Page 27 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

“Chandra Boyce’s fiancé was big.”

“No, he was wide.” The silver medalist at last year’s US Sumo Open, to be precise. We’d definitely had to go with made-to-measure for his tuxedo. “Reed Cullen is just big all over. Tall. Muscly.”

Although he’d made the effort to wear a shirt, he’d risked bursting out of it at any moment the way the buttons had stretched so tightly across his chest.

“Handsome?”

“He desperately needs a haircut.”

“Sometimes long hair can be attractive. Think Brad Pitt inLegends of the Fall.”

“Cullen’s more like an extra fromLord of the Rings.”

“So dark hair?”

“Yes.”

“And does he drive a cool car?”

“I have no idea. He’s an ex-cop, and he was actually quite dull.”

Not that we’d talked much, but he took his coffee black and plain voluntarily, which said everything. So had my ex-husband, but at least Alan had imported the beans from an ethical co-op in Kenya.

“Didn’t he have any stories to tell?”

“I didn’t ask. He agreed to take the case, and that was the only thing we spoke about.”

Kayla nodded, grinning. “Okay, got it. He’s a fit ex-cop who’s here to save womankind. I’ll share my desk with him any day.”

“I thought you were going to put it all in the past?” Annie said.

“And I tried, really I did, but I barely slept last week. Every time I closed my eyes, I wondered ifhewas out there, selecting his next victim.”

“But—”

“And he more than likely knows where I live. He holds all the power here. I just want to find out who he is and let him know that I know so he’ll think twice about pulling the same stunt again.”

“What if he doesn’t appreciate you poking around? As you said, he’s got your address.”

“But it won’t just be me. Cullen will know, and you, and Kayla, and Maria.”

“Maria? I might have guessed she was involved.”

“Think of it as an insurance policy. Please don’t be mad at me, Annie.”

She stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. “I’m not mad at you, just worried. I was terrified when that police officer called me last week.”

“I’m never drinking again.”

“Not without both of us with you to supervise, you’re not. We’ll be your wingmen.”

Guardian angels, more like.

“Dinner and a movie at my place on Friday?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

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