Page 10 of Playing With Love

“Us.”

One word that packed a punch. It also said everything it needed to say.

“There is no us.”

His head tipped ever so slightly to the side as he quipped, “There’s not?”

God, he was so beautiful.

Through gritted teeth and a burning desire to run I shook my head.

“There’s not,” I confirmed.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

I took a deep breath, preparing to do my best to lie my way out of the predicament I found myself in but Tucker beat me to it.

“If there’s no us, then why when I walked into the interrogation room did you look like someone⁠—”

“If you say kicked my puppy, I’m gonna kick you in the knee. You know how I feel about that stupid saying.”

“Right,” he exaggerated the word, elongating it to punctuate how well he knew me. “Tell me again there’s no us.”

“Seeing as I haven’t spoken to you in years says there’s no us.”

“And whose fault is that, Lizzy?”

Mine.

I’d been the one to ghost him. But in my defense it was out of self-preservation. I was in love with a man who didn’t love me back.

“If I claim responsibility, will you leave?”

“No.”

Didn’t think so.

He wasn’t going to leave and I wasn’t going to talk about us, so if I was going to be tortured sitting across from Tucker’s handsome face, at least I could assuage some of my questions, guilt-free.

“How long have you worked at Triple Canopy?”

Not taking his eyes off me, Tucker picked up his beer and settled back in his chair.

“This is how you wanna play it?”

No, I want to throw myself in your arms and tell you how much I’ve missed you.

“We could sit here in silence or you can tell me what you know about Allyson and Nu Dawn or you could leave,” I offered suggestions.

“Jessica reached out to Hadley Walker,” Tucker said like I knew who Hadley Walker was. “Her dad, Jasper, started Triple Canopy with three of his Army brothers when they left the military. Hadley is married to Brady who worked for TC before they got together. Before she came to work for her dad she used to be a librarian, that’s how she knows Jessica.”

I see he opted to tell me about his involvement in my case.

Worked for me.

“Why didn’t Jessica go to the police with her sister’s concerns?”

Tucker looked at me like I was crazy.