Free Dealing with the Devil by Marina Black

embarrassing for me to admit that I was in therapy so she fibbed about where we went. For the longest time, I
did
feel ashamed. Maybe I still do? I’ve never admitted this to a single person, Lucy…except for you.”
    A feeling of warmth spread over her as she gazed at Gabe. The fact that he trusted her enough with something so personal made her heart soar. “You’re the bravest person I know.” Lucy knew all too well that Gabe and his mother had been abused by his father. “What you went through as a kid was awful. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be hurt by someone who’s supposed to love you unconditionally.” She saw Gabe’s jaw tighten and, this time, she reached for him, “Do you still go?”
    “Not since high school. Hopefully thirteen years of therapy was enough.” Archie was on solid ground now and felt as if he’d worked through his issues with his father. Still, there was a niggling voice at the back of his head that told him he was still bad and he’d turn into an abusive monster eventually. It was better to keep Lucy at arm’s length than to fall into the same cycle as the rest of the men in his family.
    Lucy nodded slowly. She took a long swig of coffee, memorizing the expression on Gabe’s face. He was so handsome that sometimes she didn’t look past his sharp features and shimmering cobalt eyes, but there was so much more to him. His features tightened when he was angry, his eyebrows furrowed and his nostrils flared. When he was sad, there was slackness to his jaw and a slight downturn of his lips—that was the expression he was wearing today. Lucy ached to kiss him until that sultry look of joy and satisfaction was the only one they remembered. A change in subject seemed necessary. “Do we have any other meetings today?”
    “Nope, I didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention. Too many people coming in and out would tip the Black Jacks off.” Archie replied. “But in light of this new information, I was thinking we should get dressed up and hit the card tables. It’ll be a good way to gather intel. Hey, maybe we’ll even make a few bucks.”
    “Let’s not get carried away,” Lucy teased, grabbing her coffee and wrapping the half-eaten croissant in a napkin for later. She found herself glancing over at Gabe as they walked back toward the hotel. His hand slid around her waist, comforting her immensely. Lucy found herself wondering if this little gesture was part of the act or if he just wanted to touch her? She didn’t have the courage to ask…
    Housekeeping had come and gone while they were out, the room once again put back in pristine condition. Lucy plopped down on the bed and watched Gabe hawkishly. “When you said you wanted to dress, you meant a pair of nice jeans and a shirt, right?”
    Archie furrowed his eyebrows, “You have a dress, don’t you?”
    “Well, I have my wedding dress…” Lucy frowned. Opening up the closet, Archie unzipped the garment bag. Inside was a charcoal gray three-piece suit he’d picked up off the rack a couple weeks ago. Her mouth dropped open. “You mean to tell me you wore jeans to our wedding when you had
that
with you all along?”
    “I thought you said I looked good!” Archie bristled, folding his arms over his chest.
    He
had
looked good. Lucy wouldn’t have changed a single thing about their wedding but this news still made her stop and think. “Never mind…” She dug through the clothes that remained in her bag. “I seriously have nothing to wear.” Tugging t-shirts out, she laid them on the bed. One of her tank tops had rhinestones around the neckline and she did have that one dusty skirt—but that was about the extent of her ‘fancy’ clothing.
    Archie dug through the clothes and shook his head curtly. “This won’t do.” He frowned. “We’ll just have to go shopping.” For any of the other women he knew, that decree would elicit joy. Lucy, on the other hand, groaned as if he told her he was going to