Murder Of A Snake In The Grass Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Look closer. We were finished over two and a half years ago. I still remember very clearly the day you dumped me and cleaned out our apartment while I was at work being fired.”
    “Darlin’, I was confused.” He tried to get closer, but she dodged out of his reach. His touch was dangerous. “I know now I was wrong, but at the time I thought you were being unreasonable, jeopardizing everything for a lying, attention-seeking teenager. I realize now she wasn’t the one lying.”
    “Still, you didn’t believe me when I told you I was sure she was being abused.”
    “When she recanted, everyone thought she had been making up stories.”
    “I never did,” she corrected him. “And you should have believed me. It was obvious she was being threatened by her all-powerful father.”
    “You’re right, I see that now, and I’ve come to make it up to you—and to help children who find themselves in similar situations in the future.”
    Skye couldn’t believe that this was the same man who had all but run her out of town on a rail. “I’m glad to hearyou’re going to help abused kids, but you don’t have to make it up to me. It’s in the past. I have a new life now.”
    Where was Simon? She looked around and saw that he had left through the great room’s French doors and was sitting on a patio chaise lounge facing the river. He was surrounded by a gray blanket of fog that had rolled in off the water, making him almost invisible. Skye raised her voice, “Simon, come meet my
ex
-fiancé.”
    He got up and spoke from the open doorway. “Why don’t you two settle things by yourselves first? Don’t worry,” he said over his shoulder as he turned back to his chair, “I’m not going anywhere.”
    Luc frowned. “Is that man your fiancé?”
    “No, but we are dating.” Skye wondered what Simon was up to, staying out on the deck. He was behaving strangely, or maybe he wasn’t. Who knew in a situation like this how anyone was supposed to act?
    “Ah, then I’m not too late.” Luc moved close, trapping her between his body and the wall. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”
    Skye blinked back tears that suddenly formed. Her heart felt as if it had lodged in her throat and made it difficult to speak. “I don’t want to hear that. You never really loved me. My middle-class background appealed to you as just another way to provoke your parents.” She pushed her way free of him and ran into her bedroom. It was all too much.
    She went straight to the bathroom, locked the door, and splashed cold water on her face. She had tried to erase the feeling of Luc’s touch and the sensation of his kisses from her memory, but they still remained. Even now she had the strongest yearning to go back into the living room and throw herself into his arms. But a more powerful urge was to grab him by the collar of his designer shirt and demand to know why he’d broken her heart.
    Skye knew she had to go back and finish things with him. But why did he have to look better now than he had in thepast? His black hair, with a touch of silver at the temples, was still full and thick. His eyes were a clear indigo blue. And worst of all, the few age lines around his mouth gave him a look of strength. His youthful good looks had matured into something better, much better. Why couldn’t he look like the spoiled, selfish man she knew he was?
    It suddenly occurred to her to wonder how she looked to him. Should she change clothes, fix her hair, put on some makeup? No! When she’d left him, she had vowed never again to change herself for any man. Instead she dried her face and marched back to the battlefield.
    Luc was seated on the sofa, trying to coax Bingo near enough to be petted. The cat sat just out of reach and stared at him with unblinking golden eyes.
    “Darlin’, you’re back!” Luc sprang to his feet. “I see you got my gifts.” He gestured around the cottage. “I hope you like them and they help you forgive me.”
    “I asked