Page 83 of False Evidence

“So, eat first?” he asked as he crossed to the laden table.

Lex gathered his dress shirt in a fist, then turned toward the bedroom, pulling him behind her.

ChapterThirty-One

Catoctin Mountain, Maryland

Present

While Lex was upstairs putting Gemma to bed, JT pulled out the wrapped gifts from eleven years ago and placed them under the tree. He hoped it wasn’t a mistake, reminding her of that Christmas, but if they were going to have a future, this was one of the things they needed to process.

More than anything, he wanted another shot at a future with Alexandra Vargas.

He’d never loved anyone more than Alexandra, and he’d never hurt anyone more either.

He hated himself for how rotten he’d been to the one person who gave his heart a reason to beat. That they were here together now was a Christmas gift he never dared to imagine, but still, he ached at the fear and danger that had made this moment possible.

Presents arranged, he picked up the remote and turned on the TV. He let out a soft laugh at seeingA Christmas Storywas on. This year’s twenty-four-hour marathon had begun.

Ralphie’s old man was weaving a tapestry of obscenities when he heard Lex’s footsteps on the stairs. A rush of joy shot through him, just like it had that first Christmas Eve, when nothing between them was promised and he’d only just learned her name.

She entered the living room, and just like then, he caught his breath when he looked at her. Her face at forty-one was fuller, with faint lines that only added to her beauty.

The first time he saw her remained imprinted on his brain. The beautiful blonde sitting alone at a bar. Mad as hell. But it wasn’t until he spoke to her that he was hooked. Looks were one thing. Sharp wit and sharper mind another. Alexandra had snared him before she’d invited him to her hotel room for a pumpkin muffin.

He rose from the couch as she entered the room. She startled at seeing the presents beneath the tree. “What? How…?”

“They were in the attic. Stored with the decorations.”

“From that last Christmas. I forgot we never opened them.”

“Same.”

“I—I don’t even remember what I got you that year. I know I didn’t have time to bake, not with the wedding coming up. So at least we can be assured there won’t be an extremely moldy dessert.”

“No signs of rodents indulging either. But then, they were stored in a plastic box with a tight seal. To the best of my knowledge, the box wasn’t opened in the eleven years since I packed them up.”

“You packed them?”

“Yeah. It’s how I spent New Year’s Day.”

“The day after what was supposed to be our wedding.”

“Yeah. It sucked.”

She took a step toward him. “I spent New Year’s Day crying in bed. It was one of the worst days of my life.”

He gave a sharp nod even as he felt his eyes burn.

“I didn’t call it off because I didn’t love you,” she said. “I loved you deeply. You were everything I wanted.”

He heard the past tense and felt the sting of it, but he had no one to blame for that but himself. “But you didn’t love me enough.”

She shook her head. “That’s not it either. I called it off because I didn’thaveyou. All of you. There was a massive power imbalance between us, and you had bigger priorities than our relationship. You kept it a secret that you intended to run for Congress and were starting your campaign within weeks. You didn’t want to marry me forme. You wanted a campaign prop, just like Lisa was for your dad.”

“You were never aprop. I loved you. I never stopped.”

“Then why didn’t youtellme? Why did I have to overhear your dad talking to you about it in this very room?”

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