Incriminated Read Online Free Page B

phone rang again. He answered without looking at the screen. What could she possibly want now?
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œSorry,” he heard Lucy say on the other end, making him jump a little. “I guess now’s not a good time.”
    â€œOh, sorry. Just, I’m driving. Sorry, what’s up?”
    Lucy hadn’t reached out to him in weeks. She’d barely even spoken to him. Paolo had been the one making all the effort to be nice since two weeks ago, when they’d almost had sex. Not that they ever talked about that. They were getting along fine, so long as they avoided the topic. Paolo wondered why Lucy was calling him now.
    â€œWhen d’you think you’ll get home?”
    â€œLate.”
    Lucy went quiet again for a moment. “Oh. I was hoping we could hang out. I—I want to talk to you about something. Or rather some one .”
    The words made Paolo sink in his seat but he tried to hide his surprise. “Huh, mysterious. Who? Can you tell me now?”
    A pause. Then, “Nah. This is better face-to-face. Also . . .” Another hesitation. “Are we good, Paolo? I mean, since . . .”
    Since we kinda sorta hooked up but didn’t? he thought. “Of course. We’re friends.” The last thing Paolo wanted was for Lucy to have any clue how much her rejection had stung. Better that she thought it had all been lighthearted fun. “It can be with benefits if you like, obviously, I mean that’s always on the table, but . . .”
    â€œYeah, all right, glad we’re okay,” she said, her voice brittle. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer,” she added with a touch of sarcasm.
    â€œI can’t wait to hear what you’re gonna tell me.”
    â€œYou dying of anticipation over there? Talk to you tomorrow.”
    â€œI’m dying of something, that’s for sure,” he laughed as Lucy ended the call.
    When he pulled into the parking lot, Meredith was waiting for him in the passenger seat of her silver BMW, fixing her lipstick in the mirror. Paolo parked alongside her car. Wordlessly, he watched her. After a moment, she turned to face him, blew a kiss, and smiled. “Get in,” she said. “You’re driving.”
    From a distance, she looked like a super-attractive mom being sweet to one of her son’s friends. Paolo remembered when he’d first started noticing a difference in the waygrown women looked at him. It had happened sometime around his fifteenth birthday. It was subtle. Not anything he could put his finger on. Just something speculative in the way other people’s moms and even a few teachers watched him, wondering .
    Paolo got out of his own car and into the driver’s seat of her BMW.
    She kissed him on both cheeks. “Hello, Paolo.”
    It was the first time he’d noticed her making an effort to look good for him. She wore a simple powder-blue silk shift dress that accentuated her slim, athletic figure, under a tight, indigo denim jacket. Her blond hair was freshly washed and blow-dried, her eyes made up with dark gray eye shadow that gave her a knowing, confident air.
    When their eyes met, he could already see her desire. Despite himself, he felt the dull ache of his own interest awakened.
    This was twisted, he thought grimly. He was twisted.
    He went for distraction. “What’s the deal with this cabin?”
    â€œHotels are never entirely safe. Good ones, I might get recognized. Crummy ones, the walls are too thin.” She fixed him with a sensuous smile. “I’d rather enjoy the opportunity to feel totally uninhibited.”
    Paolo reversed the car. Uncomfortably, he wondered how much more uninhibited she could possibly be.
    They continued a little farther north along the coastalroad, and then turned off onto Malibu Canyon Road. Meredith selected a Madonna playlist, pushed her seat way back, and leaned toward Paolo, her eyes and lips relaxed from