Page 12 of Love Over Time

“The prince of what?” Chuckling, Dom set his briefcase on the bed.

“The prince of a fairy tale I once thought could be mine,” I muttered.

Henry looked up at us just as Dom came back to the window, snaked his hand around my waist, and kissed my temple. “This asshole broke your heart?”

Tears stung my eyes as I met his gaze. “His family founded Paradise Creek. They were rich and bigger than life. Everyone in town treated them like royalty. They still do.” I shook my head. I’d been one of those people, maybe even worse. Like all the girls in town, I’d had the biggest crush on the Cavalier boy. “When our parents died—”

“I didn’t know that. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I wiped my nose.

“How did it happen?”

“Car accident on the 101. I was ten. Lisa was eighteen. We were happy, and just like that, our lives were over.”

Dom shook his head, pursing his lips. “I didn’t know that, Nikki.”

I smiled at him and shrugged. “I never told you.”

Henry was the only other person who knew my story. He knew because he’d been there when Lisa had the brilliant idea of getting us a job at Cavalier Manor. She’d just turned eighteen at the time and asked for custody of me. Getting a job as a live-in maid was the only way to keep our family together. I’d been embarrassed to go work for the Cavalier family, for Henry. What I hadn’t expected then was for him to welcome us with open arms. In the summer we’d spent there, we became friends and he taught me that my life wasn’t over, that we could still be happy. For a little while, I let myself dream that Henry and I could be more than just friends.

“Come on,” he’d said when he found me in his mother’s garden under a mesquite tree. “I know exactly what you need to feel better.” He held out his hand, a strand of blond hair touching his forehead, his cheeks red. My heart did a backward somersault when his fingers wrapped around my elbow. I stood, a few inches taller than he was, mesmerized by his brilliant smile.

“Where are we going?” I would’ve followed him to the end of the world. He held my hand and led me to the far side of Cavalier Manor. Hidden behind the bushes that lined the wall was a small door, barely big enough for us to get through.

“It’s a secret tunnel. It leads to the kitchen. Only Mom and I know about it,” he said. “You like hot chocolate?”

After that night, he’d sneak into my bedroom almost every night, and we’d hide in the tunnels to drink our hot chocolates. With Henry holding my hand, the pain of losing my parents had been bearable.

“Is that how you ended up at Cavalier Manor?” Dom asked.

“How do you know that?”

“I went through Lisa’s files.” He pulled me toward the bed and gestured for me to sit.

“How is she?”

“No idea. She wouldn’t see me. I think her exact words were ‘Nikki’s fancy lawyer is not my lawyer. Don’t ever let him in.’”

“She wants to prove she’s innocent and thinks you’ll just find a technicality to get her out.”

Dom scratched the stubble on his cheek. “I have a friend helping. We went through her files, and I’m sorry, but finding reasonable doubt is the only way to get her out. It was a gruesome crime, Nikki.”

I shot to my feet. “She didn’t do it.”

“I believe you. I thought we could go through her file together and see if anything jumps out at you. You were there. Maybe there’s something you missed or forgot to mention.”

“I was ten when it happened. None of it makes sense. I don’t know if I can help.” I rubbed my hands on my face. Truth was, I didn’t want to remember. The blood had been everywhere. When Henry found me, I’d been on my knees dry heaving.

Dom squeezed my hand. “I know this is hard, but if you want to help your sister, you need to push yourself to remember.”

I nodded. My pulse slowed down to a painful beat when he opened the manila folder. Pictures of Henry’s dad lying in a pool of his own blood slid onto the bed.Henry. I brushed my fingers over the pictures, moving them out of the way to see the next one. My stomach rolled, and my hands turned cold and clammy. Just as they did every time I tried to remember. But this was for Lisa. I swallowed and sat up straighter.

“This one right here caught…my attention,” he said.

On instinct, I looked upward. I counted to ten and forced myself to focus on Mr. Cavalier, his slack mouth, and lifeless eyes.

Dom placed his index finger on an eight-by-ten picture and slipped it in my direction. “This scratch on his arm. It doesn’t seem like much, but there’s no mention of it in the autopsy. So I had a friend take a look. It’s postmortem. A halfway decent lawyer would’ve picked up on that.”

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