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Simone said hello, and when Tessa reached to touch his arm, Simone looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“So,” he said, but then he couldn’t think of anything more to say.
Simone’s eyes twinkled even as her mouth went suspiciously flat. “I’ll go wrap up the paperwork. It’s my turn.”
“If you’re sure…?”
“Oh, it’s no problem.” Yeah, she was definitely trying not to laugh as she reached for the door. “Nice to see you again, Ms. Donovan.”
The whole scene was decidedly odd, and Luke was still trying to figure it out when Tessa stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her. “It’s such a nice night,” she said. “I thought maybe we could go for a walk.”
“Really?” The storm had blown through just an hour before, and the air was still heavy with moisture. It was an odd night—and place—for a walk.
His spidey senses tingled, and Luke realized he’d been slow on the uptake. Great sex had clouded his normal pessimism, but now he could see this whole setup was off. Her hesitation when he’d asked her to dinner, her request to meet him here, even the way she’d reached for his arm a few seconds ago.
Luke tilted his head toward the paved trail across the street. “Sure,” he said evenly. “We can walk.”
“Great!” Tessa’s voice was cheerful. Suspiciously cheerful for anyone else, but her good moods were too frequent to gauge.
By the time they reached the path, Luke was scowling at the blacktop. Tessa didn’t say a word; she simply strolled next to him, her eyes touching on everything but him. Only some of the aspens were thick with leaves, but it still felt secluded as they walked farther along the trail, which snaked through a business park.
When Tessa finally spoke, she s
aid nothing. “It’s a nice night.”
Luke spared her a look of disbelief, but Tessa kept her eyes straight ahead. “You know I’m a cop, right?”
She laughed too loudly. “Of course.”
“So it’s not hard for me to tell when a woman has something on her mind.”
“Oh.”
Luke stopped and crossed his arms. “How about we get this over with?”
Her ponytail bobbed when she stopped, the ends of her hair brushing her neck. He felt a sharp stab of regret that he hadn’t spent nearly enough time exploring her body, because he had a sneaking suspicion he’d missed his only chance.
Tessa turned and crossed her arms to match his pose. Then she cleared her throat and shifted her weight to the other leg. “Um… About your divorce…”
“That bastard,” he muttered. “Christ. I take it you talked to Jamie.”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
Her eyes slid away. “What he told me about your divorce.”
“I am divorced, yes.”
“Luke.” She sighed.
But Luke wasn’t in a mood to concede anything. He was furious, though he couldn’t quite identify the source of his fury. The fact that her brother had been the one to tell her about the divorce. That Jamie had fed her a lie. Or that she might believe it.
Luke narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth until his jaw jumped.
Tessa finally gave in and spoke. “He said you left your wife.”
He waited.
