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“Good. I still can’t believe you did that. God. I’m so mad at you.” She glared, but her sternness was ruined by the hug she gave him. “Be nice to Jamie.”

“I was trying to be nice!” he protested.

“Maybe you need to learn how to communicate better,” she suggested.

“Maybe he needs to learn how to grow up.”

Tessa slapped his arm. “Behave.”

“Hey!”

But she just shrugged and started straightening tables.

“Anyway,” Luke said when he finally dragged his eyes off Tessa. Here was a man who was head over heels. “I’ll need to get that information about your friend.”

“My friend?” Eric stiffened and glanced toward Tessa.

“The woman. Beth… What’s her last name?”

“Right,” Eric started. “I’ll—”

“Cantrell. Beth Cantrell. I’ll need to interview her.”

Eric swallowed and watched his sister, who’d stopped shifting things around and was now staring at Luke. “Sure,” Eric said. “No problem.”

“Beth Cantrell,” Tessa said. “I know that name.”

Eric ignored her, but Luke didn’t, of course. “She’s the woman who said Monica Kendall asked her to lie.”

“Yes, but—”

Eric spun on his heel. “No problem. I’ll see you two later.”

“Wait!” Tessa yelped. “I know who she is!”

His neck burned, but strangely, the heat felt like ice crawling down his spine. He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“I met her a few months ago. She runs the White Orchid.”

“Oh,” Luke said, and then silence fell. Eric could feel their eyes on him. He stared hard at the doors that led to his office, where he could lock himself in and avoid these questions.

“Eric?” Tessa started. “Beth Cantrell called you about this?”

The icy heat worked its way up to the tips of his ears.

“Do you know her?”

Oh, boy, did he know her. “Um,” he said, hoping that would suffice. But when he turned around to find Luke and Tessa standing side by side, they didn’t seem satisfied with that response. Tessa looked blankly confused. While Luke looked…anticipatory?

“She’s a business contact.”

“Oh, yeah?” Luke asked. “What kind of business?”

“Business business. Local stuff. You know.”

Tessa’s eyes just seemed to get wider. “No, I don’t know.”

Best to throw in a little truth in these situations. “I met her at the Boulder Business Expo last year. Her booth was close by.”

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