Page 27 of The Lies I've Told
“I thought we were being professional,” she said, her eyes still set dead ahead.
“I can’t be professionally curious?”
She finally looked over at me, a doubtful sort of look that told me she didn’t trust me in the least.
Good. She shouldn’t.
My intentions were less than honorable.
Millie McIntyre had made herself clear.
Crystal clear in fact.
She’d woken up beside me this morning and basically catapulted her body as far away from mine as physically possible.
She didn’t want anything to do with me.
Or at least, the practical side of her didn’t. The uptight, think-it-through,I shouldn’t have sex with a guy I barely knowside of her. But strip that away? Take away all the bullshit and reservations she had been clinging to in her hungover state, and I knew deep down was the woman I’d fallen into bed with.
So, although I’d promised I wouldn’t act on my physical feelings toward her…it didn’t mean I couldn’t make her aware of her own. Misery loved company after all.
“And your professional curiosity extends to questions regarding dating? Is this a normal habit of yours?”
I made a noncommittal sort of shrug. “I’m in the business of emotions. Sometimes, it helps to know where one’s heart lies. Or where it’s been.”
“But I’m not a client,” she reminded me. “If anything, it’s the other way around.”
Another shrug. “Call it a hazard of my job.”
She let out an exasperated sigh as I tried not to grin. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, Billy and I never dated. I’ve always had the feeling that Billy’s tastes run a little too similar to my own, if you know what I mean.”
We pulled off the road, avoiding the large line of cars waiting to get onto the ferry.
“Good for Billy,” I said before asking, “So, who did you date?”
She stepped out of the car, leaving me to follow behind her like a sad little puppy.
I guessed I deserved that.
We passed by several tourists making last-minute runs to the restroom and vending machines before their hour-long adventure across the sound.
“If you must know, I didn’t date much in high school. I didn’t want any distractions and attachments when I went away to college, like my sister had with Jake. I just wanted to get away.”
I looked around at the picturesque setting spread out before us. “Doesn’t really seem like a hellish sort of place to grow up.”
“It wasn’t,” she admitted, slowing her gait a little to allow me to catch up. “But I always knew I wanted more. Surely you should understand that, hotshot artist man?”
“Hotshot artist man. Now, that’s a title I could get used to.” I grinned. “Do you think that would fit on a business card?”
She giggled slightly, making me feel like a king among men. Hearing her laugh again felt like a great victory after being turned down this morning.
I’ll make you remember me, Millie McIntyre. Just you wait.
“Well, here we are,” she said as I was admiring the way the sun seemed to light up every golden strand on her head.
“What?” I managed to say, looking around before I noticed the police tape. I squinted and stepped a few feet forward, and that was when I saw it. The pitiful remains of my memorial. “Oh, this is just sad.”
Ignoring the yellow tape, I stepped over it and felt my heart plummet.
