Page 68 of Diamonds & Deception

“You’re not a hostage, Nora.” He sounds exhausted and not from the run. Maybe from a late night with the blonde.

“Did you have fun last night?” I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth. I have no right to be upset with Drake.

He narrows his eyes as if trying to figure out my meaning. “I’m going to shower. I’ll get you situated with my computer in a few minutes.”

He leaves me standing alone in the kitchen. Annoyed, more at myself than him, I head down to the guest room to do the same. I take a quick shower and fumble through the bag of toiletries. I find a bottle of vanilla body lotion. It’s not the same brand I use. I normally stock up when Bath & Body has its semi-annual clearance sale.

This brand looks expensive, and it smells almost identical to what I wear. Serves him right for dropping a fortune on the fancy stuff when I get my bottles for less than five bucks. I lather on the lotion and dress in jeans and a sweater.

Drake is already in the office when I enter. He has his computer screen up and a place for me to log in.

“Do you have a special program you use? I can get my IT department to download whatever you need.”

“My files are all saved on Google Drive and the cloud.”

He gets up from the chair and motions for me to sit. It’s warm and smells like him. He leans over my shoulder and taps a few keys. “I turned off my passcode so it shouldn’t lock you out. If you have any trouble, you have my number.”

I turn to thank him, and our faces nearly touch. His mouth is close. If I licked my lips, chances are I’d bump against his. He breathes in as if inhaling my scent, then steps away.

I’m alone once again. It’s only been two days since Lenora’s death but it feels like forever. I texted her family yesterday asking if I could help with the funeral arrangements. They were aloof and said they wanted to keep it to immediate family only.

I never got to say my goodbyes or pay my respect to her and her family. I hate that her parents took that away from me. They were never close, Lenora and her parents. I met them a handful of times in college, but they weren’t like my mom and Randy. They didn’t treat me to dinners or send care packages.

Part of me believes Lenora overcompensated for her parent’s lack of love by loving everyone freely. Tears burn in my eyes, and I push thoughts of her aside as I pull up my work email.

I spend the next few hours drudging through messages I put off last week while I was busy crying in a ball over screwing up things with Drake.

By noon, I’m hungry, and Daisy is getting antsy to go outside. Before I log off, I snoop around the society pages to see if I can find an article about last night’s gala. I want to know who the bimbo was in Drake’s arms.

It takes a few minutes, but I find a picture of them dancing. Her smile is wide and bright and Drake’s is... nice. It’s missing the gleam, the sparkle in his dark eyes when he’s truly happy. I read the paragraph next to their stunning picture.

Kelsey Manning and Drake Reynolds, once childhood sweethearts, according to Miss Manning’s rep, share a dance at last night’s gala. Could there be a rekindling of their romance? Other notable attendees were Mayor Shultz, actress and model Olivia Hernandez, and Boston’s wealthiest businessmen, Martin Donahue, Micky Donahue, Gail Trenton, and Marilyn Jacques. The event raised forty-seven thousand dollars for local women’s shelters in Boston.

I’m more stunned about Drake reunited with his old flame than to read the names of the Donahue family.

“What are you doing?” Drake’s deep voice startles me.

I swivel in the chair and look up at him. His gaze is focused on the computer screen behind me. On the picture of him and his old flame.

“Researching.”

“Me?” He lets out a huff of disbelief and shakes his head before storming out of the room.

“Fuck.” I did it again. I jump to my feet and chase after him. “Drake.”

“You know, whatever, Nora. It doesn’t matter.” He goes into the kitchen and takes down a bottle of whiskey and pours a healthy dose into a glass.

“I didn’t mean... I’m not looking into your past.”

“Really? Could’ve fooled me.”

“Okay. Yes. I wanted to see where you were last night, who you were with, not because I think you had anything to do with my sister or Lenora’s deaths.”

“Well, thank you for that.” He holds up his glass in a salute before knocking the rest back. “I came up to let Daisy out.”

At the sound of her name, she comes rushing across the floor, sliding to a stop at Drake’s feet. Traitorous dog.

He snaps the leash on her collar and leaves. I’m such a freaking fool. I pace the living room for what feels like hours before he returns.

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