he’d changed. And if he wasn’t spending his nights with Toni, he had every right to spend them with whomever he pleased. It wasn’t any of her business.
As she buckled her seatbelt, Toni glanced over at Andrew and said, “What happened to Maria Tindal is so sad. What a waste of a life. She and I were the same age.”
Andrew nodded. “Maria Tindal was a sweet young woman, friendly and easygoing. She didn’t deserve to die. No matter how many murders I investigate as a detective, the human side of me still can’t understand the senseless taking of a life.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost lunch time. You want to stop and grab something to eat before meeting up with Maria’s ex-boyfriend?”
“That sounds good.” She paused a moment, then added, “I owe you an apology, Drew. I didn’t mean to insinuate you had something to do with Maria Tindal’s death. I was just doing my job—nothing personal. You would have asked the same thing of me had you been in my place.”
She saw the way his mouth tightened. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I doubted I would have called you out like that in front of a group,” he said.
“You admitted to knowing her in front of that same group. There was no way I could have given you a pass. And you did have an alibi.”
Instead of starting the car, he turned to her. “But what if I hadn’t had one? What if I had gone home last night instead of playing cards with the guys? I don’t know what your problem was back there, Antonia, but let me give you some advice—don’t start anything, and there won’t be anything.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Meaning?” He’d only ever used her given name a few times...and each time, he hadn’t been happy with her.
“We’re here to do a job, not try to rekindle old flames that are nothing but ashes. You’re acting as if you haven’t gotten over me.”
Toni bit down on her lip. He’d thrown her own words back at her. She didn’t say anything, because there was a small piece of truth in his accusation. There was no way she would admit it to him, but knowing he’d probably planned to make Maria Tindal one of his future bed partners, had twisted her gut. Jealousy had reared its ugly head and taken a bite out of her professionalism. She had allowed their past personal relationship to interfere with their professional one. That wasn’t good.
It wasn’t his fault that she’d loved him.
She just had to remember that she’d been the one to end things between them—not him. Drew probably would have been perfectly satisfied keeping things the way they were. Like her, he’d had no intention of settling down with a spouse and kids. That had been the main reason he’d been the perfect man to hook up with because she hadn’t wanted any of those things either.
It wasn’t his fault that her thoughts about those things had changed. When she’d fallen in love, she realized she wanted it all—marriage, babies and a happily ever after. She had wanted all the things she could never have with him, so she had done the only thing she could think of—break up with him without telling him why.
For all she knew, Drew might be seriously involved with someone. A man with his looks wouldn’t lack for female company. She had certainly let him into her bed—and her life—easily enough…not that she had any complaints. What should have been a one-night stand in her hotel room that night in San Diego had ended up continuing for the remaining days of the seminar. Sex between them had been so good, so off-the-charts incredible, that they’d agreed to continue things when they returned to their respective cities.
And she had looked forward to their weekends together. They had been relaxing, a way for both of them to unwind from hectic jobs. And it had been even nicer because they had the same occupation. It gave them something to talk about when they finally came up for air.
Eventually they had become more than sex buddies. And then the unthinkable had happened. He’d become her entire world, the only man to ever touch her heart. But it hadn’t been his fault that she had elevated him to that level, and she shouldn’t act like it was.
She glanced over at him. “It won’t happen again, Drew.”
Toni knew he’d heard her, but her words were followed with silence. That