Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“Did you talk to her?”
“Hell no,” I said.
“So, your plan is to just avoid her and jump like a scared cat every time you see a mailman?” He looked incredulous.
“I hadn’t thought that far in advance,” I admitted. It did seem like my attempts to avoid her ended up being that ridiculous. Not to mention, now was the perfect time to get her to agree to the divorce since I knew where she was.
“You gotta confront her,” Ryan said.
“I will.” I pulled out my phone and switched it on. As I waited for the screen to boot up, Ryan said nothing. He pulled out binoculars and surveyed the salon. I found thirty text messages and three voicemails from Angie. I picked one of them and hit Redial.
“Jason?” Her voice soared ten octaves above normal, a grating squeak in my ear. I put the phone on speaker so Ryan could listen in.
“Angie, what are you doing here?”
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately,” she said, trying to flirt. “I found some old photos while I was going through my things, and I miss the way things used to be.”
“That’s not—” I attempted to cut her off.
She got the better of me. “No, wait. I know it’s been a while, but I miss you and I want you to come home.”
“I sold the house after you left,” I deadpanned.
“I know, but we could get it back.”
“I don’t want to get it back,” I snapped.
“I made a mistake, darling,” she crooned.
“The only mistake was our marriage,” I said, ice in my voice. “We’re getting a divorce. Since you’re in town, we can go ahead and sign the papers.”
“But what about our future?” she begged.
“We don’t have a future,” I snarled. “We don’t have kids, we don’t have a family, we don’t even have a life together anymore.”
“I’m not signing any divorce papers,” she threatened. “It’s not right, and you know it.”
“We’re already divorced. We were divorced for a long time. Let’s make it official.”
“You can’t do that. We’re going to be happy together—”
I hit the disconnect button and paged over to block the number. I looked up at Ryan to get his take on it.
“And I thought Ava was crazy,” my partner whispered.
“I need a lawyer.”
“You have to tell Lindsey,” Ryan added.
I shook my head. I didn’t need Angie interfering with my perfect love life. Lindsey would be shocked and appalled by the depths of Angie’s insanity. I needed to keep the two ladies as far apart as possible.
“Keeping secrets is a bad idea,” Ryan cautioned. “You did tell her that you were married?”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“Then no surprises there,” he said.
“Things are so good with Lindsey right now. I don’t want to drag her into the drama.”
“It’s your funeral,” Ryan said. He turned the key in the ignition, and we drove past the salon and headed back to the station house.
22
LINDSEY
Imust have shivered because the next thing I knew, Jason was threading his arm around my waist and pulling me tight. I snuggled down into the covers, fitting my back against his chest. I very rarely slept in my own bed anymore. We had moved organically from friends and roommates to lovers and soul mates, although I still hadn’t had “the talk” with him. Every time I wanted to bring up big feelings, I chickened out. Despite Ava’s best advice, I couldn’t find it in me to communicate with the man I loved.
Jason leaned across me to the bedside table and picked up his phone. “I have to go,” he murmured into my ear.
I flattened myself on my back and circled his neck with my arms. We shared an intimate kiss, deep and relaxing in the safety of his bed. He extricated himself reluctantly, and I was treated to a full view of his naked form as he crossed the room. I sat up, holding the covers to my chest.
Jason opened a drawer, pulled on some boxers, and grabbed a pair of pants.
“Couldn’t you play hooky?” I asked.
He stepped into his pants, zipping them up before coming back to the bed. He crawled back on top of me, the comforter between us. “I can’t,” he apologized. “We’re so close with this case.” He kissed me sweetly, taking his time.
When we came up for air, he stood, grabbed a shirt from the closet, and walked out of the room. I lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. For some reason, Jason leaving hit me harder than it should have. The man had to work, and he went to work every day. Why did today feel like the world was falling apart and being alone would kill me?
I grabbed my own phone, scrolling social media for a moment. It was only 7:30. There was plenty of time before I had to be at work myself. I wasn’t sleeping, and social media was toxic, so I crawled out of bed and put some clothes on. Pulling my hair up into a messy ponytail, I decided to unpack some of my hairstyling tools. Jason and I had agreed to share the office, but since he had moved in, I hadn’t taken advantage of my half of the space.