Balling the fabric in my hand, I threw the thong across the bed and reminded my twitching dick there was a job to do. Women like Tessa sucked men dry and left them for dust. Since Grace had ripped my heart out and offered it as a sacrifice to Lucifer, no other woman had remained in my life for more than a month. Once they began forgetting toothbrushes or earrings at my apartment, I gave them the clichéd, ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ talk. But it was me. It was always me. If Grace hadn’t screwed me over for her boss, then…
Then I’d be in a loveless marriage with a woman who lies and cheats.
I laced my hands behind my head and closed my eyes, replaying the day I’d caught Grace shagging her boss in our new apartment. Finding them together almost destroyed me, and I swore no other woman would crawl under my skin again. I got it. Not all women were liars and cheats, but I had yet to meet a woman who didn’t bat her lashes or give a sweet smile to get what she wanted.
The bitter memories of Grace’s betrayal strengthened my resolve. Not even Tessa’s long eyelashes and greener than the ocean eyes were enough to make me give her the benefit of the doubt and back off. Until I knew better, she was the enemy.
Her thong caught my eye again. For fuck’s sake, there was nothing else for it, I’d have to take a shower after all.
By the time I’d showered and dried off, feeling more relaxed than before, Tessa lay in bed pretending to sleep, and Max had curled up by the fire.
Ten minutes under the steaming jets, among other things, allowed me to think and gave me some perspective. Tessa wasn’t Grace. I wouldn’t come clean about Shane, and I wouldn’t trust her, not yet, but I wanted to get her side of the story. Something I should have done before jumping on a plane like the ‘bloody eejit’ Brody had called him. Tomorrow, I hoped my cousin would ring me with whatever information he’d found.
“I know you’re awake,” I said. “We should talk.”
“We’ve talked enough,” came her mumbled reply.
I blew out a breath. Too bad if she didn’t want to talk. I had a few things I needed to say. “I know how much financial trouble you’re in. Half a mill’s a bit of a killer.”
If she was shocked I knew so much about her financial mess, she didn’t react.
Silence hung between us for a few beats. “My ex-boyfriend was the finances, and I was the face of Maken Memories. We didn’t date long, but I loved him enough to give him a share in my business. Dumb, right?”
“Where’s he now?” I lifted the covers on my side of the bed and slid between the cold sheets.
“In the gutter for all I care. He has a fondness for liquid lunches and powdering his nose.” Her voice showed little emotion. As if she’d resigned herself to the fact there was nothing she could do.
“Didn’t you know?” The bastard Shane Gorman had a lot to answer for. I couldn’t understand why he had approached me in the first place. What was he after? I had nothing to give him.
“What do you think, Sherlock?” She turned to me, her face resting a few inches from mine on the white pillowcase. “You think I said, ‘please take everything I’ve worked six years to build?’” Her voice wobbled, and she took a second to gather herself. “I was foolish. I thought he loved me, y’know. He had so many good ideas about the business, and for a while, he helped me build it. He knew people. Had lots of contacts, but then… then he wanted to do something so vile to newly married couples. Something that would’ve sent me to prison. I had no choice but get him out of my life.”
“Tell me. What did he want you to do?” I didn’t have to ask because I already knew the answer. The cameras in the bedrooms were all Shane’s idea. Tessa wasn’t the con artist, she was the mark, and now it looked as if I was a mark too.
I plowed my fingers through my hair. Jesus. How could I have been so irrational? So pigheaded and blind? So damn arrogant? Was my desperation for the job so bad I believed a man who’d screwed my sister over?
“It doesn’t matter what he wanted.” She sighed. “When I said no, he cleared out the bank accounts and left me and the business in a hole. I couldn’t pay creditors, couldn’t refund deposits.” A tear slid down the side of her face and dropped onto the pillow. “I ruined people’s dreams.” Rolling onto her back, she sniffed and wiped the heel of her hands over her eyes and held them there for a few seconds before clearing her throat. “I’m dragging myself up and getting on with it. The money from Violet’s wedding will help me pay some people back. It won’t cover everything, but it’s a start, I guess.”
“I didn’t know.” Guilt tipped arrows pierced the center of my heart.
“How could you know? And you being here is making a bad situation worse. Much, much worse.”
For the first time since I’d gotten into bed beside her, she looked me in the eye. “How did you find out about me? About my pitch? I need to know if someone’s leaking information about the wedding so I can stop them.”
Under her intense and hopeful gaze, I shifted beneath the covers, and the arrows turned to bullets. I should do
