Free What Lies Beneath: Romantic Suspense by Lila Moore Page A

to her cabin and cleaned me up, then took me home. She said something to me last night about how even if I was responsible it still wasn’t my fault.”
    I looked away from Theo and into my bathwater. I couldn’t meet his eye. Jillian thought I was responsible for killing my husband. So did people in the town. What if Theo was one of them? I couldn’t stand the idea of him thinking I was a murderer.
    “Jillian thinks I killed Tom,” I said. “I think she may have killed her husband in self-defense. Now she hates cops and men too probably. Anyway, I think she wants to protect me. She thinks I killed him, but that he had it coming. Or something. I’m not sure. She’s wrong, though. You know that right?”
    I sounded desperate even to my own ears, but I needed to hear him say it. I was met with silence.
    “Theo, tell me you understand.”
    I sounded pathetic, but I was hanging on by a thread. I didn’t have any support in my life. I needed to know someone still believed in me.
    “I know you’re not responsible,” he said.
    He sounded as if he was choosing his words carefully. Did he think I killed my husband in self-defense? It was ridiculous. I had no reason to be angry at Tom. I suddenly remembered something I hadn’t thought about in a long time. A year before Aiden was born, Tom and I nearly divorced. He’d become obsessed with his work. He would spend hours, sometimes days in his work room. I wouldn’t see or speak to him for days at a time.
    It scared me and when I confronted him about it, he blew up at me. He accused me of holding him back, of stifling his creativity. He said he was going to leave me. After a couple days he cooled down and apologized. At the time, I was furious. Tom had a bad temper and he could be extremely selfish.
    After his death, I’d focused on all the good times. I spent my time obsessing over what could have been. I never stopped to look at things sensibly. I was too clouded by grief.
    Tom wasn’t perfect. Neither was our marriage. Still, I never would have killed him. I had no reason to. I loved my husband despite the problems we faced.
    “I loved Tom more than anything.”
    “I know,” Theo replied.
    I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tightly. I looked at Theo. He was watching me closely.
    “Who’s watching the kids?” I asked.
    Why did I ask? Because I wanted him to spend the night. It made me feel guilty, but I wanted Theo. More than Theo, I wanted to forget about tonight and the day before, and every other day of the last ten years.
    “The nanny, Mrs. Green.”
    “I didn’t know they had a second nanny,” I replied, not really caring. Theo didn’t respond. “So you’re off for the night then?”
    “Yes.”
    “This might seem forward, but everything that’s happened has me a bit spooked. Do you think you could spend the night? I’d feel better knowing there was a man in the house.”
    Theo looked down at the floor. I could see the indecision on his face.
    “You have a girlfriend, don’t you?” I said. “Of course you do. Why would a guy like you be single?”
    Theo should his head, no. “No. That’s not it.”
    “Then, what?”
    He ran a hand through his hair and looked away.
    “Nothing. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
    I nodded appreciatively, but felt disappointed. Maybe he just wasn’t in to me? Who could blame him? My life was a mess. I just told him I have blackouts where I wake up at the site of my husband’s murder. He probably thought I was nuts. I would understand if he left and never spoke to me again.
    “You should get to bed. It’s been a long day,” Theo said.
    I nodded. He rose and went to the door. He pulled my robe off the back and opened it, holding it out to me. Shyly, I stood. I was completely naked. The last man to see me naked was my husband. It had been a long time.
    Theo kept his eyes on mine. Was he trying to be respectful? Why offer the robe to me if he didn’t want to see me naked?
    I stepped out of the tub