Page 9 of The Perfect Heart

Halle stared at me before laughing quietly. “Who is this new Nash who’s forceful and decisive? He’s kinda hot.” She elbowed me in the side, her eyes twinkling with humor.

It was my turn to laugh as I twisted the key in the lock, the enormous ring jingling loudly in the snowy hush. “He’s the kind of guy who’s not going to let his oldest friend walk around alone late at night, especially when it’s snowing and freezing.”

Our boots crunched as we walked down the empty street, reflections dancing off the darkened storefronts as we made our way to my old Jeep.

“Why did you stay so late? And don’t tell me it was because you thought the bar top needed a polish.” Even my voice sounded quieter with snow falling around us.

“There’s not a lot going on back where I’m living. What am I going to do when I get there? Stare at the ceiling?”

“You could go to sleep.”

Halle’s gaze slid to me, then away before she answered that told me it wasn’t her favorite option, but I had no idea why. “Yeah, I guess there’s that.”

Did she not want to sleep? The answer I suspected sent a chill down my back that had nothing to do with the cold.

The drive wasn’t long—nothing in this town was—just over the bridge, near the river, but I was glad I hadn’t taken Halle’s no for an answer. By foot, it was still a twenty-minute walk, it was especially dark out here away from town, and her boots were wet around the toes just from our walk to my car.

But more than that, Halle was on edge, just as she had been at the bar when I had startled her. Did she know I could see how her gaze swept the area in front of the garage as I followed her up to the foot of the stairs, following every shadow? Did she know her shoulders were up to her ears, her hands knotted in her lap?

“Halle.”

It took a moment for her distracted attention to find me, but I held her gaze when it finally did.

“What’s going on? You’re nervous.” I pointed to her hands. “You’re looking around like something is going to jump out at you. Did something happen with your husband?”

The words were barely out of my mouth when Halle closed herself off, her mouth thinning as she leaned imperceptibly away from me.

“Nothing happened. I just left him, like I said.”

I almost said something and took a breath to push further but swallowed the words instead. I had a feeling that if I did, I would lose Halle, and that was the last thing I wanted. I finally had my best friend back, and I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that.

Not right now, anyway.

Instead, I kissed her on the cheek. “I’m picking you up tomorrow. Be ready at eleven.”

I didn’t wait for her to respond, making it clear I wouldn’t argue. Watching her walk up the stairs, I waited to start my engine until she was inside, the door closed.

No, I wasn’t going to push tonight, but something was going on, and I would find out. I felt I had to, or I wouldn’t like what happened.

Chapter 5

Halle

“HEY, LOOK AT YOU.”

Joseph was grinning at me as he pulled a beer, the golden liquid billowing expertly into the glass.

“What?” I looked around, wondering to what he was referring.

This made him laugh. He had a great laugh, booming yet boyish, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face, no matter my mood.

“No, snowflake brain. You. You look like a natural, and you’ve only been here a week.”

“Oh.” It took my brain a minute to wrap my head around the compliment before I started laughing myself. “Snowflake brain?”

Joseph shrugged. “I try to keep my insults tame at work.”

“But not at home?”