Dirty Little Secrets

by Elise Noble

  “Really? I can’t think where. Steve wasn’t religious, and Phoebe’s whole life revolved around the church. Oh, and ballet, but Steve wasn’t much of a dancer either.”

  “She knew him in more of a professional capacity.” Luca took my wine glass and filled it to the brim. “Here, drink this.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Phoebe made a few adjustments to her lifestyle. She works in a club called the Edge of Eden now.”

  “The Edge of Eden?” The name was vaguely familiar. Kind of biblical, which was fitting for Phoebe. Had Addy suggested going there? She was always trying to get me to be more sociable. “What’s— Oh.”

  Now I remembered, and it was nothing to do with the book of Genesis, not unless you counted the “no clothes” part anyway. When Addy was organising the paperwork for her boss’s expenses, she’d noticed a charge from the club on his credit card statement and looked the place up. Needless to say, she’d been somewhat red-faced and left that particular amount off the reclaim form.

  It also explained why Steve had never seemed to have any money despite having a good job.

  I sure knew how to pick ’em, didn’t I?

  “Yeah. Drink the wine, sweetheart.”

  I poured it down my throat, and it helped a little. What helped more was having Luca with me, sitting on the blanket with one leg bent and the other straight out in front of him as he leaned back on his hands, not quite relaxed but trying. He’d help me to forget all about Steve after the questions were over.

  “I’m such an idiot. I even paid for his gas half the time because he said he was short of cash.”

  “You’re not the idiot. Steve’s the idiot.” Luca brought my hand to his lips. Kissed it. “Your kindness is a strength, sweetheart, not a weakness. But I have to ask—was it a bad break-up? Could you see him spiking your drink and taking advantage?”

  “No? I mean, I don’t think so, but I’m finding out that I’m not a very good judge of character.”

  Luca rolled onto his knees, crawled forward and fisted my hair in one hand. Kissed me breathless.

  “Everyone has their secrets. Some matter more than others.”

  “Do yours?”

  “Mine are mostly work-related. They matter, but not in this world.”

  “Mostly work-related?”

  “You’re my biggest secret, Brooke. My filthy, dirty little secret. But we need to finish this conversation before we get to that part of the evening.”

  The urge to push Luca backward onto the grass and ride him into the sunset was strong, but I tamped it down and nodded.

  “Okay.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, a lump made of a thousand bad decisions. “The break-up with Steve… It wasn’t great. He cheated on me. At least, I think so. I found a condom in his pocket when I washed his jeans, and I’m on the pill, so we weren’t…” I closed my eyes and wished I could roll right down the ramp into oblivion. “Anyhow, I had to get tested for everything. My only regret is that I didn’t kick him in the balls before I left. It was horrible. So while I don’t know what I spoke with him about at the party, I can’t imagine it was civil.”

  “I’ll pass the information on to Colt.”

  “Please, no.”

  I’d never be able to face him again.

  “I’ll edit the details first, okay?” Luca rested his hand on my thigh. “You’re on the pill?”

  I should have known he’d pick up on that little point. And yes, I still was. The question was, did I want to strip away that final barrier between Luca and me? Keeping my distance was hard enough without adding extra intimacy, and every time I thought of him leaving Baldwin’s Shore again, leaving me again, my heart crumpled in my chest.

  “Do you get tested?” I asked, stalling, and also because I wasn’t that naïve. Luca was no saint, and he’d never tried to pretend otherwise.

  “Regularly. And I’ve always used protection in the past. Always. But…” He scrubbed a hand over his face, and I realised I wasn’t the only one affected. “But you’re the one woman I can’t get enough of.” Now he cupped my cheek. “I wish the circumstances were different.”

  But they weren’t, and no amount of wishing could change that.

  “Yes,” I whispered. “I’m still on the pill. How many more questions do you have?”

  “Just one. Do you remember seeing Easton Baldwin that night? You were there when he had a fight in Addy’s kitchen.”

  How could I have forgotten a freaking fight? “I don’t. And don’t ask me if I’d have spoken to him because the answer’s ‘not in a million years.’”

  “I thought that’s what you’d say. Give me two minutes to put the dog to bed. Do you want anything from downstairs?”

  “Tonight, I don’t want anything but you.”

  And he got me.

  In more ways than I could count.

  As his lips slid over my throat, the last rays of sun kissing my skin and the fragrance from the flowers mingling with his woodsy musk, I began to wonder what life would be like in Africa. Because if Luca was leaving Baldwin’s Shore, I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay.

  Two weeks wasn’t enough with Luca. A lifetime wasn’t enough.

  My skin burned as his caresses left a trail of fire in their wake, and I began to see the downsides of self-restraint. Why shouldn’t I make like a cowgirl? I was about to straddle him when he got in first, lowering me until my back hit the grass. A little scratchy, but at least there were no bugs.

  “Spread your legs, sweetheart.”

  “Aren’t you the charming one tonight?”

  “If by ‘charming’ you mean ‘horny,’ then absolutely.” His eyes smouldered like active volcanoes. “These pants need to go because I’m gonna make you come before the sun goes down.”

  He seared me with one more kiss, then unbuttoned my jeans and worked them down my legs. My thighs fell open of their own accord as I craved what he offered. His fingers. His lips. His tongue and the filthy words that rolled off it. I grew slick under his touch, writhing on the blanket as sensation took over. He hadn’t been kidding about the sunset part. Orange light bathed us as I arched off the floor, a backdrop for the fireworks that burst behind my eyelids.

  “Luca,” I gasped.

  “Dreamed about you saying my name that way, sweetheart. Next time, you’ll scream it.”

  He told no lies, and I rolled him onto his back. Leaned forward to kiss him again. Straddled him and lowered myself onto his bare cock with a long, drawn-out moan of pleasure. He felt so good. So right. So patient as he let me set the pace, building, building up to another orgasm. At the last moment, he flipped me and thrust his hips, pistoning until we crested at the same moment.

  And yes, I gave him what he wanted.

  “Luca,” I cried.

  This man was everything.

  Everything.

  Breathing heavy, he supported himself on his elbows and gazed down at me, a sheen of sweat gleaming in the dying light. This was what I’d dreamed of. Luca looking at me as if I was his world. But it was all getting a bit intense, so I gave his ass a squeeze and then giggled. Call it a defence mechanism.

  “What?”

  “You have Astroturf dimples on your butt cheeks.”

  “Occupational hazard.” He reached out, plucked a purple flower, and tucked it behind my ear. “You’re the most beautiful creature on earth, Brooke.”

  Difficult to believe, but one truth was certain.

  I was his.

  25

  Luca

  The Fairbanks home was as painfully immaculate as I remembered. Vivid green lawns grew on either side of a brick path, and I stretched out a foot to see if they were made from plastic because they sure looked like it. Nope, real. Flowers grew in regimented height order, and bird feeders were arranged in a perfect square around a stone birdbath. Squawks came from nearby trees. Gerald Fairbanks must have spent hours tidying the yard, but I guess if I were married to Elmira, I’d have wanted to get out of the house too. If
you looked up the word “henpecked” in the dictionary, his picture would be there, droopy around the jowls and miserable as fuck.

  I raised my hand to knock, but Elmira must’ve seen me coming because the door swung open before my knuckles connected.

  “Whatever you’re selling, we don’t want any.”

  “I’m actually here to see Lydia.”

  Elmira looked me up and down, and her mouth tightened into a pissy line. “You most certainly are not.”

  “Mom, Mom, it’s okay.” Feet thundered down the stairs, and Lydia appeared. She’d gone for the casual look in a cotton-candy-pink velvet tracksuit with matching lips, eyes, and hair bow. Kind of like Barbie, if Barbie had the physique of Jupiter. “Luca called me. You remember Luca?”

  Elmira turned that laser gaze on me again, and the prissiness twisted into a sneer.

  “I thought you ran off with your tail between your legs.”

  Years of training at the hands of commanding officers whose egos were bigger than the chip on Elmira’s shoulder meant the insult rolled off me.

  “I was fighting for my country, ma’am.”

  “Why did you stop? Are you a quitter?”

  “I moved into the private sector.” My words were forced through gritted teeth and a smile that meant I wanted to snap her neck like a Christmas turkey’s.

  “What does that mean? The private sector? Are you part of one of those militias?”

  “No, I—”

  “Mom, please.” Lydia giggled. “He’s just here to ask a few questions about Addy’s birthday party.”

  “Why? Did something happen? That doesn’t surprise me in the least. Girls like her, they invite all the boys over and—”

  “We can sit in the dining room.” Lydia’s tone took on a note of desperation. “Right, Mom?”

  “Make sure he takes his boots off.” Elmira glared at me again. “Are your feet clean?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Freshly bleached this morning.”

  She didn’t pick up on the sarcasm. “Good. Keep your hands off my daughter.”

  I’d saw them off at the wrists before I touched Lydia Fairbanks, but I bit back the truth and saluted instead. “Message received, ma’am. Loud and clear.”

  I was surprised she didn’t pass out plastic booties like the ones cops wore at crime scenes, but having said her piece, Elmira backed away. Colt always said her bark was worse than her bite, but her bite was still fucking rabid. Next time, he could speak with Lydia.

  I followed her ass into the dining room and took a seat while she fussed with pouring a glass of water I wouldn’t drink. I didn’t want to delay my escape by even a second.

  “Isn’t Addy the sweetest?” Lydia said. “Mom says she’s trashy, but she always invites me to her parties, even though nobody else does.”

  Can’t think why that might be. Sane people tended to stay off Elmira’s radar, and that meant giving Lydia a wide berth too.

  “Addy’s got a heart of gold, all right.”

  “She went with a Mexican theme this year. There were piñatas and tacos and that beer with the lime in it. What questions did you want to ask? You were real vague on the phone.”

  “I’m more interested in last year’s party.”

  “Last year’s? But that was forever ago. You said this is something to do with the sheriff’s office?”

  “Yes, but Colt’s trying to keep it quiet so the perp doesn’t get tipped off.”

  “The perp? Oh my gosh! There was, like, a crime?”

  Once again, I went through the stalker story, and I ended with another warning. “But you can’t tell anyone. We want to catch this asshole, not scare him off temporarily so he can pop up again in the future.”

  He’d already proven he had patience. If he came after Brooke when I wasn’t there…

  “I won’t say a word.”

  “Not even to your mom.”

  The guilty look said that had been exactly what Lydia planned to do. “But what am I gonna tell her? She’ll want to know why you were here.”

  “Make something up. Say we’re planning the theme for next year’s party.”

  “Really? You think I’ll get invited again?”

  “If you keep your mouth shut, I’ll make sure of it.”

  “I promise. I totally promise. But what is it that you want to know?”

  “I heard you left at the same time Brooke went outside to get some air. Around ten p.m.? Nobody remembers seeing her after that.”

  “I did? I mean, yes, I left at ten—I have a curfew—but I don’t remember seeing Brooke. Or really anything else.” Lydia giggled. “I might have had some liquor, but not too much because…” She jerked her head toward the hallway. “You know. Mom.”

  Yeah, I remembered Elmira didn’t much like alcohol either. Gerald probably kept his whisky in the shed—I didn’t see how he could function without it.

  “It would have been not long after Easton Baldwin got into a fight. Did you hear about that?”

  “Oh, yes! The fight. Sure, sure, I heard the shouting. Easton’s a jerk when he’s sober, but when he’s drunk? Whew.”

  “So let’s walk through that scene. Where were you when you heard the shouting?”

  “Uh, in the living room? Near the vestibule? I wasn’t sure whether to go get help, but then someone said they were gonna call Parker, and I figured it was under control.”

  “You’re certain about that? If he had to drive all the way from Baldwin’s Shore, Easton would’ve had time for round two.”

  “Parker wasn’t in Baldwin’s Shore. He arrived, like, five minutes later. Oh, oh! I remember Brooke was there. She left the apartment, and she had a glass in her hand, which was kind of weird because it was Addy’s glass and I didn’t think we were meant to take them home with us.”

  “What made you think she was going home?”

  “I… I can’t remember.”

  “Was she wearing a coat? Did she say goodbye to anyone?”

  “A coat. She was wearing a coat. A pretty blue coat. Bright blue, like the eye of a peacock feather. And… Yes!” Lydia beamed at me. “Now I recall—I saw her outside. At least, I think it was her. The guy with her was blocking my view, but I’m almost sure it was the same coat.”

  “A guy?” Anger crackled through my veins. Maybe a thrill too. From the chase. From what I’d do to that motherfucker when I got my hands on him. Not just on him, but around his damn throat. “Who was he?”

  “I only saw him from behind. But Mom drove a ways up the road to turn the car around, and when we drove back, they were farther along the sidewalk. Like they were going to a vehicle? You really think he started stalking her? Because that’s super freaky. What if it had been me?”

  Yeah, no, that was unlikely. If a stalker showed up with a vase of flowers, Elmira would be lying in wait to give him a lecture on colour choices, probably with a shotgun at her side. He’d run a fucking mile. Though Lydia would’ve been grateful if he sent candy.

  “Tell me everything you remember. What colour was the guy’s hair? His skin?”

  “Uh, dark hair? Like, brown, I think, not black. They passed under a street light and it seemed lighter on top, you know? And he was white.”

  “Was the hair long? Short?”

  “Short at the sides, and maybe a little longer on top?”

  “Good, that’s good. How tall was he?”

  “Taller than Brooke.”

  That wasn’t difficult. “How much taller? My height?”

  “No, shorter. And not so…” Lydia put her fists on her hips in a muscle pose. “Not so big. Just a regular guy. I really didn’t pay much attention.”

  “Can you remember what he was wearing?”

  Blonde curls bounced as Lydia shook her head. That hairstyle belonged on a kid, not a grown woman.

  “Maybe a jacket? Jeans? Nothing special. I don’t know.”

  “Was he carrying anything?”

  She spread her hands, helpless. “It was a year ago, and I’d be
en drinking…well, I’m not certain exactly what it was, but there was a lot of it. Some cocktail.”

  “It’s okay. You’ve been very helpful.” And if she was right about the hair, it ruled out Easton Baldwin, which was almost disappointing. He wore his dirty-blond hair slicked back like a used-car salesman. What colour hair did Steve have? “Colt might want to speak to you later in the week.”

  “Oh, sure, I’m always available when I’m not at work.”

  Even as I jogged toward the gate, I could feel Elmira’s gaze burning into the back of my head. Lydia was definitely Colt’s problem now. I’d gotten everything I could.

  And I also needed to spend time with Brooke. Six days left. Six nights. And then… Fuck knew what I was gonna do. My job had never looked less attractive, and the thought of moving to the other side of the world without my girl… Maybe I should talk to Aaron when he came back? Confess I had feelings for his sister, explain how much she meant to me. We could rewind, start dating the old-fashioned way. If I proved I wanted Brooke for more than sex—an admittedly foreign concept when it came to me and women—he might come around to the idea of the two of us being a couple.

  When it came down to it, I didn’t want to lose either of them.

  I just wasn’t sure I could have both.

  26

  Brooke

  I loved Addy, don’t get me wrong, but tonight, I couldn’t help wishing she were anywhere but Aaron’s half-finished kitchen. When she’d invited herself over for dinner, complete with food from my favourite Italian restaurant in Coos Bay, I couldn’t come up with an excuse fast enough to stop her. Telling the truth—that I wanted to spend the entire evening naked with Luca—obviously wasn’t an option. Addy just wasn’t great at keeping secrets. Oh, she tried, but they had a habit of slipping out of her mouth at the most inopportune moments.

  So here we were. Fully clothed and getting ready to eat black truffle and pecorino triangoli—which seemed to be triangular ravioli rather than square—that she’d reheated in the microwave.

  “Steve?” she said. “You really think it could have been Steve? I always thought he was a bit of an ass, but…wow. I’m surprised he showed up at the party at all. Sure, I invited him, but that was before you broke up, and then I forgot to uninvite him, and…” Addy’s grip on the bottle of wine she was holding tightened until her knuckles turned white. “I’m gonna chop off his balls with a rusty knife.”