want to know why you’re marrying me when it’s obvious you don’t want to.”
A slow, shaking hand covered her mouth. “Mitch…”
He had to physically force himself to stand still, to not reach out and give her comfort—the reassurance of touch he needed as desperately as she did right now. He balled his fists at his sides and breathed between the slamming beats of his heart. “Baby, talk to me. I know something’s going on—that someone’s got you scared. But whatever they think they’ve got over you, I can fix it. Just trust me, Lissa. I’ve never lied to you, and I won’t start now.” He closed his eyes as she gave a silent, gulping sob. “I’ll let you go if I have to. I’ll leave here, if that’s what you want. Just don’t shut me out.”
“Shut you out. Shut you out?” With startling suddenness she laughed, loud and strong and totally fake. “Boy, have you got a vivid imagination! Who do you think you are, James Bond? Looking through your things! How would you know, with the mess you keep in that room? And I shut you out? About what? And as to questions about your work, isn’t that what all couples do?”
“Lissa—”
She shook her head and put a finger to her lips. Shut-up, she mouthed, using their one-time favorite method of quiet communication. It’s about time you finally caught on. “Where did you get all this rubbish about someone scaring me?” she laughed. “Have you seen anyone? I’ve been too busy with the kids and the wedding to see anyone. I’ve barely had time to call Mum and Dad in Europe to give them our news.” Then her mouth moved, silently speaking words echoing the terror flashing in her sweet eyes.
The house is bugged.
Oh, my God. So it was true.
She giggled, sweet and false, keeping up the charade. “And as for sex—honestly, Mitch, can’t you think of anything else? For goodness sake, there are times of the month a woman can’t make love, not to mention when the kids walk in with nightmares! Of course I want to marry you. We have the rest of our lives to make love, after the wedding, when it won’t damage the kids and Jenny’s accepted that I won’t be getting back with Tim.”
It’s there. She pointed to the picture of the Pears soap baby in the bath. With one step he could see it hiding between the frame and the wall. The cheap kind of bug made and sold at electronics stores.
Okay. They could work with this. Their invisible friend wouldn’t be able to hear them with that crappy piece of work if they whispered softly enough…but no doubt within seconds they’d come to check on the sudden silence.
Welcome to the Twilight Zone…he had the weirdest sense of unreality, the sublime and the ridiculous. Breckerville and Lissa. Home. Love. Peace. Where life was always serene and nothing bad would ever happen.
Where spies listened in and threatened the one person he’d always been sure would have a carefree life.
For God’s sake, Why?
His scalp crawled. “C’mere, baby. Sorry I’ve been stupid. I was just scared of losing you.” He held out his arms, sweating on the hope that she’d get it. Then they could talk, just like they had from their windows in the old days, when they’d turned lip reading into an art form.
She walked into his arms, moving against his body with the sensuality of an icebher skin cold and clammy with fear. “They won’t hear us at this pitch,” he whispered into her neck.
She nodded. “Kiss me, Mitch,” she said aloud, her voice pulsing with sensuality. She breathed in his ear, “There might be cameras, too, but I don’t think so. I’ve looked.”
He kissed her, long and deep, touching and caressing her for the silent listener’s benefit. “Keep it up,” he mouthed into hers. Relieved beyond words she’d decided to trust him, furious enough to kill whoever the hell it was doing this to her. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Talk,” she whispered back. “We’ve kissed long enough.”
She was
A slow, shaking hand covered her mouth. “Mitch…”
He had to physically force himself to stand still, to not reach out and give her comfort—the reassurance of touch he needed as desperately as she did right now. He balled his fists at his sides and breathed between the slamming beats of his heart. “Baby, talk to me. I know something’s going on—that someone’s got you scared. But whatever they think they’ve got over you, I can fix it. Just trust me, Lissa. I’ve never lied to you, and I won’t start now.” He closed his eyes as she gave a silent, gulping sob. “I’ll let you go if I have to. I’ll leave here, if that’s what you want. Just don’t shut me out.”
“Shut you out. Shut you out?” With startling suddenness she laughed, loud and strong and totally fake. “Boy, have you got a vivid imagination! Who do you think you are, James Bond? Looking through your things! How would you know, with the mess you keep in that room? And I shut you out? About what? And as to questions about your work, isn’t that what all couples do?”
“Lissa—”
She shook her head and put a finger to her lips. Shut-up, she mouthed, using their one-time favorite method of quiet communication. It’s about time you finally caught on. “Where did you get all this rubbish about someone scaring me?” she laughed. “Have you seen anyone? I’ve been too busy with the kids and the wedding to see anyone. I’ve barely had time to call Mum and Dad in Europe to give them our news.” Then her mouth moved, silently speaking words echoing the terror flashing in her sweet eyes.
The house is bugged.
Oh, my God. So it was true.
She giggled, sweet and false, keeping up the charade. “And as for sex—honestly, Mitch, can’t you think of anything else? For goodness sake, there are times of the month a woman can’t make love, not to mention when the kids walk in with nightmares! Of course I want to marry you. We have the rest of our lives to make love, after the wedding, when it won’t damage the kids and Jenny’s accepted that I won’t be getting back with Tim.”
It’s there. She pointed to the picture of the Pears soap baby in the bath. With one step he could see it hiding between the frame and the wall. The cheap kind of bug made and sold at electronics stores.
Okay. They could work with this. Their invisible friend wouldn’t be able to hear them with that crappy piece of work if they whispered softly enough…but no doubt within seconds they’d come to check on the sudden silence.
Welcome to the Twilight Zone…he had the weirdest sense of unreality, the sublime and the ridiculous. Breckerville and Lissa. Home. Love. Peace. Where life was always serene and nothing bad would ever happen.
Where spies listened in and threatened the one person he’d always been sure would have a carefree life.
For God’s sake, Why?
His scalp crawled. “C’mere, baby. Sorry I’ve been stupid. I was just scared of losing you.” He held out his arms, sweating on the hope that she’d get it. Then they could talk, just like they had from their windows in the old days, when they’d turned lip reading into an art form.
She walked into his arms, moving against his body with the sensuality of an icebher skin cold and clammy with fear. “They won’t hear us at this pitch,” he whispered into her neck.
She nodded. “Kiss me, Mitch,” she said aloud, her voice pulsing with sensuality. She breathed in his ear, “There might be cameras, too, but I don’t think so. I’ve looked.”
He kissed her, long and deep, touching and caressing her for the silent listener’s benefit. “Keep it up,” he mouthed into hers. Relieved beyond words she’d decided to trust him, furious enough to kill whoever the hell it was doing this to her. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Talk,” she whispered back. “We’ve kissed long enough.”
She was
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