He wouldn’t give up the years of anonymity and peace he’d gained for anything. But Mara was his soul mate and it was time for him to show her his beginnings. Things would finally come full-circle and the life he’d run away from would allow him to provide her with every luxury. He could finally treat her the way she deserved.
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” he replied with total honesty.
* * * * *
BY THE TIME Mara came back downstairs, everyone else had arrived.
“Mara, there you are. Kaylee just arrived so we’re all here now.” Ridley announced.
Mara looked around, finally noticing Kay across the room. Kaylee Wilhelm was a talented local pop singer that Ridley’s husband, Jackson, had signed to a music deal the prior year. Mara had always liked her, even though their personalities were like night and day. Kay was shy and sweet and easily flustered which strangely enough made her the perfect partner for the gruff Eli Alexander.
Ridley struggled to her feet, one hand on her distended belly. Before she could stand completely, Kay was there at her elbow. “Sit down. You’re supposed to be staying off your feet.”
Ridley accepted the gentle scolding with a smile. “How are you? It feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.”
They all moved over so Kay could sit down. “It’s been hectic. I had a gig in Vegas and now your husband is keeping me in the studio. He’s determined for us to finish our duets album before the baby is born.”
Ridley let out a little sigh. “I’m so happy he’s singing again.”
“I think the world is happy he’s singing again,” Kay agreed.
Mara tried to smile appropriately as the conversation turned to all the baby preparation that Ridley was doing. Normally she’d have been all over a conversation about decorating a nursery but this time she had her mind on other things. Such as the possibility of her future husband being a cheating scum bucket.
“Did Eli come with you?” she asked Kay, as casually as she could manage.
Kay stopped talking mid-sentence. “Uh, yeah. He’s over there somewhere.” She gestured toward where Ridley’s husband, Jackson, stood talking to his parents. “Were you looking to torture him some more?”
Mara winced. When Kay and Eli were getting together, she’d had the bright idea of making Eli jealous by hooking Kay up on a blind date. The date itself had been a disaster and the follow-up date had been even worse since Eli’s truck had literally exploded before it was over.
“I take responsibility for torturing him with thoughts of you doing the horizontal mambo with another guy but I had nothing to do with the crazy stalker who blew up his truck.”
Kay grinned. “I’m sure he knows that. Logically.”
Mara excused herself and stopped off in the kitchen to get another soda. Just as she was about to take a sip, Eli stepped into the kitchen. She reached back into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He took it slowly, as if afraid it would detonate in his hands.
“This is for me?”
Mara ignored his look of shock. “Of course. You look thirsty.”
He popped the cap and took a long pull. “Thanks. This is exactly what I needed.”
“Long day?”
“No longer than any other.” He didn’t elaborate. Mara figured she’d have to draw him out. Eli wasn’t much of a conversationalist even when he was trying.
“It must be so hard, doing all that secretive investigative stuff and not being able to talk about it with anyone. Or maybe you talk about it with the other guys you work with, like Tank and Matt. Is that how you guys do it? Talk it over together or do you ever do stuff that you don’t share with the team?”
Eli clamped his lips together. He carried a usually stern expression most of the time so she wasn’t sure what to make of it. It almost looked like he was… laughing?
“No offense, Mara but you have no future in espionage. Now what is it that you want to investigate without your brother finding out?”
Busted, Mara dropped down on the kitchen stool next to him. “It’s Trent.”
Eli didn’t move or say anything in reaction but she could almost feel the air around them go still. “You want Trent investigated?”
“Yes,” she whispered, feeling like a complete traitor. Images flew through her mind. Trent had been a part of her life since college. Pretty much every major memory of her adult life, he was there. Matt considered him one of his best friends. What if she was wrong? She couldn’t take a chance at damaging their friendship without proof.
“I think something’s going on with him. He’s been on business trips every few weeks and he never used to travel this much. Also whenever I ask about what he did while he was gone, he’s so shifty. I know something isn’t right.”