Chasing Shadows (First Wives #3)(82)

“You could have just told me.”

Sasha shook her head. “No. I could not give you what he just did.”

Avery closed her eyes.

“Babe?” Liam asked. “Are we calling Armstrong?”

She shook her head and leaned into his shoulder. “Take me home.”





Chapter Thirty-Two



Armstrong answered Reed’s call as he was walking out to his car.

“Armstrong?”

“No bad news, please. My wife hasn’t seen me in a week.”

He heard Reed laugh on the line. “Avery is on her way back to California.”

“Thank God. We will eventually find this guy. Assure her of that.”

Again, Reed laughed. “I sent you an e-mail. The file is encrypted. Use it if you need to. Avery Grant wants to put this behind her at this time. She’s not going to pursue him.”

Armstrong leaned against the hood of his car. “Son of a bitch . . . you found him. How?”

Reed was silent.

“Yeah, you know what? I don’t want to know.”

“Enjoy your evening, Detective. If you’re ever in LA, drop me a call. We’ll grab a beer.”

“You’re on. Thanks, Reed.”

Armstrong looked at his phone, laughed, and shoved it in his back pocket before pulling out of the parking lot.

Sally was going to freak when he came home early.



Liam had his sister drop off a duffel full of his clothes and a few days’ worth of groceries while Avery was sleeping.

They’d returned to her condo after midnight, and at nearly noon, she finally emerged from her bedroom. The fact that Avery stepped from the shower with wet hair and a lack of makeup was a testament to where they were in their relationship.

Liam swiveled the stool he was sitting on by her kitchen counter and opened his arms for her to walk into. She sank into him like an extension cord into an outlet. “Good morning,” she said against his lips.

Such sweet words. Yeah, she could probably say anything and he’d call it something flowery.

He accepted her kiss and gave one of his own. “Good afternoon.”

He pulled her to sit on one of his legs, and she looked down at his laptop and what he was working on. “What’s that?”

“Invoices, paperwork. Things I’ve been slowly getting behind on.”

“Because you’re chasing your girlfriend around all over the country.”

He knew he was sporting a shit-eating grin. “You said girlfriend without stuttering.”

She placed a lazy arm on his shoulder and moved a strand of his hair more to her liking. “I’m evolving.”

“I approve of your evolution.”

She kissed him again, a little slower this time. “Thank you for being here. For chasing me. I rolled over a couple of times last night and felt you there, all I could think was you’re still here. You didn’t run away, even though I gave you an out.”

“You aren’t getting rid of me that easy, Princess.”

He sealed that promise with a kiss.

She smiled when she pulled back.

“How are you feeling about yesterday?” he asked. The trip home was void of all conversation about Cedrick Palmer.

“Resolved. I went to New York searching for revenge, and look how quickly I let it consume me. I stepped on the scale today. I lost eight pounds. That never happens when I want it to.”

Liam squeezed her thigh.

“I didn’t realize how dim everything felt until I woke up today. I saw the light coming in, heard you in here . . . and the shadows of the past were gone. Vanished. Then I looked at this and thought”—she lifted her arm with the tattoo and traced it with one finger—“I’m really glad I didn’t get anything bigger.”

They both laughed.

Her smile lit up her face.

“You can always have it removed,” he told her.

“No. I want it. A forever reminder to learn from the past and let it go. From my parents and the things they did to make me spend money on a therapy couch, to Cedrick’s walk on the dark side, where I was caught in the cross fire.”

“Past relationships that keep you from entering a new one . . . like your previous marriage?”

“Oh, hon . . . no. That has nothing to do with my resistance to all things relationships.”

Liam fixed her with a questioning look. “You were married. That had to have some impact on you.”

Avery placed a hand to the side of his face. “What’s my ex’s name?”

He opened his mouth to respond, closed it. “Mr. Grant?”

God, he loved her smile. “No. I never took Bernie’s last name.”

“Bernie?” What man had that name?

She slid off his lap and grabbed the phone on an opposite counter.

Who was she calling?

“Bernie. It’s Avery.”

Liam sat dumbfounded. She was calling her ex?

“Well, of course you know my voice. Everyone should remember the ex-wife’s voice.” She smiled at Liam as she spoke. “Listen, I don’t have a lot of time . . . no, no. I’m doing well, but thank you. Yes, I know.”

Had Liam ever heard an ex talking to an ex as happily as he was witnessing right now?