She liked that about herself.
She liked the wine, too. And poured herself a second glass.
* * *
He may or may not have found what he was looking for.
A way into a woman’s heart.
He’d been on it for a couple of hours. Had a buddy who, while he’d been rolling with Clarke’s wild ideas since the fourth grade, now probably wondered if Clarke had finally gone off his rocker.
Didn’t much matter to Clarke one way or the other what his buddy thought.
What was done was done.
He wasn’t sorry.
Not about what he’d done.
He was feeling a bit bad that he’d taken so long to get Everleigh’s suitcase back to her place. Most particularly when he pulled his rental car into her drive and saw her own parked there, outside the garage. She’d been home long enough to move her car.
There were no lights on.
And at seven o’clock, there was no way she’d be in bed.
Heart racing double time, he had his gun out of its holster and was running for the front door. If something had happened... Larissa had told someone about the life insurance...
He pounded on the front door. Hard. Over and over. Looking between the lock and the window. Breaking the window would be quicker...
The latch clicked.
Easier than either breaking the window or kicking the door down. Still holding his weapon, he lowered it. Wondered if she was looking out through the peephole, seeing him standing there like some kind of possessed idiot.
If it was even her on the other side of the door...
For all he knew, she had a friend over. He had no idea who her friends were—besides Larissa. Or what she normally did on a Sunday night.
But had a pretty good idea that sitting in the dark wasn’t it.
The door opened. “Clarke?”
She was still in the jeans and sweater she’d put on at his place that morning. Her hair was a bit more mussed. Hard to tell about the rest of her. She still hadn’t turned on a light.
“I brought your bag back.”
No way she had a man in there.
Did she? Oh, God. What if she did? He’d given her no reason not to turn to someone else. What an ass he was sometimes. Cutting off his own nose to spite his face? He couldn’t have blown this...could he?
Maybe she’d liked what he’d shown her the night before. Had gone out and found herself another man. She had every right.
And then some.
The woman had been faithful her entire life, and life hadn’t been faithful to her.
She was free.
“Thank you.” She opened the door, stuck her hand out for the bag.