Page 425 of The Sinner: James

“It wasn’t necessary. I found her on my own. She’d changed quite a few addresses and men before I got to her, and I assume a few jobs as well. Anyway... I found her.”

His eyes stay locked with mine.

“Okay.”

“She told me why she hadn’t stayed in touch with me.”

He reads my eyes.

“Did she?”

“Yes. Apparently, she had some time to reflect and seemed changed.”

“Good. It was about time,” he says, a faint grin lining his gaze.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He studies my face.

“Are you mad at me?” he asks.

“No. I wish I knew what happened.”

“She wanted money.”

“I know. She told me that. I would’ve never forked over that kind of money.”

“There you go.”

“You also wanted to teach her a lesson.”

“Possibly. But more importantly, I wanted to stop her from acting like a jerk.”

“It worked,” I say.

“Yeah, it did.”

“Okay, but she shied away from my family.”

“She stayed away because she was embarrassed. I asked her to come back when she was ready to treat you like a member of her family.”

“All right,” I murmur, tipping my gaze down.

“You said she was changed. In what way?”

I look at him.

“She’s expecting a baby.”

His eyebrows tilt up.

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Of course, it is. My mom is thrilled. She also said she was sorry… In her own way,” I add. “Although I still think she’s full of envy.”

“Why?”

I shrug.

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