Page 80 of Once Upon a Lie

But when I turn my head again, Mike is in the wind, the bench behind me as empty as it was before he arrived.

I scan the trees, the path, the open grass, but he’s gone.

What the fuck?

I guess our conversation is done.

Sinking into the back of the bench with a sigh, I pull my phone out and turn it off Do Not Disturb, releasing a slew of texts from Valentina that are waiting.

Valentina: ​​Great news, Shane! Your favorite Magnolia neighbor is back! My condo is livable again! All the repairs are done and Rita actually apologized for all the hassle when she called this morning to tell me the news. I was able to stop by this morning before I came to the shop and it’s like nothing ever happened!​​

Valentina: ​​We have to celebrate! But it’s your turn to plan something. I’ve planned every date we’ve been on so far.​​

Every date? This is news to me.

Valentina: ​​And it should be something cute and full of effort, you know? Real princess treatment​​

Valentina: ​​You should probably think of two or three ideas as pre-ideas, and then throw them out when you get to a really good one.​​

I laugh aloud as I type a message back.

Me: ​​Hell yeah to the condo! That’s definitely something to celebrate. But I’m confused. What dates have you planned exactly?​​

Valentina: ​​Are you kidding? I’ve planned all of them!​​

I know we’ve been spending a lot of time together, but the opportunity to tease her about this, especially given her directives about my planning assignment, is too good to pass up.

Me: ​​Right. Movie night with Alfred and Pip. Avalyn day with Alfred and Pip. Dinner with Alfred and Pip. Are Alfred and Pip required? Because as the new planner, I’m at a disadvantage if I don’t have this information​​

Valentina: ​​We also had that whole night of covert ops in the gym, if you’ll remember correctly, and have eaten lunch at The Hole Story alone a couple times, too!​​

Me: ​​Ah, okay. So, I should invite Rita? Or maybe Sunnie and Cher? LOL​​

Valentina: ​​Just shut up and plan a good date for you + me, okay?​​

As my feet carry me across the park and down the sidewalk on West End—toward The Hole Story—fire licks closer and closer to my heels.

I know I should back off. I should pull back to a level that’ll make it easier to extricate myself from her life when all this is over. I should recuse myself from the case because I’m too attached, and I should do it now. Yesterday, even.

But I don’t—I can’t. That’s clear by the direction I’m currently heading and the protective notion that no one else who could be assigned to Valentina in my absence would care about her well-being the way I do. I’m full of excuses—practical and outlandish alike.

I guess I’m no better than Dominic Dunn after all.

Me: ​​Challenge accepted, Teeny.​​

I hit send on the text message just as I step through the entrance of The Hole Story. The bell above the threshold announces my arrival, and I marvel at the reward of seeing Teeny stride to the side of the counter, pull her phone out of her apron pocket, and read my text in real time.

Her eyes are soft and her smile consuming as she scans, and I get lost in watching her innate femininity. Her gentle but infectious joy from the simplicity of a message and, more than that, her willingness to let all those emotions run across her face even with an audience.

We men are so taciturn even when we’re jumping up and down inside, but a woman—a woman like Teeny—wears her authenticity like an accessory to her outfit. It’s so fucking attractive.

Sunnie is the first to spot me, her eyes widening along with her mouth as she blows my cover. “Hey, Shane! What are you doing here?”

Disappointment with losing my chance to spy mixes with the pleasure of seeing Teeny’s surprised smile grow once again, and I weave toward the counter to talk to the group of them without yelling over half a dozen strangers.

Teeny runs around the counter to give me a hug, and I accept it gratefully, even if I don’t deserve the balm of her touch after knowingly exposing our private conversations to Mike not even fifteen minutes ago.

I always thought this kind of shit would be fun—the undercover gig with a hot lady and no endgame. It’s not. Truth be told, it’s a torturous exercise in splitting my body in two without the handy magician to put me back together.