapped in another message. His frown deepened. “I’m going to have to take off. She’s meeting me there in an hour and I need to make sure everything’s in order.”

“No nailing the renters,” Nick said as Seth hugged me hurriedly.

“Thanks, Chloe. Great party. Sorry to run.” He smacked Holden on the arm in a sign of brotherly love, then flipped Nick off before heading toward the front of the house, where the cars were parked.

Before we could think more of it, Adrian Cormier, the DJ, announced that he was playing the last slow song set of the evening, and that’s all it took for butterflies to take off in my gut. It was time to carry out my plan.

“Dance with me?” I said to my husband.

“You know it.” Holden took my hand and led me to the dance floor.