Page 15 of Always Mine

“Then tell me what happened that night and we’ll hash it out.”

“I can’t talk about it.”

“Yes, you can. You have to let your feelings out.”

“Don’t push me, Will. I can’t do it.Can’t, buddy.”

Will seemed taken aback at his vehemence. “Okay for now. But youwilltalk before I go back to D.C.”

Time to change the subject. “How long you staying?”

“I could only get a week. I’m at my parents’ house and visiting my dad in assisted living. So, you had any visitors?”

“My family. My chief. Joe Romano.” He hesitated.

Will was a keenly trained observer. “Spill it, D.”

“Annie came to the hospital a few times.”

Now Will’s brows hitched up. “Annie Stefano?TheAnnie Stefano.”

“Don’t make too much of this. It was just a couple of visits.”

“Nothing about Annie has ever been simple.”

“She’s engaged. So don’t worry about anything happening between us.”

“You two are like moths to flames whenever you’re near each other. I wish she’d stayed in South Carolina.”

“Let it go, Will.”

“That too? What the hell can we talk about?”

“How about your love life!”

* * *

Annie stood by the open window, gazing down at the backyard. The cicadas were out in full force. She enjoyed the sound. But tonight, she felt her stomach pitch.

She’d done the unthinkable. She’d made love with someone she cared deeply about and thought about another man. She’d had to fake an orgasm because of that intrusion. She’d never done that before.

“Annie?” she heard from the bed. “What time is it?”

“3 a.m. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Come back and try.”

“I—” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.”

She climbed back onto the bed and under the sheet still in the robe she’d put on after they’d had sex. He fingered it. “Cold?”

“A bit.”

He pulled up covers.

She cuddled in. She put her head on his naked chest and could hear the thump of his heartbeat. Smell his woodsy scent. “I’m feeling off lately, Seth. Not sleeping well.”

“And not eating much.”

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