Page 46 of Playing With Temptation

Christ.

Fuck.

Juni went to Deer Park Elementary. That’s where I’d seen her.

“I saw her at the orientation,” I told Ethan as the memory hit. “I didn’t speak to her, but she was there. If I remember correctly, she was also coaching the cheerleading squad.”

“You’re remembering correctly,” he confirmed. “That’s all I have so far on Ashley.”

Rainy woodenly walked back into the room.

The sight of her alone made me grin. Her coming into her living room looking like she’d spent the time in the other room on the phone fortifying her defenses turned my grin into a smile.

“Listen, E, let me call you back.”

“I can’t get a read. You either sound like you’re trying not to laugh or getting ready to throttle someone. Neither makes sense since you’re supposed to be at home resting.”

Yep, he was worse than my mother.

“I’m at Rainy’s.”

As soon as I said her name, her attention snapped to me.

“Good. It only took you two days to pull your head out of your ass.”

I guess Mother Hen approved of my outing because with that he disconnected without giving me shit for being out of bed.

“Who are the flowers from?” I asked.

She immediately tensed up. Her gaze went to the vase and she frowned. What she didn’t do was tell me who was sending her flowers.

“Rainy?”

“It’s a long story,” she evaded.

“Telling me who sent you flowers is a long story?”

“Yes,” she whispered, and when she looked back at me there were tears swimming in her lower lids.

What the fuck?

“Rae—”

“My best friend, Zoe…” she trailed off. Thankfully, before I had to prompt her to continue, she went on. Unfortunately, what she shared was hard to witness. “She died. Those flowers are from her husband.”

The way she spat out the word ‘husband’ had the cop in me alert.

“He does this.” She swung her hand to the flowers and pointed. “A lot. Do you know what those colors mean?”

“No, baby.”

“Well, I do, because he’s a creepy asshole who keeps sending them.” She was glaring at the flowers when she shared, “Pink, remembrance. White, innocence and love. Red, admiration and love.”

Love?

What in the actual fuck?

“Before we go further about the flowers, everything okay on the phone?”