Page 61 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

I nod. “Yeah, all right.”

Kicking off my shoes and removing my belt and wallet chain, I turn off the lights and get into bed, making sure to keep a respectable distance between us, even if the memory of her touching my stomach earlier is making it very difficult to focus. Especially with how the light of the moon through the window makes her skin glow.

“I’m sorry I ruined your night,” she says, her voice still soft.

“You didn’t.”

She sighs contentedly. “I’m having a nice dream now.”

“Are you?”

“Mm-hmm. You kissed me.”

A breathy laugh escapes me. “Did I?”

Her smile turns into a frown. “But then you stopped.”

I reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear, listening as her breaths even out and she falls asleep.

“Trust me,” I say, my thumb caressing her cheek. “If I kissed you, I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

CHAPTER 18

Five Years Ago

DAVE

“Sam, you promised you’d give me forty bucks for the studio rental. Now what the fuck are we supposed to do?”

John and Charlie both turn toward us as Sam hangs his head. “I’m sorry, man. I had it, I swear.”

My eyes narrow. “You fucking lost it?”

“I don’t know!” he says, fumbling through his wallet and checking his pockets again. “Maybe it’s upstairs . . .”

He disappears out of the garage and into the house.

“Pretty sure I know where it’s gone . . .” Charlie mutters under his breath.

I spin around. “What do you mean?”

He shifts uncomfortably on his feet, avoiding my eyes as he fiddles with the E string of his bass guitar.

John sighs. “He means that if there’s money missing, you might want to ask Emily.”

I pull back, affronted. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

He pulls on the chain at his throat. “Look, man, I know she’s your girl and all, but you must see it. Emily is a fucking mess.”

Stalking toward him, I clench my fists at my sides. “Watch your mouth.”

“Where do you think she’s getting the money for booze?” Charlie speaks up finally, possibly with the hope he can distract me from pummeling John’s face.

“She works!”

“She got fired two weeks ago for missing shifts at the diner, Dave,” John says with a frown.

I feel like I’m being blindsided. “What?”Fired?No, that’s impossible, she’s at work right now. She told me that’s where she was going. I asked if she wanted a ride but she said she was fine to walk.

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