A Winter Wedding(98)

Or, more likely, she already knew she’d fail...

Kyle remembered Noelle’s panic in the alley, after she’d followed him and Lourdes. She’d sounded pretty convincing...

But then he thought of the moment he’d spotted her car the night of the fire, and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. If she wasn’t responsible, she would’ve stopped and rushed over to ask what had happened. Plenty of other people had been drawn by the sirens. At the very least, she would’ve spoken to the firefighters. She was so obsessed with him that a fire at his plant would’ve been irresistible for her, even if she didn’t want him to know she was in the area. She would’ve figured she could lie her way out of that as she did everything else. Instead, she’d bolted and then she’d acted as if she didn’t know about the fire when Olivia called her later.

“It’s not Genevieve,” he said decisively.

“How do you know?” Chief Bennett asked.

“I know my ex-wife.”

“I can’t arrest her on your gut instinct, Kyle.”

“You think it’s her, too.”

“I do,” he admitted. “Poor Genevieve was in tears when I questioned her, genuine tears. Noelle seemed almost...gleeful. Made my cop’s intuition go crazy. But I need proof, and there just isn’t any.”

Damn it! Not only would Lourdes soon be gone, Kyle was going to be left with the cleanup and construction at the plant, knowing that the person who’d been responsible could do it again. And because she was a woman, he couldn’t confront her in the same way he would if he was dealing with another man.

“What is it?” Lourdes murmured.

Apparently, she’d noticed from his expression that he had an idea. “I’m going to pay Noelle a visit.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Chief Bennett warned, overhearing him. “Leave it to me. I’ll get to the bottom of it eventually.”

Kyle wanted to believe that, but he had no faith. Noelle was too clever, too good a liar. She’d turned deception into an art she’d spent a lifetime perfecting, and she made it work for her. She’d gotten away with almost everything she’d ever done by twisting, evading or shading the truth.

But he was going to use what he knew about his ex-wife and her methods to beat her at her own game.

She wasn’t getting away with this.





27

Noelle smiled when she saw Kyle pull up in front of her house. Here he was—at last. And what perfect timing! She’d just gotten home from the boutique where she worked thirty hours a week, so she still had on her nice clothes. He would see her in the formfitting black pencil skirt and sheer top, with her lacy bra showing underneath. She’d bought the outfit with him in mind. He liked classy, understated women. This fit that bill, and yet she looked sexy at the same time. A tourist driving through town had nearly crashed into the hardware store when he saw her emerging from the shop tonight. Size 36DD boobs had a way of catching a guy’s attention, especially in the blouse she was wearing.

Kyle would notice, too.

After checking her hair and makeup, she went to the door, where she hesitated so she wouldn’t appear too eager. Only when he knocked for the second time did she answer—once she’d arranged her expression into one of polite confusion.

“Kyle! What are you doing here?”

“Do you have a minute?” he asked.

Although she widened her eyes as if his desire to come inside surprised her, it didn’t. She’d guessed she’d hear from him. For a while there, he thought he’d gained the upper hand by threatening to withhold her spousal maintenance, but she’d punished him for that. Now she just needed to get him back in her bed, to remind him that there’d been some positives in their relationship, too. “I suppose so,” she said. “Now that I’m only working one job, it’s not like I have to rush off to Sexy Sadie’s.”

He didn’t comment on her job situation, even though she felt he owed her an apology. If not for the way he’d been treating her, she would never have caused trouble for herself there.

“Come on in.” Instead of leading the way, she stood back so he’d have to brush past her—and made sure his arm came in contact with her breasts.

“Did you ever get a new water heater?” he asked as she shut the door before following him into the living room.

“Not yet. My folks are having a friend install one on Monday. I’ve been showering at Olivia’s.”

“So you saw your sister this morning?”

“I did. Briefly.”

“Did she tell you that Lourdes is going back to Nashville?”

“No, but wasn’t Lourdes always planning to go back?” She gave him a patronizing smile to emphasize her point. “She’s a country music star, Kyle. It’s not as if she’d ever stay here.”

A muscle moved in his jaw, but his voice remained more pleasant than she’d expected. “I mean she’s going back much earlier than we thought,” he clarified.

“For good?”

“Looks like it.”

Even better. Lourdes had created a huge problem. It was comforting to know she’d soon be out of the way. Then maybe Kyle would quit wishing for something he wasn’t going to get and settle for a woman who did want him—like her. “I bet you’re broken up about that.”