Vanished in the Night by Lynette Eason

Author:Lynette Eason
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-03-07T16:30:36+00:00

TEN

Joshua wasn’t sure how long his jaw hung swinging loose, but he finally snapped it shut. “Kaylee, seriously?”

“Unfortunately.” She sighed. “I didn’t know it at the time I married Tony. He left that little detail out from all of our long superficial talks.”

“I see. That’s just...wow.”

“I know.” She pressed her palms to her eyes. “I was so stupid. This was all less than two years ago, and I feel like I’ve grown up and matured exponentially since finding out the truth about Tony.”

“What drew you to him?”

“He was good-looking, and he made me laugh.” She peered at him from beneath her lashes and he could see the self-loathing there. It made his heart hurt in a way that took him by surprise. And yet didn’t. Kaylee had managed to wiggle her way under his skin, and he knew he cared about her more than he should.

“He made you laugh.”

“Yes.” Another sigh. “He was always joking around. I know it’s silly, but once Mom died, so did the laughter in my life. Dad turned to work to bury his grief. He couldn’t stand for me to be around because I look like Mom. As a result, he completely withdrew from me and relied on the alcohol to dull his loss. I didn’t lose one parent, I lost two. And I felt utterly alone and unloved. Tony not only made me laugh, he made me feel loved again. At least for a short time.”

Joshua slid his free arm around her shoulders and drew her to him. She rested her head against him and he swallowed at how right she felt there.

“What if it’s them?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What if it’s not a stalker? What if it’s your dead husband’s family who’s trying to kill you? Because they blame you for his death?”

She let out a laugh, one without much humor. “No, I seriously doubt that. They had basically disowned him even before we’d met. Tony has a brother and a sister who are the golden children. He would often bemoan the fact that he could never seem to do anything right. So, he married me to get back in their good graces.”

“How was that supposed to work?”

“They wanted him to marry someone reputable, a girl from a good family, that could be used to...” She waved a hand, searching for the words. “I don’t know...to bring a better light to their name or something? Does that make sense?”

“Completely.”

“Good. And even though I wasn’t the girl they had in mind, at first it seemed to work. They liked me and I got along well with them. I’m sure they liked the fact that my father had money and an upstanding reputation in the business community in spite of his reputation of being a drunk.” She shrugged. “As long as he was making people money, they didn’t seem to care how much he drank.” She waved a hand. “Anyway, all was well for the first few months. And then Tony started staying out all night.

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