Page 35 of A Moon Lake Christmas Hero

I sank like a stone, and he pulled me up again, then immediately let go.

“Bailey thinks somebody tampered with the brake line.”

My stomach hardened into a tight knot. Foreboding fear and guilt made me shiver. “Are you sure?”

“Not yet.” His features softened, and he moved closer.

“When did Bailey tell you?”

“Yesterday evening.”

I was seething. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “I was selfish.”

We’d had sex. Was that why he didn’t say anything? To not ruin the mood? Not to jeopardize his chance to get laid?

Fuck.

How could I be so naïve? I trusted him. Enough to have sex after knowing him for a full two days.

I laughed, and the bitterness came through. I felt violated and disregarded and like the biggest fool on the planet. “You had me investigated and withheld information from me.” I scoffed. “Just to get laid.”

“Erin.” He growled, the warning in his voice barely veiled.

I held up my hand. My mind was still reeling with all that information, but I’d heard enough. And right at that moment, I couldn’t even look at him.

He broke my trust. Lied to me. Withheld information. Somehow, it shook the base of what I thought our budding relationship was built on.

Honesty.

No pretense.

I needed to talk to Bailey about my car. It was a piece of shit. Maybe Bailey was wrong, and it was just wear and tear.

But what if he was right?

I shivered, and not just from the revelation. Despite the heated water, the thought of Bob finding me here, in this peaceful winter haven, made ice form in my veins. I looked out at the snowy landscape through the steamy windows.

Could it be that Bob knew where I was? Knew where I had gone?

Had he been the one to tamper with my car? And if that was the case, I needed to be as far away from Abby, Marley, and James as humanly possible.

If he knew where I was, this perfect little bubble of happiness could shatter like an icicle.

JAMES

Keeping my distance from Erin was much harder than I’d expected. Especially when I watched Abby and Marley in her presence, like right now.

Despite her protests, we’d made a deal that she’d stay with us for another week, giving me time to find something more suitable and more permanent for her to move into, but my time was running out.

We settled into a weird dance of friendly roommates. And I did everything I could to suppress my instinct to pull her into my arms again and kiss her senseless, or better yet, throw her over my shoulder, carry her up to my room, and ravage her until she screamed my name.

Ever since I’d told her about the background check and her car, she’d been distant and guarded.

And eager to move out.

We went and talked to Bailey about the tampering, and he told us straight up that it looked like someone had manipulated the line. Granted, her car had been a piece of shit. But the weakened line and consecutive burst were induced by a small cut.

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