A Family Affair: The Wish: Truth in Lies, Book 9 Read Online Free PDF

flounder to his mouth and chewed. How did a person chew to a rhythm? Was he counting the chews? Bree hid a smile and forked her own crab and flounder, plopped it in her mouth. One, two, chew. One, two, chew. One, two, three, chew. One chew. Heavens, no wonder he was so quiet; concentration was the key.
    She’d rather talk and forget about eating in rhythm. “Thanks for suggesting this dish. The crab and flounder are delicious.” Bree scooped up a hunk of mashed potatoes with garlic and chives. “Plus, I’ve always been a mashed potato fan. I know people say white is bad for you, but I say you’ve got to have choices and it’s not the what but the how much.” She pointed her fork at him, tilted her head. Adam seemed like a good guy; she bet if he were married, he’d wear a ring. Wouldn’t he? Only one way to find out. “Are you married?”
    “Married? Me?” He laughed. “No, definitely not.”
    Bree blinked, tried to focus on his eyes because eyes always told the truth. That’s what her daddy said. But it was hard to make out Adam’s eyes, maybe because the restaurant had lowered the lights, or maybe because the wine had made her vision and her brain a little foggy. She squinted, but no luck. Why did he say definitely not, like it could never be a possibility? Was it because he had been married and now he was divorced? Lots of people who suffered a divorce would rather get a tooth pulled than go through that again. Same for people with cheating spouses: they didn’t want to think about going through the whole forever-and-ever thing again because chances are it wouldn’t be forever. Dang, it might not even be for ten years. She bet Adam was divorced. Yup. She took another sip of wine and let curiosity beat out common sense. “You’re divorced, aren’t you?”
    “Divorced?” That question made him laugh and shake his head. “No, not divorced.” His expression turned serious and the dimples on either side of his mouth faded. “How about you? Are you divorced, maybe from the cheater guy who caused you so many tears tonight?”
    “No!” It was her turn to shake her head and she did it with such force her hair slapped her cheeks. If the cheater had lived, she’d have divorced him so fast he wouldn’t know which way was which. That was the truth, wasn’t it? She would have divorced Brody if he’d lived, right? Thrown him and his cheating behind out the door; to heck with vows of “forever and ever” and “one and only.” Bree had sworn this was exactly what she’d do given the chance, but deep down, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure of it. They’d been together since they were teenagers, shared three girls and a bucket of dreams. They were supposed to travel out west, wade into the Pacific Ocean hand in hand. They were supposed to share their dreams together , for as long as they lived, not take a detour and find another one and only. People called her strong, said she would find her own way to a life that made sense, but what about the one she’d lost, the one she’d dreamed about since she was a young girl? What about sharing a love with the other half of your soul and knowing he would never betray you, not if you gained twenty pounds, got sick, or burned the chicken dinner? He would be there forever— no matter what .
    “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Adam’s eyes glittered under the soft lights. “I’m sorry.”
    She liked his voice, all soft and cozy like the sweater Mama bought her for Christmas. “Thank you.” And the eyes, she liked those, too, even if she couldn’t tell what color they were. And he sure was handsome, not big and brawny like the one she’d been married to, but tall, fit, golden, like a genuine piece of perfection. Yes, golden was a good word for the man: the tan, the hair, the smile. He had a brain, too, not like her dead husband who never could understand the difference between a checking balance and an average daily balance. No sense pretending she