Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,68
anything else about the bitch who couldn’t even drive a stick shift.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. And tell her the rest of the story. Get it out in the open, so they could file it under shitty topics not worth further discussion.
“Here’s the short version. Anna called me. We started seeing each other. It turned into a serious relationship. A couple times, I suggested she move in with me, but she dodged the subject. I thought she’d be glad to offload the monthly rent payment since she practically lived with me anyway. I figured she wasn’t ready to make the full commitment, but that she’d get there eventually. Then, one day, all her stuff was gone from my apartment. There was no fight, no breakup, not even a note. She was just gone. Turns out, the friend she’d been with at the courthouse that day, the one she’d been visiting every week since, had been released from corrections. And he wasn’t just a friend, he was her fiancé.”
Candace stared at him, mouth open, for what felt like an eternity.
“Wondering how I could have been so stupid?”
“No. You weren’t stupid, Jake.”
He snorted. “I’m a cop. I’m trained to read people, to know when somebody’s lying. Anna fooled me from day one, right through to the shocking finale. I’d call that being stupid.”
“I’d call it letting your guard down because you were personally invested in the woman, not investigating her.”
“You’re being too kind.”
“And you’re being too hard on yourself.”
He grunted, then took a long pull from his beer. “Anyway. Now you know.”
“I’m sorry you were hurt.”
“Ancient history,” he said, squeezing her hand while bringing it to his lips so he could kiss her fingertips. “And I’m a hell of a lot better off now.”
“So am I. In fact, I should send conniving bitch Anna a thank-you card for foolishly choosing another man instead of you.” Holding her wine glass off to one side, she moved in and gave him a taste of her soft lips, smiling as the kiss ended. “I do have one question though. Just one thing I’d like to know before we change the subject.”
“Shoot.”
“Did you ever teach her how to drive a stick shift?”
The laugh that erupted from his gut drew the attention of everybody within a fifteen-foot radius. “I tried, but she couldn’t get the hang of it.”
“Well. That should’ve been your first clue.”
“True.” He clinked his bottle against her glass. “Now that I’ve found a woman who drives a stick as easily as she breathes, I’m golden.” His use of the sometimes-nickname she’d given him brought a big smile to her face. Damn, he loved making her smile. Seeing her happy, knowing he was part of that happiness, had become a daily necessity. An addiction that gave him a high that was out of this world. Because he—
“Candace, what an excellent surprise.”
If he didn’t know her so well, Jake wouldn’t have noticed the change in her smile. Though it hadn’t slipped, it was no longer genuine. Still beautiful, just fake. Like the one she wore at work.
He glanced sideways as the source of the male voice entered his peripheral vision. European. Super slick. A businessman, if Jake had to guess. One with money. The woman on his arm—wife, by the look of the rock on her ring finger—looked equally wealthy. Even with her gobs of bling and a glittery, black dress that probably cost more than Jake made in a week, she didn’t compare to Candace. No woman did.
“So nice to see you,” the man said, bowing his head at Candace. “It’s been too long.”
Candace released Jake’s hand to loop her arm beneath his. Then squeezed tight.
Hint taken. He transferred his beer to the tucked hand and extended the free one toward the man. “Constable Jake Campbell.”
“Vincenzo Balducci II.” The guy shook Jake’s hand as if it were a competition. A hint of challenge lingered in the man’s dark-eyed gaze after the handshake ended. “My wife, Loretta,” he said, gesturing to the woman at his side.
Since the woman didn’t accept his outstretched hand, Jake dropped it and went with a nod. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Balducci.”
Based on the formalities and Candace’s silence, not to mention the different worlds they obviously inhabited, the Balduccis didn’t seem to be her friends. She knew them, somehow, but there was a weird vibe in the air. One that had Jake’s fuckery meter pinging.
“How is Macy?” Loretta asked, her attention on Candace. “Vincenzo Jr. mentioned she hadn’t been