by Linda Kage
"You never ask me—"
That’s when she noticed Mia. This time, she came to a shuddering stop. Eyes widening with a sense of recognition, Mandy’s jaw dropped. Mia had a split second to wonder why she looked so shocked before that very shock dissolved into rage.
"You," Mandy hissed. Suddenly, she was moving again, stalking with a determined stride, like a bull toward the red flag.
Drew turned to the side so he could face both women, like he knew better than to put his back to either of them. But to Mia, he’d just opened the gate to let the enraged bovine through.
Stumbling backward, away from the woman with murder in her eyes, Mia tripped on a framed portrait that had been resting on a floor easel and went sprawling.
Triumph filled her predator’s face. She had Mia right where she wanted her. And she would’ve gotten Mia too if Drew hadn’t stepped between them and caught the charging woman around the stomach.
"Mandy," he said, his voice steady but firm, his arm uncompromising as it hooked her waist. "Stop."
But his stern command only enraged the woman further. Stomping on his instep hard enough to make him grunt, she glared over her shoulder, lashing him with a lethal glare.
"How could you?" She sounded so betrayed and crushed even Mia felt a spurt of outrage on her behalf.
She stumbled to her feet just as Drew yelped, "What? You actually think I invited her here? She just showed up out of nowhere, Mandy. I swear."
Mia frowned, hurt and confused. She was missing something, something huge and important. But what, she had no idea.
"What’s going on?" she dared to ask, her voice tremulous and uncertain.
Mandy glared. Trying to leap out of Drew’s arms and charge once again, she snarled, "He’s married. Do you know that? Do you even care?"
Eyes widening, Mia pressed a hand to her chest, too frightened to even breathe.
"He’s married," Mandy bellowed. "To me! And we have three children together. Three beautiful, perfect—"
The rest of her words were muffled behind a door as Drew picked her up and manually shoved her inside, pulling the portal shut and then placing his body in the entrance to bodily block it.
As the trapped woman started to pound and demand her release, screaming, "Drew! Let me out. Let me out right now," he sent a guilty wince Mia’s way.
"She’ll cool off pretty soon," he assured, though he didn’t look too confident.
Mia could only gape. Finally, air exited her lungs and she was breathing again, breathing enough to gasp, "You’re married?"
Chapter Four
The door locked from Mandy’s side and no matter how much of his weight Drew braced against the closed portal—which was all of it—his sister still threatened to bulldoze her way out. His body lurched forward a couple inches after one of her mighty shoves.
"Drew! You low-down, rotten man." Mandy’s voice echoed all too clearly through the thick wooden panel. "If you want to live through the rest of the day, you’ll let me out … right … now."
"I’ll let you out as soon as you settle down."
In answer, she shoved against the door so hard she very nearly succeeded in throwing him off it. What followed was a stream of gutter talk so crude he was shocked to learn his sweet, naive sister even knew such words.
She directed every one of them at him too.
Attempting to ignore her, he focused on Mia. She stood in frozen horror, gaping at him with one hand fisted to her chest and her big grey eyes blooming wide with disappointment.
"You said you weren’t married," she choked out in an accusing voice, looking devastated.
He frowned. "I’m not."
"Drew," his banshee of a sister screamed. "Are you talking to her? Don’t you dare talk to that witch. I’ll never let you see my children again if you so much as look at her."
Even as Mia took another cautious step back, her eyes narrowed on him. "Well, she certainly seems to think you’re married."
"What?" he said, blinking back his confusion. "Mandy doesn’t think—Oh. Oh, no. No! She’s my sister. I’m not the man married to her."
"Your sister?" Her shoulders slumped in relief, but in the next moment, Mandy started pounding again, making her jump. "But …"
"She’s my sister," he insisted. To prove it, he slapped the palm of his hand against the door behind him. "Mandy," he called. "Tell her I’m your brother."
"No," Amanda yelled back. "I disown you, you dirty rat. We are no longer related." She shoved at the door, making him grit his teeth against the pain that spiked up his spine.
Sending Mia a rueful smile, he said, "See."
She shook her head. "No, I don’t see. I don’t understand what’s going on at all."
"Let me out," Amanda called. "I’ll make her understand."
Mia jerked back at the threat, and Drew lifted both his hands, keeping the door braced with his back. "Okay, here’s the deal," he confessed. "I haven’t exactly been honest with you."
Mia’s lips parted. "So, she is your wife?"
He sighed. "No. She’s really my sister. But … I … She …" He closed his eyes and pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead. "She thinks her husband’s cheating on her."
"She … " Shaking her head, Mia frowned in confusion.
"With you," he finished.
He could tell that caught her completely off guard, and it did his heart good because it upped the possibility she was completely innocent of all wrong-doing.
"You’re sister thinks I’m dating her husband?" she repeated slowly like she was sure she’d misunderstood him.
It took him a moment to give the terse nod, but he did, making her jaw drop.
"Well, let her out. I’ll tell her right now I’m not."
He made a pained face. "Ah … Right now might not be such a good time."
"Listen to her," Mandy called. "Let me out."
"I’m not dating your husband," Mia stated adamantly, raising her voice so Mandy could hear her. "I’m not dating anyone’s husband."
"Are you sure?" Drew asked, mentally kicking himself even as the words spilled from this mouth. "I mean, maybe you don’t know he’s married."
Letting out an anguished cry of outrage, Mia took a moment to send him a disappointed glare. "I’m positive," she growled from between gritted teeth. Then she spun away and started for the exit.
"Mia!" he called after her, his voice desperate, pleading.
Whirling around, she glared at him. "What made her think I would ever …" Too upset to even finish the question, she seethed, pinning him with that same disheartened frown.
•
Mia wanted to hurt Drew Harper. She also wanted to curl into a ball and weep.
For three long years, she’d been unable to get close to anyone and suddenly, here was this seemingly perfect guy, making her think she might finally be able to heal.
But Drew wasn’t what she thought he was. He was a deceiver. A fraud.
"I don’t even know her," she said, pointing toward the closed door he held shut with his entire body. "And I probably don’t even know her husband."
"His name’s Jeff Wright," he was quick to explain. "Jeffrey Alan Wright."
Mia shook her head. The name meant absolutely nothing. "Never heard of him."
Drew nodded, looking relieved. But that only infuriated her more.
"This makes no sense. Why me? Why’d she pick me?"
He glanced away guiltily. "Her husband had half a dozen red roses delivered to 410 South Elm Street."
Mia’s eyes flashed wide. She barely managed to keep the gasp of realization in, but she was sure he could see the comprehension in her eyes as all the pieces of the puzzle finally fit.
"What?" he asked anxiously.
Shaking her head, she said, "I haven’t received a delivery of roses." And that wasn’t a lie. "No one’s ever sent me flowers." More truth. Yet, guilt heated her face. She glanced away, only to dart her gaze back to him.
Drew watched her
closely, frowning slightly. She could tell he didn’t believe her. She bit the inside of her lip, hating the fact she’d never been able to hold a poker face. It was probably the biggest reason she was still in counseling. The doctor could tell too easily she wasn’t healed.
"You know something," he pressed.
Yes.
Mia shook her head and turned away so he couldn’t see her face. "I have to go."
"Mia," he called. "Please. This is my sister’s marriage we’re talking about. If you know something—"
"I don’t," she cut in, which technically was true. She didn’t know. But she could make a pretty accurate guess. "I’m sorry. I can’t help you."
And with that, she fled.
•
Drew probably waited longer than he should’ve before he opened the door to let Mandy out. But, unreasonably protective of Mia, he didn’t move until he heard her car start, giving her a chance to escape.
He still couldn’t believe she’d come to visit him or that she’d used such a flimsy excuse as to bring him a listing of houses for sale. It was flattering actually. She’d tried a little too hard to make up a reason to visit.
If she was that interested in him, she couldn’t be involved with Jeffrey, ergo, she was free for him to pursue. But then again, if she was dating a married man, she probably had no qualms about seeing other men on the side.
But he didn’t think that was the case.
He prayed it wasn’t.
When he finally stepped aside and opened the door, his sister spilled through the opening, landing on her knees and catching herself with her hands.
"I guess you heard her answer."
Mandy ignored him. She carefully pushed to her feet and went about wiping floor dust from her knees and palms. When she straightened, her cold gaze slid his way.
"I heard her deny it. But you already said she would. If she was involved with a married man, she’d have no problem with lying."
He shook his head. "I don’t think she was lying."
"You can’t know that."
He frowned, defensive. "I saw her face, Mandy. You didn’t. She was telling the truth."
"Yeah, you saw something on her face," Mandy murmured, scowling at him. "I heard everything you two said. You could tell she knew something."
He opened his mouth, but no words came. Amanda was already mad enough, knowing he was attracted to her husband’s possible mistress. It would be in very bad taste to keep defending said accused mistress.
"What’re you doing over here, anyway?" he snapped, instead. "Where are your children?"
She scowled. "Jeffrey’s mother’s taking them to the zoo today. Don’t change the subject."
He growled out a grumble of irritation. "She wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t know Jeff."
"Then—"
"It was the roses," he confessed grudgingly.
Amanda cocked her head, confused. "What about them?"
"Her eyes widened when I mentioned roses being delivered to her address."
"Aha!" Mandy literally leaped a couple inches off the floor as she snapped her fingers. "I knew it."
"You don’t know squat," Drew reminded her. "She looked completely blank when I said Jeff’s name. She doesn’t know him." He ran his hands through his hair. Frustration raced through him like an attack of low-blood sugar, making him jittery and restless. "There has to be some kind of reasonable explanation—"
"Oh, pul-lease. If there was a reasonable explanation, then why didn’t she give it?"
Good question. He’d like to know that as well.
Fed up with the entire conversation, Drew threw up his hands. "I don’t know! Okay? I do not know. Maybe she was freaked out from you trying to murder her. It’d sure jumble my brains a bit."
Setting her hands on her hips, Amanda’s eyebrows snapped together. "Will you stop defending her? It’s making me mad. I know she’s soooo beautiful, but you best clear that lovey-dovey look out of your eyes fast, buddy boy. You’re my brother. Your loyalties lie with me."
As she jabbed a finger into her own chest, Drew arched a brow. "Lovey-dovey look?"
"Don’t you dare deny it." Batting her eyelashes, she lifted the pitch in her voice to mimic his words from a few days ago. "I think I’m in love." As soon as she spoke, though, her face pinched tight. She sent him a testy look. "What a bunch of bull. You don’t even know her. And worse yet, she’d probably just got done kissing my husband right before she flirted with you."
Drew sighed. "She didn’t—" Realizing he was only digging himself deeper, he abruptly stopped trying and lifted his palms in surrender. "Look, I’m sorry for saying that, okay. It was … it was stupid, insensitive, and … and stupid." Ignoring his sister’s snort of agreement, he continued. "But honestly, nothing’s been proven yet. I mean, what did Jeff have to say about it?" He paused when she became interested in one of his portraits on the wall. "You did talk to Jeff like you said you would, didn’t you?" He hadn’t had a moment to discuss the situation with her to her since she’d come to pick up her children last night.
Mandy swallowed. "Yes."
He frowned, not liking the lump in his gut. "And?"
She avoided his gaze.
"Mandy? You asked him about the flowers, right?"
"Not yet," she mumbled.
"What!? Why not?"
She sighed. "I’m waiting until the credit card bill comes in."
"The credit—" He shook his head. "Okay, you totally lost me."
"Fine. Here’s the plan," she started, looking very reluctant to explain. "Jeffrey and I switch every other month to pay the bills. I didn’t want to hear him complain when he saw how much I had to spend on Natalie’s uniforms for this summer’s dance camp. So I went online to make sure my purchase would show up on the month I pay bills. That way he’d never even see how much they cost. But then I saw fifty dollars had been spent at Thornback’s Posey Shop, and I almost flipped. I was ready to call the credit card company and report identity theft."
"Fifty bucks for six roses?" Drew echoed in disbelief.
Good Lord. Last time he’d bought anyone a bouquet, it’d been Mandy’s birthday and he’d gotten the six ninety-nine special from the grocery store, which consisted of a couple dozen yellow, half-wilted daisies.
Shaking his head, he returned to reality. "So why didn’t you contact the credit card company?"
"Because I wanted to find out who’d been using my card more. I went to the flower shop and bugged the owner until she finally pulled the receipt. And right there, with my very own eyes, I saw my husband’s signature for the delivery."
Drew winced. That didn’t sound good. But it didn’t explain everything. "I still don’t understand why you think you have to wait until the credit card bill comes in to ask him about it?"
She looked uncomfortable as she answered, "I don’t want him to think I was being nosey and purposely checking up on him. I don’t want him to think I don’t trust him."
Shaking his head, Drew argued, "But you don’t trust him, Mandy. And you found out about the flowers by accident. Why does it matter anyway?"
"Drew, I have this all planned out. Okay? Just back off. As soon as the bill comes, I’m going to open it in front of him. Then, as I’m already glancing through it, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, it’s you’re month to pay the bills, isn’t it?’ And right before I hand it over, I’m going to pause and frown at the itemized list. ‘Hmm,’ I’ll say, looking confused. ‘There’s a bill here from Thornback’s. Then, I’ll innocently glance at him and ask, ‘Did you buy anything from Thornback’s?’ If he says no, then bam, I have him in a lie. If he says yes and the answer is anything different than having six roses delivered to 410 South Elm, then—"
"Yeah, yeah. Bam, you have him in a lie. I got it."
"But if he has some kind of explanation and it meshes with what I already know, then I’ll have my answer and he’ll never suspect I thought he might be cheating. I don’t want him to be mad at me, and knowing I d
on’t trust him would hurt him, Drew. He’d be so upset."
Drew blew out a long sigh, knowing there was no way to talk his sister out of her idea. "So, what did you talk to Jeff about if it wasn’t the roses? You said you talked to him."
"Oh, I asked him about … you know, his lack of—"
"Whoa. Sorry I asked. I don’t need to hear anymore."
"And he said he’d been really busy at work, dealing with a lot of stress," Amanda continued anyway. "Which kind of clears him, but doesn’t completely. He’s had stress before. And it’s only made him want more intimate—"
"Mandy," Drew bit out. "No more. Please."
His sister rolled her eyes. "I figure the only way I can tell for sure if stress is really making him distant is if you talk to him. Which brings me around to the reason I came over." Looking up at him with pleading eyes, she said, "Will you talk to Jeffrey?"
"Me?" Drew shifted a nervous step back, not liking the turn this conversation had taken. "Why?"
"You’re a guy. Guys talk about that stuff."
He sputtered in disbelief. "Not to their wife’s brother they don’t. In fact, the less I know about you two—like that—the better."
"But I think you might be able to get some information out of him I couldn’t."
He snorted. "Honestly, I don’t think I could."
"Drew. Please. You’ll never know if you don’t try."
"Mandy," he started uncertainly. But she’d already moved closer and was clinging to his arm.
"Just come to lunch tomorrow," she pleaded. "Maybe get him off alone for a few minutes. And then tell me what you think? Tell me if he’s acting unusual. I’ll even cook your favorite. Roast beef."
Giving in, Drew groaned out his displeasure. "Fine," he muttered. "But I refuse to ask him about … that."
"Thank you, Drew," Amanda exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him tight, stamping his cheek with a quick kiss. "You’re the best brother ever. I owe you."
"Yes," he muttered, making a face of displeasure with each loud, smacking smooch she gave. "You do. Big time."
•
When Mia got home, she hurried in the front door and shut it behind her, leaning back against the closed panel. Pressing a hand to her still-racing heart, she stared across the living room to the table sitting in the kitchen, or rather to the vase full of six long-stemmed roses perched on top of the table.