Page 38 of Now You See Him
Tina shot him a look, but he just shrugged and winked at her. Jackson was Derrick’s friend, so she knew she could trust him. But still, it felt weird flirting with someone who wasn’t her partner in front of a virtual stranger who had no understanding of what was going on in her life. Even though Tina admitted that she was separating from Logan, it felt too soon to be open with Derrick. But then again, what was an acceptable time to mourn a relationship before flirting with another man?
“I think that maybe your house might have something to do with your relationship problems,” Jackson said as he nudged Derrick’s arm.
Tina froze. “What do you mean?”
“I heard it’s haunted,” Jackson replied. “I never worked on that project, but from what our crew says, a lot of them felt like they were intruding and Damien was still there, ready to run them off. I bet you that Damien is fucking with your fiancé.”
Truer words were never spoken.
“You know it’s a bunch of lies,” Derrick said as he nudged his friend in the arm. Tina could see the tension lines bracketing his mouth.
“Apparently the basement door opens on its own,” Jackson said. He gave Tina a pointed look. “Has that ever happened to you?”
“Not at all,” Tina said as she lied through her teeth. “And if you think a ghost is what ran off my fiancé, I think you’re mistaken. I’m pretty sure it’s a coworker from New York.”
“Bummer,” Jackson said. He took another sip of his beer, his eyes dancing with humor. He looked past her shoulder, and he promptly choked. Those same eyes that were so bright and happy a moment ago were now filled with shock.
“What is it?” Derrick asked. He twisted in his seat, and Tina could see his posture change as well. “God damn it.”
“Can someone clue me in?” Tina asked. She also turned in her seat and looked around to see if maybe there was someone, anyone, that was familiar to her. She almost shook her head and slumped in her chair at the thought that she would knowanyonein a town she’d just moved into.
Until her gaze landed onher.
“What in the world? What isshedoing here?”
Derrick turned to her, a puzzled expression on his face. “Wait, you recognize someone?”
Tina pointed at the woman wearing a tight pair of jeans and red heels, with big brown hair that fell in waves around her shoulders. “That’s Logan’s coworker,” she said. “The one in New York. I know she is always at Logan’s work events. I once asked about her because she was standing so close to him in pictures he posted on social media. What is she doing in the Poconos?”
There was a long silence. Too long.
Tina turned to face Derrick and Jackson. They were both staring at her. Gaping.
“What is it?”
“You were engaged toLogan?” Jackson blurted out. “As in Logan Rothschild?”
She nodded, then pointed to the woman again. “And that’s his coworker that I think he’s having an affair with. He was working on a project with her about a year ago.”
Derrick rested his hand on her shoulder. His eyes were kind while also reflecting heartbreak. “Sweetheart, that’s not his coworker.”
“What? How would you know?” She asked. There was something almost gentle in the way that he touched her now.
“I know because Lucia hasn’t worked a day in her life,” Derrick said.
“Lucia?Wait, is that Damien’s?—”
Derrick nodded. “That’s Lucia. Which means that the person she was cheating on my brother with wasyourfiancé.”
Chapter
Fifteen
The images from Tina’s dream became crystal clear from one blink of an eye to the next. Lucia standing at the top of the stairs. Logan’s panicked expression. His naked body that Tina knew intimately was on full display. The look of shock and fear on his face was apparent now when he shoved Damien.
And Damien. He lay in a prone position at the base of the stairs.
Her heart pounded hard in her chest, her head foggy, her balance off-kilter.
