Page 72 of Criminally Yours

Her eyes widened at the ring box tucked under postcards and trinkets. The velvet covering it was worn from all the times he’d turned it over in his hand. “How long has this been here?”

“I hid it in there a few nights ago when we took the memory box from your house.”

She moved it between her hands. Her brow furrowed further. “But it’s not new. How long ago did you predict we’d pretend to be married?”

“It’s not a wedding ring. Open it.”

There was a cracking sound as she opened the box. Sparkles reflected the sun, and the topaz-like jewel was as blue as the sky. He hid his smile as she stared at the fake diamonds.

“I love it,” she whispered.

“Yeah?” He grinned.

“Where did you get it?” She slid it on her ring finger. “It fits perfectly.”

“There’s an inscription on it,” he said as they reached a small town on the coast’s edge.

He should have paid more attention to his surroundings, but he was desperate for her reaction. She removed it from her finger and twisted it. Suddenly, she froze.

“Read it out, Mixie.” He was desperate to show her he’d once been a guy worthy of love. His emotions were so tangled. He needed to speak to his therapist once they were in the safe house.

Millie whispered the inscription.

“When you see the sunset, remember me. All my love, Caleb.”

“When did you get this?” she asked.

“I picked it up the morning after we slept together. That was what your mum caught me doing and what started everything in motion. She saw the ring box in my hand,” he said, his voice straining with emotion.

“Did she think you were going to propose?” Her voice pitched higher.

“Yes. She was livid, blaming me for your decision to ditch medicine.”

“Were you going to propose?” Millie asked shakily.

“No. It was a promise ring, to tell you that no matter how far apart we were, I was there for you. I tried to explain to your mum, but she wouldn’t listen.” Strike gripped the steering wheel before flipping on the indicator and parking in the driveway of a beautiful white house.

“You kept it safe all this time?” she asked breathlessly.

He held her hand that still rested on his thigh. “Of course.”

Pretty pink flowers swayed in the breeze, and the white and grey stones leading from the drive to the front door glinted in the sun.

Millie’s stare was like wisps of promise wrapping around his body.

He opened his mouth to tell her that she’d been his only love and the only person he’d slept with when Millie said, “We’ve got company.”

An elderly woman with white hair and a broad smile strolled from her driveway to beside Strike’s car, carrying a hamper. She nudged the middle-aged woman accompanying her.

“It’s a welcoming party,” Strike said as they reached his window. He faked a smile. “I guess we need to show we’re a madly in love couple on the first day of their honeymoon.”

“I promised I’d help you show you’re not always a robot. It’s time you expressed your goofy ‘in love’ side.”

“Now? But I need to keep an eye out for danger.”

“A bodyguard like you can do both. Come on, Strike, show me how good you are at undercover ops. Imagine we’re here to recreate that erotic romance I found on Liss’s shelf. I dare you.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I can’t.”