Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“He’s come in looking at antiques.” Annabelle’s gaze darted around the store, not focusing on any one of her items in particular. Definitely not making eye contact as she spoke.
“Brian’s an accountant,” Liza said, her gaze narrowing.
“He…ummm…he’s been here,” the other woman said lamely.
Liza started forward, but Dare stopped her with a hand on her arm. If they crowded Annabelle, they wouldn’t get any answers. She’d clam up fast.
“Weren’t you just telling me this morning that you couldn’t reach Brian for the last couple of days?” Dare asked Liza.
She nodded. “He hasn’t answered his phone or returned my calls. Do you speak to him often?” she asked Annabelle.
The other woman looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Sometimes. We talked yesterday. He was in a rush and said he’d call me back. He hasn’t.”
Dare wondered if that had been before or after Liza spoke to Annabelle about the two checks.
“And that’s unusual?” Dare asked.
She shook her head quickly. “No, he’s a customer. I just…”
Dare forced a grin. “She’s got a thing for him,” he said to Liza, deliberately speaking loudly and laughing as if he’d just figured it out.
“No, I…well, we used to date,” she finally admitted.
Liza’s eyes opened wide. “I had no idea,” she murmured.
And Dare had a hunch she wasn’t supposed to.
“We kept it quiet…and then we broke up. But we’ve kept in touch,” Annabelle admitted.
“If you hear from him, will you let me know?” Liza asked.
“I sure will. And…I understand why you had to ask about the checks. I’m sorry I got touchy.”
“It’s okay.”
But Dare felt the confusion vibrating through her body as if it were his own.
Annabelle shifted uncomfortably. “And if you hear from him, will you tell me?” she asked.
“Of course.”
They stepped outside into the heated summer air and headed for the car. No sooner had Dare opened the door for her than she turned and wrapped her arms around him tight.
“Thanks for coming with me,” she said.
“Anytime.”
* * *
Liza spent the next day doing normal things, like working. She’d let Jeff handle the Mystic job. As long as someone was threatening Brian through her, Liza wanted to stick close to home. After the trip to Annabelle’s, Liza left twice-daily messages on her brother’s cell phone, but she hadn’t heard from him, which left her on edge and worried. Something she held back from Dare because no matter how good he was being to her, she still thought asking him to feel pity for Brian was taking things too far.
As for Dare, it had taken some doing, but she’d also gotten him to return to work. They’d compromised, Liza promising he could drive her to the office and pick her up to take her home after his shift. She wasn’t stupid and readily agreed. She had no desire to be accosted or threatened in town or anywhere where she might be found alone. Dare picked her up at six. They went to dinner and returned to her house, where neither could keep their hands off the other.
Their sexual chemistry was off the charts, and once again, Liza wished that was all that existed between them. But Liza knew sex, and the emotions that swept through her body when he entered her were so much more.
She shut her eyes against the reality, but all the darkness managed to do was bring her right back to Dare. It didn’t matter if he was taking her hard and fast or treating her with the utmost care, he made her feel cherished and cared for. Two things that had always been in short supply in her world. Two things she could never trust to remain. Something would happen to ruin things between them. Something always did.
They repeated their routine the next day, except that Liza had the scheduled meeting with Faith and Kelly for the fundraiser. Since she’d promised Dare she wouldn’t go anywhere alone right now, she asked Faith to drive her. Better to rely on one of her new friends than to have Dare sitting outside in his car playing bodyguard. As much as she appreciated his attentiveness, she needed personal space and normalcy. Or as much normalcy as possible, at any rate.
Faith had already picked up Kelly, and the three of them pulled up to Caroline Bretton’s home together. Cars already lined the driveway and the street out front.
“Is Annie meeting us here?” Faith asked.
Kelly shook her head. “She’s not feeling well.”
“That’s too bad,” Faith murmured.
“I’d have liked to meet her,” Liza said. Another ally would have been nice. She glanced up at the house. “Looks packed.” And her stomach cramped at the thought of facing all these women who no doubt knew about the fact that she’d plowed into their beloved center median and gazebo.
“I planned a fashionably late arrival,” Faith said, treating her to a grim smile. “This way, we can gauge their reaction to us and respond accordingly.”