Page 133 of Broken Lines

“That you were really up in Maine looking for JacksonHavoc?”

I stiffen, heat flooding my face before I can swallow it back.

“Oh…yeah, but,” I laugh nervously and wave my hand. “A total dead end. I had a source that had me convinced. But I think it was either a scam or just mistaken identity. There’s a guy who looks like Havoc, but it’s definitely not him.”

Becca’s eyes lance into me, peering deep in a way that makes me shift uncomfortably.

“You’re sure?”

“That it wasn’t him?”

She nods.

“Uh, yeah? Pretty sure!”

She clicks her tongue to her teeth.

“Man, too bad. That’d be a killer story.”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“Plus, I mean…dude was hot when he was thirty. What is he, forty-two now?”

I swallow thickly, shifting.

“Something like that.”

“I bet he’s a fuckingDILFnow.”

My face and neck swarm with heat as I laugh nervously.

“I mean, aside from the ‘dad’ part of ‘DILF’, yeah, totally.”

Very, very totally the “I’d like to fuck” part.

Becca smiles. “Well, aside from everything, how was Maine? Ilovegoing up to Portland.”

“Oh, beautiful. Stunning, actually. I’d never been before. We got a crazy snow storm, but—”

“We?”

I stiffen.

“I…just mean we like the town where I was camped out.” I shake my head. “Like total blizzard.”

“Ooo, I bet that was gorgeous. Did you take any pictures?”

Several. It’s just that a ton of them involve Jackson.

“I…yeah, actually!”

I smile as I slide my phone out of my bag and tap on my photos. Quickly, ignoring my thudding pulse, I select a couple shots I took that just show snow through a window, or of Cape Harbor, or of the ocean. Pictures that obviouslydo notinvolve Jackson, or his house. I swallow as I create a new folder and copy the selected pics into it.

“Sorry,” I blush, glancing over the phone at Becca. “Just editing one of them real quick. Here.”

I click on the separate folder of just the pics I selected and place the phone on the desk we’re standing next to.

Becca gasps.

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