Harlequin Romantic Suspense: July 2022 Box Set by Tara Taylor Quinn

Author:Tara Taylor Quinn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 1

Jake didn’t get home until 11:00 p.m. that night. He’d missed dinner entirely. Both of the girls were in bed, which was good. They didn’t need to hear their parents arguing. Again.

Four-year-old Lexi had drifted off at around 8:00 p.m. while waiting for her daddy to come read her a book, and fifteen-year-old Fenn had retired sometime around ten after Emma had turned off the Wi-Fi.

As much as she hated to get into it with Jake for the zillionth time, Emma was fed up. More and more often he was absent from family time. He’d come home late three of seven nights at first, then four, five. Weekends. This was the fourth straight night this week that he’d missed dinner and Lexi’s bedtime. The girls deserved better. She deserved better.

But beyond being absent from their home, Jake had been absent from their marriage for months, had turned off communication with her, shut her out, walled himself off. No matter how many times Emma tried to reach him, exhort him, break through, he moved farther away emotionally, physically. She was tired of the limbo. If she was going to be alone in the marriage, she might as well make it official. She needed closure.

Emma sat at the kitchen table, her heart aching, her jaw clenched and her gut in knots when he came through the back door. He paused at the threshold when he spotted her. Sighed. After dropping his keys on the counter, he closed the back door and raked fingers through his thick black hair. He needed a haircut, but he had neglected that in recent weeks as well.

“You’re still up,” he said, stating the obvious in a dark, defeated tone.

“Yep.” Emma fought to tamp down the emotion strangling her. “We need to talk.”

Concern swept over his face. “Why? Did something happen to one of the girls?”

Emma gave him credit for being worried about his daughters’ welfare. But then, he’d always been a caring father. Which made his missing the girls’ bedtime all the more disheartening. She shook her head. “We need to talk about us.”

He rolled his eyes. “No. We don’t. I’m tired, and I just want to go to bed.”

When he turned to head down the hall, to walk away from her, she gritted her teeth. God, she hated when he did that!

“Not here you won’t,” she said loud enough to stop him.

He hesitated at the kitchen threshold. Flexed and balled his hands. Turned with a glare. “What’s that mean?”

She shushed him. “Keep your voice down. The girls are asleep.” With a directional nod, she indicated the duffel bag she’d packed for him. “I want you out. I can’t do this anymore.”

Jake scowled. “Seriously? You’re kicking me out? For...what? Breaking my back all day to put a roof over our heads? Food on the table?”

“Don’t give me that! You’re not breaking your back until eleven o’clock at night. You’re avoiding us. You’re killing time until you think we’re in bed. Brody said he saw you picking

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