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“Me and you, back to St. Lucia. I know you and James are struggling too.”
“You mean since my ex sent me a picture of him all over another woman?”
Okay, it didn’t look good, I admit that, but... “Haven’t you wondered why Ollie was there?” She looks away, telling me she has. But she’s choosing to ignore that logic. “And that Beth woman. How did she know James would be at Hiatus, because I’m sure as shit she doesn’t look like the kind of woman who pops into a strip club for a drink?”
She won’t ask herself those questions because she’s too busy thinking about how her ex can help her rather than how he can ruin her relationship.
Beau looks at the screen of her phone again. “I don’t have the bandwidth, the capacity, or the energy to fix this right now, Rose.”
“Because you’re too focused on finding your father’s killer?” I ask quietly. “But what if he wasn’t shot? What if... what if there’s an explanation? A heart attack? A stroke? What if there’s no killer to find?”
She smiles softly and rubs my arm. “I’ll be in the gym,” she says, walking away, taking her phone to her ear as she does. Calling her ex. How many times has she done that since last night? And why isn’t he answering? The asshole. He better hope he doesn’t find himself in a room alone with me. I look down at my tummy. Roll my eyes.
I go back to the kitchen and jump out of my skin when I find someone in there. James. He’s making himself a coffee, shirtless, fiddling with the machine. I frown. How did he get in here without me seeing? “Morning,” I say to his scared back as I go to the stool.
“Morning,” he replies, not looking at me. “I saw you talking to Beau and took an alternative route.” He obviously read my mind. I look at the French doors onto the garden. They’re ajar. They also would have been locked, but that wouldn’t be a problem for The Enigma, and clearly it wasn’t. “Coffee?” he asks, giving me his attention as the machine spits one out.
“No, thanks.” I hold up my mug. “Tea.”
He nods and takes his cup, joining me at the island, and I find myself sitting back, withdrawing. Damn it, he’s going to pick my brain. “How are you feeling?” he asks, nodding at my tummy that’s concealed beneath the countertop.
“Fat.”
He laughs under his breath and necks his caffeine in one hit. “The only thing big about you, Rose, is your willful streak.”
If he’s about to lecture me for causing Danny unnecessary grief, I’m not game. I lecture myself enough without anyone else’s help. “Are you tired of fighting?”
He looks at his empty cup as he places it down, then peeks up at me. “You?”
I breathe out, exasperated. “How does this keep spinning back onto me?” I think I’d rather him pick my brain about Beau. I lean forward. “With respect, when it comes to relationship issues, you and Beau are definitely out in front.” And I wonder... does he know her period started? Will he be relieved? Disappointed?
James looks back down at his cup, and something tells me he’s considering getting more caffeine. Or perhaps some vodka. “What do I do, Rose?” he asks quietly, spinning his cup. My heart splits straight down the middle, and suddenly my own problems don’t feel so heavy anymore. Danny must know I am not going anywhere. Maybe to St. Lucia, but I’m never leaving him. He’s confident of that, I’m sure of it. James, though? He doesn’t look like he’s confident of much right now. “A few days ago, she was practically begging me to try for a baby,” he murmurs. “Today, she doesn’t even see me.”
“Her father just died.”
He winces, his jaw tightening. “She didn’t even like him.”
“None of us liked him.” I reach for his hand and pull it toward me, resting my elbows on the counter to lean in. “But he was her dad, James, and no matter what we think, she’s going to feel guilty. Maybe like she should have made amends before he died.”
He sighs, long and heavy. “I know that.”
“She’s going to wish she’d met him last night.”
James withdraws, eyes wide. “What?”
“Before we left for Hiatus. Tom called her, said that he was at some hotel downtown for a meeting. He wanted Beau to join him for dinner.”
James looks away, his expression between a scowl and a frown.
“If she’d have gone, this might not have happened,” I say. “That’s what she’ll be thinking.”
He turns his eyes onto me. I see the darkness there, the demons he fights back every day. “He didn’t deserve her.”
“She didn’t deserve to see you with another woman all over you either,” I say, my lips pursed. “Are you going to tell me what the hell was with that?”
“She’s from my past.” James breaks our connected hand, pulling away, looking defensive. “I’m sure Beau’s told you all about how we met.”
“Of course she has.” Both Danny and James know there’s not much, if anything, that Beau and I don’t know about each other. “But what the heck was she doing at Hiatus? Has this got something to do with her ex?” I ask. If Beau won’t admit it, at least James will confirm it.
