Page 42 of Lipstick Kiss

“Saturday?”

“Yeah, it’s been too long since we fooled around without a care in the world.”

They fell into silence as Freya tapped around on the family tree the website populated as each match was found. Finally, she brought the tablet to her lap and snuggled in closer. Luke pulled her closer and kissed her head like he had done hundreds of times over the years. It was so routine Freya didn’t acknowledge the touch.

Except for this time, Luke wanted to keep her at his side every night. He idly watched while her tapping increased, inputting names of his family and hitting search. Her breathing was getting shallower as her fingers flew across the screen.

“Luke, Luke, Luke,” she chanted.

“I’m right here,” he said, chuckling.

“Your aunt ever get married?”

“Christ no, who the hell would marry her?”

“What about children?”

“What?”

“You’ve got a hint here that says there is a possible match for Cynthia Turner. Look, there’s the green leaf. What do you think it means?”

Fury raced through his veins so fast he thought he might have a heart attack. His heart was beating so fast.

“She’s got a child?”

“She has something. When I click on it, it won’t go anywhere.”

“What are you doing tomorrow after school?”

“Marking, but that’s about it.”

“Right, I’ll pick you up from school, and we’ll go straight to the graveyard while we have the light. Then I’ll cook you dinner while you mark the delinquent’s homework. That work for you?”

“Yep, that works. I wanna know what secrets Cynthia is holding,” Freya said, gazing at Luke’s face like they’d stumbled on a massive clue.

“My guess is we’ll either never know, or we’ll find out after she’s buried.”

Chapter Fourteen

Freya

Luke lifted her bag onto his shoulder and then over his head, so it draped crossways. Freya skipped along the quiet road to her house like she was walking on air. She hated carrying them home. When she used to meet Heidi, she would hump them a few hundred yards to the doctor’s surgery and mark the books in their breakout room until Heidi had finished for the day. Now that her best friend was loved up, Freya didn’t get that opportunity as much and had to lug the things home. She thought it was fantastic to walk home and carry nothing but her handbag.

“Holy fuck, how many books are in this bag? The strap is cutting into my shoulder.”

“Oh, cut your whining. I have to do it every week.”

“They’re heavy.”

“I know,” she answered slowly, like he was unable to grasp the concept.

“Can’t you get one of those old lady shopping trollies and wheel them home?”

“That’s not a bad idea. But you’re home now, so you can do all the humping for me.”

She gave him a side look to see his reaction. Whenever she mentioned a word linked to sex, his face turned to thunder. There weren’t many single women on the island, so he must be getting desperate by now.

“I won’t be humping them home for you,” he snapped.

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