Page 26 of Kiss Me Now
“Not really.” I slid my chair back. “Seems you know everything you need to.” I rose and slung the thin strap of my purse over my shoulder. I took a step for the door but paused beside him. “Then again, maybe it would interest you to know that I donated that scholarship to Alzheimer’s research, and that Fred left his house to his seven nieces and nephews and I bought them all out at market value.”
His forehead furrowed. I didn’t know if it was confusion or doubt, but I didn’t care. “Your investigation missed another important detail: I’m a woman of action over words.” I snatched up his mostly full glass of wine and tossed it in his face before walking out of the restaurant.
My timing was perfect, for once. I hit the sidewalk as the blue Nissan assigned to me pulled up to the curb. I confirmed with the woman behind the wheel that she was there for me, then opened the back door to slide in.
“Brooke,” Ian called as I reached to pull the door closed.
I turned to see him standing on the sidewalk, a wet spot staining the front of his light gray button-down shirt.
“What about the senator?” he asked.
I thought about flipping him off but refrained. Barely. “NDA,” I called and slammed the door shut. “Go ahead,” I told the driver.
I waited until the restaurant was firmly in the rearview mirror before I cried.
Chapter Nine
Ian
Iwalked back intothe restaurant. The other diners stared as I made my way to the booth in the corner. I didn’t know if they’d seen Brooke toss the wine. More likely it was me running out after her that had drawn their notice. Either way, I ignored them all as I sat down to think.
NDA. A non-disclosure agreement. It could still be the senator’s effort to keep her quiet about an affair. But if she was telling the truth about her donation and the house, then that made me second guess the affair.
Had I been wrong?
I went over the evidence in my mind. Her narrative could fit all of it except for one gaping hole: Gran’s wanting to leave her home to Brooke. That had all the markings of a skilled scammer, and skilled scammers always had innocent explanations for their windfalls.
I studied the tablecloth without seeing anything. The waiter approached with two plates and a look of complete confusion.
“Sir, will your friend be rejoining you?”
Friend. Ha. “No, just box those up.” I’d bring them home to Gran.
“Very good.”
The waiter slipped away as quietly as he had come. He could have escorted himself off with a brass band and I still might not have paid him any attention. I was too distracted trying to parse Brooke’s words, picking them apart to find the truth.
