Page 64 of The Meaning Of You

“Hello?” Nick’s eyes widened and he sat straight in his chair. “Um, is this Lachlan King?” He put the phone on speaker and waved me over.

I complied somewhat reluctantly and slid into a chair opposite.

“Yes, it is,” a man answered warily. “Who is this?”

Nick’s grey eyes locked with mine and I read the apology there. I ignored it.

Nick set the phone on the table between us. “My name is Nick Fisher. I’m Davis Minton’s husband... widower, I suppose is the correct term.”

A loaded silence filled the room, nothing but the sound of breathing from the other end of the line as we waited for the man to reply.

Finally, he said, “I don’t know any Davis Minton. You must have the wrong number. Have a nice evening.”

Nick shot up in his chair. “Your name was on his desk calendar.”

Partially true.

“And I read your emails. You met up with him the day of the accident. You had lunch together at the caravan. Were you having an affair with my husband?”

Oh boy.I groaned and covered my face with my hands, hoping like hell that we did in fact have the right guy. The renewed silence gave me hope. If we’d been wrong, the man should’ve been in full denial mode.

My hands slid slowly from my face to the table and I stared at the phone, waiting. Nick’s fingers wrapped around mine and I felt him trembling. My gaze shot to his and I could tell he was barely keeping his shit together. My pissiness at his thoughtless comment vanished in an instant and I squeezed his hand, my thumb grazing the smooth contour of his wedding band as I mouthed,You’ve got this.

He returned a weak smile and we continued to wait.

The slow breathing paused. “Who exactlyareyou?”

Nick’s gaze fixed on mine. “I told you. I’m Davis Minton’s husband.”

A video request popped up on screen and we both stared at it. Nick looked to me and I shrugged. He sighed and picked up the phone, turning it to keep me out of the picture.

Lachlan King grunted. “Your photos don’t do you justice. I’m sorry about what happened to Davis but I’m not sure how I can help you.”

“Some answers would be nice.”

His gaze narrowed. “Are you recording this?”

“Should I be?” Nick kicked me under the table, and I immediately scrambled for my phone. “And do you think I’d tell you if I was?”

I set my phone to record and slid it quietly across the table.

Lachlan said nothing for a moment, then he sighed. “First off, weweren’thaving an affair, not that I wouldn’t have been interested, but Davis was sickeningly in love with you. Now, is that all? If so, I have things to do.”

Nick’s face paled and his shoulders slumped, the air whooshing out of his lungs like he’d been holding it for hours, and maybe he had. “That’s...” A single tear made its way down his cheek. “Thank you.” His voice cracked and his head dropped forward, shoulders heaving. “That’s... good to know. I... I didn’t know what to think when I found those emails today, and his calendar, and... other stuff.”

Lachlan King fell quiet and I wished I could see his face. “I’m sorry.” His tone was softer now. “That must’ve been hard. To be honest, I’m surprised it took you this long to find them.”

Nick shrugged and wiped his eyes. “I haven’t been to the caravan since the accident.”

“Oh.” Lachlan sighed in understanding. “I did wonder. I was half expecting this call after the accident, and when it didn’t come, I, well, I don’t know what I thought. If it makes you feel any better, the last time I saw Davis, he was going to tell you everything. He only kept it from you to keep you safe, but rest assured we weren’t having an affair.”

Nick drew another shaky breath. “Then whatwereyou doing?”

More silence.

Nick pressed, “Come on. Give me something. If Davis was going to tell me, then why can’t you? I know it was something to do with his research for the next book.”

Lachlan took a few seconds to reply, clearly debating with himself. “Yes, it involved research for his next book, but it was pretty dark stuff he wanted to know about. The kind of information and details that can get you in trouble if certain people learn about it.”

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