Free A Family Affair: Summer: Truth in Lies, Book 3 by Mary Campisi Page B

cooperate. Two more small steps and he opened the door.
    The eyes grabbed him first, the color of dew-coated grass in the early morning. So clear, so true, he almost lost his balance.
    “Hello, Cash.”
    Same voice, but deeper, sexier, if that were possible. Her hair was shorter, cut just below her chin, parted on the side. It looked blonder than he remembered. She still had a damn beautiful body, thinner he guessed from the looks of her arms and neck. No belly, small breasts, and just enough curve to mold to his body.
    Eight years changed more than a person’s skin and hair. It changed things deep inside them , sometimes for better, many times for worse. In Cash’s case, it was the latter, but she didn’t need to know that unless she’d already figured it out.
    “Come in,” he said, amazed the words tumbled out in any form of coherence. She offered him a tentative smile, the kind she used to reserve for uncomfortable situations and people she didn’t know. Never for him. The pill he’d taken earlier made him languid and stretched his muscles, which made it hard to maintain the posture he’d lived with since he became a policeman. Counting steps and the resolve she would not see him for the crumpled mess he’d become propelled him to his chair.
    Tess took a seat next to him on the plaid couch, her long legs tanned, toned, glistening. His gaze remained on them a second too long as he remembered the way she used to wrap them around his waist…
    “Thank you for seeing me.”
    So perfect. So proper. “No problem. Ramona said you had something to say to me.” He’d agreed to see her, but he had not agreed to idle chit-chat. She could ask her questions and then get out. Besides, if she stayed too long, the smell of her lily-of-the-valley scent would invade his lungs and smother the oxygen in the room.
    “This is really hard, for both of us,” she stumbled, tried again, “but we need to talk about that night.”
    Why wouldn’t she look at him, head on, eye to eye? Was she afraid of him? Afraid of what he might say? Or was she afraid of showing the pity she must feel for what he’d become? “Oh, you were pretty clear that night.” I hate you , she’d said. You’re a murderer and I never want to see you again.
    She shook her head and her blond hair shimmied and swung against her jaw. Very sexy. Did she know that? He guessed she did.
    “I said horrible things to you, Cash. You didn’t deserve that.” Her eyes misted like they used to when she talked about things that really moved her; like how much she loved him. He did not want to see her pain. That would only be one more burden to carry and he was already sinking in his own misery. Knowing she hated him fueled his commitment to his job with an unrelenting fierceness he would not have possessed had a wife been waiting for him.
    “You said what you felt at the time.” When had he gotten so damn philosophical? Maybe too many days in a hospital did that to a person. “It’s done and there’s no going back.” Though I’d give a body part to undo what happened.
    Those green eyes settled on his mouth and made his groin jump. That was not a welcome response. Feeling anything for Tess Carrick was dangerous, futile, and stupid, especially stupid.
    “After you left …” she started, stopped, looked away again.
    Either she was damn good at lying or she really was hurting. The hell of it was, Cash couldn’t tell. Ironic, considering there’d been a time when he could interpret what it meant when she twitched or scratched her nose.
    Her voice dipped, smoothed out. “I did things that changed my life and —” she paused, cleared her throat “—I’ve regretted those choices. Many times.”
    “Stop.” He held up a hand to still her confession. What had she done? Something tied to forgetting about him, no doubt? Had sex with his best friend? Nate was the closest person to a best friend he’d ever had, aside from Tess, and if she’d looked at Nate