Page 23 of Forbidden Whispers

“Well, is it possible that the two of you just weren’t a good fit for each other?”

“You know,” Michelle tilted her head, looking speculative, “in the aftermath, I did sort of start thinking that. I mean, when we were together, he talked a lot about how much he loves the outdoors, mountain biking, camping, hiking. And I really hate all that stuff. I only agreed to the hike in the park because I was being polite. And his taste in music...” Michelle rolled her eyes.

Noah frowned and opened his mouth to protest this egregious insult, but a lightning-quick glance from Maggie quelled it, and he closed it again.

“It really sounds like you didn’t have a lot in common with him. Definitely not what you’re looking for in a long-term relationship, right?” Maggie said. “I’m sure there’s a wonderful man out there for you who would be a much better fit.”

“You know what? I bet you’re right,” Michelle said, then she smiled. “Thank you...was it Maggie?”

Maggie nodded with a smile.

“Well, thank you, Maggie. I feel much better about all of this now.”

“I’m glad.”

“Are you two finished?” Noah asked, feeling a bit miffed at the way they had been talking as if he wasn’t even there.

Michelle turned to face him, her expression much softer now. “I think so. And now, the real reason I came over here is because my hostess mentioned that you wanted to talk with me about yesterday evening?”

“Yes,” Noah said, relieved that they were finally moving on to the main topic of the evening. “Obviously, you’ve already mentioned that you saw me here last night with my, er, date.”

Michelle nodded.

“I know this is going to sound strange, but can you recall any specifics about it?”

Michelle frowned. “Like what kind of specifics?”

“How was I acting? How was my date acting? How long were we here? And did we do or say anything that you overheard?”

Michelle frowned in confusion.

He sighed, wishing he didn’t have to explain again. He decided not to tell her everything. “It’s just that, for some reason, I’m experiencing selective amnesia. I have no memory of last night, and I...I’d like to remember exactly what happened.”

“Wow, you don’t remember anything? How strange.” Michelle looked thoughtful. “Well, I did notice that your date was really into you. She kept touching you and giggling and feeding you bites of her food.”

“Really,” Noah said, feeling surprised.

“Yes,” Michelle said with another toss of her hair. “You seemed to be enjoying it. But now that I think about it, you were acting a bit strange. You were talking and laughing kind of loud, almost like you were tipsy.

“And oh!” she added. “There’s one more thing I almost forgot. Before all that, when you first arrived and got seated, there was a guy who came over to talk with your date. He seemed to know her. You all chatted together for a bit, then I saw you get up and leave the table. But your date and the guy kept talking. They never touched each other or anything, but there was a kind of intensity between them, almost like they were arguing about something. Then you came back a few minutes later and handed a sweater to your date, and the guy went to sit by himself up at the bar.”

“A random guy, huh? What did he look like?” Noah asked.

“About six feet, dark hair, muscular, and very good looking.” Michelle winked at Maggie with that last piece of information. “Probably in his late twenties or early thirties, I’d guess?”

Maggie gave Noah a questioning look, but he just shook his head. He couldn’t recall any of it.

“Is there anything else you can remember?” Maggie asked. “Did they happen to mention where they were going next?

“No, but I did see Noah ask the waitress to take their photograph with his cellphone before they left.”

“Really?” Noah pulled out his phone and opened his photographs. He scrolled through to the most recent ones and his jaw fell open.

“What?” Maggie said, jumping up and coming around the table to peer at the images over his shoulder. Michelle joined them.

There was Noah with Valentina, her arms entwined around his neck and a seductive smile curving her full lips. Noah’s smile looked extra wide and unnatural to him; his eyes were heavy-lidded and drowsy looking. There were several shots of them, the last one with Valentina kissing him on the cheek.

Michelle pointed at the screen. “That’s the guy!”

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