Page 314 of The Sinner: James

“Yes. It would make things clearer for you.”

“Okay,” he says, his eyes frosted.

I pause for a moment to study his hands, their tension almost palpable, and then I flick my eyes up.

“I stopped taking clients after the week we spent in New York last Christmas.”

Surprise floods his eyes.

Baffled, he slumps back in his chair, his eyebrows lifting, his eyes glued to mine.

“In the beginning, I used the vacation as an excuse, and I kept postponing going back to my clients. I also started to think about other ways of making money. Lex showing up at my door, followed shortly by Daria, was another turning point for me. When she started to blabber about moving to New York, I knew why she wanted to do it. I instantly knew I had to get out of that line of business. There was no way I could cross paths with her in that world and not risk my living. It was clear to me that she was still harboring animosity toward me. I knew she’d get me in trouble. Besides, I’d been having this idea of doing something else for some time, but I needed more than that. I had to develop a plan and find some capital and know-how. A seasoned partner, perhaps. David’s enterprise focuses on business development, as you may know.”

“I do know,” he says curtly. “But why him?”

“I trusted him,” I say.

He looks at me as if I put a dagger in his heart.

“So how come he didn’t want you for himself?” he asks, sadness claiming his eyes.

I can tell this conversation affects him, so I slide my hand over his and cup it tenderly.

He looks at me, puzzled.

“No man wants a woman with a broken heart except, perhaps, the one who broke it.”

His eyes glisten with emotion as he absorbs my words.

I lean closer and kiss his cheek, bringing more confusion to his eyes.

“You smell good,” I say before nuzzling his face and inhaling his scent. “Are we going to do something today or not?” I ask in a different voice, breaking away from him while grinning.

Snapping out of his trance, he clears his throat.

“Um… Yeah. Sure.”

Without another word, he pushes out of his chair, takes my hand, and walks me back into the house.

A side door catches my eye.

“What’s in that room?”

Stifling a smile, he checks the time on his phone.

“Nothing.”

“James?”

“Yes...”

“What’s in that room?”

His mysterious grin fuels my imagination.

“Oh...” I murmur. “I think I know. Am I going to see it?”

“I don’t know... Maybe,” he says.

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