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“No. I’ve managed to save a few bucks over the years.” That was no lie, either. I lived well beneath my means. Not that I made a lot as a cop, and now a detective, but I spent little on clothes. Little on luxuries. My gym membership was my big expense. I needed to be able to work out, stay in shape. It was a great way to work off steam, and I also wanted my body in the best condition possible. Just in case.
“Then are you saying you’ll go?”
I smiled into the phone. Was I? “Yeah, Melanie. I guess I’ll go.”
“That’s so great!”
She actually sounded happy that I was going. I hadn’t known Melanie Carmichael for that long, but I did know she was a genuine person. A caring person. Maybe we could both use a friend.
“There is something I should warn you about.”
“Oh?”
“There’s a nude beach on the resort.”
My stomach dropped. “Is the resort all nude?”
She laughed. “Oh, no. Of course not. There’s a regular beach too, and several pools. Then there’s a nude beach and a clothing-optional pool as well. All other areas, like the restaurants, are clothing required.”
“Okay…”
“You don’t have to go near the nude beach. I promise you. I already made Jonah promise that we weren’t having a nude wedding.”
Before I could stop it, a guffaw emerged from my throat. I wasn’t ashamed of my body. Hell, no. I was in great shape. I looked better naked than clothed. But no one, other than physicians, had ever seen me naked. Not since that fateful day when my father had tried to…
But I really didn’t want to go there now.
“That’s good. I’m not sure I want to participate in a nude wedding.”
She laughed. “Believe me, neither do I.”
“Still, I need to see if I can get off work. When is the event?”
“Next week.”
Next week? Shit. I had plenty of vacation time to spare. I rarely used it. Even when I was off the clock I was working. I had spent a lot of time investigating my cousin Gina’s death with Melanie, all off the clock. Of course, I had only just made detective a few weeks earlier. I didn’t know if my boss would be amenable to me taking a week off already.
“I can’t make any promises. I have the vacation time, but I have to clear it with my boss.”
“Great. Let me know what he says.”
“I will.” I cleared my throat. “Melanie?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for inviting me. I mean really. Thank you.”
Chapter Two
Ryan
“Who the fuck is this?”
“I told you, dear. Your mother.”
“Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, but my mother’s been dead for decades.” I ended the call and promptly blocked the number from my phone.
My heart pounded for a moment. I had been nine years old when my mother died. She killed herself in her bathroom in the main ranch house.
