Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“I’m not a good liar.”
And yet you’ve spent years in Jackson Harbor without telling any of us what you’re so afraid of at home. In all that time, you didn’t breathe a word to me about losing the man you planned to marry or hiding from another guy who terrifies you.
I’m not supposed to ask about Rich, but maybe there’s a way around that. “You know what we didn’t cover last night?”
“What?”
“Our romantic histories—you know, serious relationships. I know you don’t want me to ask about Rich, but what should I know that you feel okay talking about? And what about other guys?”
She nods slowly. “Rich was high school—my sophomore to senior year, his senior year, and then his first two years of college.”
I know the shock is clear on my face. “That’s a long time, considering how young you were.”
She toys with a loose lock of hair at the base of her neck and twirls it around her fingers. “I guess so, but I didn’t think of it that way at the time.”
“What happened between you? To end it, I mean.”
“I got a track scholarship to go to school in Georgia, and he gave me an ultimatum. If I wanted him, I had to stay.”
“That’s a little intense. You were only eighteen.”
She rolls her eyes. “No shit. It was an easy choice for me, though it wasn’t a clean break. The summer before I left, we kept . . .” She shakes her head. “Anyway, it was good to get away, and once I started college and realized I suddenly had more freedom than I’d had in three years, I knew I’d never get back together with him or be with anyone that controlling.”
I wonder if that’s the extent of her fear. He was controlling, and she doesn’t want that in her life again. But I know there’s more. If there weren’t, she wouldn’t have stipulated that I not ask about him. “Then in college?”
She chews on her thumbnail. “Nothing significant. Lots of dating. A few boyfriends. Nobody who gave me butterflies or made me see a future together with them.”
“And then Heath was after you moved back home? He gave you butterflies?” I’m not sure what to think about the jealousy that tears through me at those words. I’m jealous of a dead man for his relationship with my fake girlfriend. That might be a new low.
“Yeah. Butterflies and . . . thrills.” She sighs, tugging on that same lock of hair. “My parents didn’t care for him, and given how much they approved of Rich, I think that made Heath all the more appealing.”
There’s a knock on the door. “Bellman.”
“Hold that thought,” I tell Teagan, going to the door.
“Good afternoon, sir,” the man says. “I have your luggage.”
“Thanks. You can leave it by the couch.”
He nods and hauls our suitcases into the room, thanking me when I pass him a tip. Then he’s gone and we’re alone again, but judging by how diligently she’s avoiding my gaze, I wonder if she’s planning to change the subject.
I pick up my suitcase, put it on the bed, and unzip it so I can hang up my clothes as she does the same with hers. “What was Heath like?”
She stills, hand tightening around some vibrant red material. When she releases a puff of air, I realize she’s quietly laughing. “Like you, I guess.”
“Because of his job?”
Her lips twitch into a reluctant smile, but she still doesn’t meet my eyes. “More because of his . . . love of women?”
I cough. I was not expecting that. “What?”
“It’s not a secret that you like to keep your bed warm, Carter. Or that you’ve come to prefer . . . variety to commitment.”
“Jesus.” I remove a stack of clothes and put them into a dresser drawer. I guess it’s not just Jake. I’ve somehow managed to get a reputation as a player. “Is that what you think of me?”
“I’m not judging. A lot of guys are like that.”
But I want to be better than a lot of guys. I release a breath and drag a hand through my hair. This isn’t about me. Not right now. “How’d you end up with a guy like that? Heath, I mean.”
“He was charming, and I wasn’t looking for forever.” She slides a dress onto a hanger. “I moved home right after graduation and met him my first weekend back.”
“How’d you meet?”
She stills again, and she’s quiet so long that I’m about to repeat my question when she says, “Rich introduced us.”
“Oh.”
“Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But then, I believed Rich had moved on as completely as I had. No hard feelings, no weirdness. And he was best friends with Heath—they’d gone to the police academy together and worked out of the same precinct. I actually think Rich meant to set us up, as crazy as that sounds. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have run far away from anyone Rich wanted me to meet.”