Love Lies Beneath Read Online Free Page A

married.”
    â€œNo, I didn’t.”
    â€œBut you said—”
    â€œI said no one would be wondering what I was up to tonight, and she wouldn’t have.”
    â€œWell, I hope she’s doing more than wondering now, you no-good prick.”
    Rage ignites in his eyes. “What the hell did I do?”
    â€œIt’s called adultery.” Just in case, I reach into my purse. “I enjoy a one-night stand from time to time, but not with a married man. Maggots like you don’t deserve someone special, waiting for them to come home. Marriage is more than a promise. It’s a contract. It isn’t sleeping around on business trips. You’re disgusting.”
    He starts toward me, fists clenching, and I display the pepper spray in my hand. “Go for it. Please, please, give me the excuse to blister your face. How would you explain that to your wife?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t dare.”
    â€œDon’t bet on it. Now get out of my way.” I start toward the door, but he doesn’t move, so I lift the small canister, flip back the lid, and aim the nozzle toward his face. “Did you know you can’t wash this stuff off? You just have to wait for it to quit burning.” I walk purposely forward. “You have exactly two seconds to move. One . . .”
    He reads the commitment in my voice correctly and steps to one side. “You are a crazy fucking bitch.”
    â€œNo, Ben. As Emilie Autumn says, ‘I’m stark, raving sane.’ ”

Four
    My Russian Hill home is, indeed, stunning. Its five bedrooms and three baths are much more than I need, but then they were more than Finn and I required, living together. Except for the baby his fiancée is currently expecting, his children are all grown and on the East Coast. Their visits were rare and didn’t last long. One of them, his daughter Claire, never appeared at all. Apparently, she didn’t approve of his marrying me. And as for other visitors, only my sister ever stayed overnight.
    I could downsize, of course, but this property is unique, both in its location and in the way I’ve made it my own. Finn allowed my interior decorator carte blanche, and together we created something truly beautiful—modern, but a million miles removed from sterile. The walls are neutral, the artwork hanging on them anything but. And the three-story views are breathtaking.
    Best of all, though, I could afford the outrageous mortgage on my own if I had to; I don’t have to. Finn agreed to cover it until such time as I decide to sell the place, and then the equity is mine. I don’t plan to put it on the market anytime soon.
    The garage is street level, my bedroom on the uppermost floor, which means taking a lot of stairs as I load the Escalade with ski equipment and suitcases. When I fly, I travel light. But if I’m driving, I tend to take more than I need. And when winter driving in the Sierra, I purposely pack extra clothing, blankets, and windshield-washer fluid. Plus a small shovel, just in case, all-wheel drive or no, the Escalade slips into a snowbank or something.
    I’m up early to do it and on the road by nine thirty. It’s two hours, traffic willing, to my sister’s home near Sacramento. She swears she’ll be ready to go when I arrive, but that’s rarely the case. Still, even with a layover, we should make it to South Lake Tahoe by late afternoon. Melody prefers the lake’s quieter west shore, but I like the nightlife offered on the Nevada side of the border. I also like skiing Heavenly Valley. Lots of great memories there.
    I get mired a bit in the tail end of the morning commute, but once I’m over the Bay Bridge, onto I-80 east, it’s clear sailing. With the satellite radio tuned to Lithium, I set the cruise control on seventy-five and get lost in nineties grunge. Lots of memories there, too, not all of them so good. But the music was. Gin