Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
Going out the back door, he took a seat on the picnic table to light a cigarette. While smoking, he replayed the conversation with Winter. He had heard the ring of truth in her voice about going upstairs. That part, Moon believed. Had she decided to take a detour on the way back downstairs? He couldn’t tell from her reaction. One thing he knew for damn sure was she was hiding something, and he was going to find out what the fuck it was.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Moon was still sitting outside when Winter and Beth walked out.
Winter stopped when the concrete path curved to lead to Beth’s house. “Good night, Beth.”
“Night, Winter.”
Watching through the smoking haze as Beth hesitated leaving Winter, Moon took out another cigarette. “Night, Beth.”
Beth gave him a sharp nod, leaving Winter to walk toward her house.
“When did you start smoking again?”
“Tonight.”
“Why?”
“I felt the need,” he said meaningfully.
Winter frowned. “Is that supposed to have some kind of hidden meaning? Because you left me in the dark.”
“Like you left me?”
“Moon, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
He gave an internal sigh. Whoever had slipped into his bedroom wasn’t Winter.
“I see that.” Moon pierced her with his eyes. “But you’re not being truthful. You weren’t the only woman who came upstairs that night. Who else was there?”
“What’s the big deal? Why does it matter so much?”
A footfall on the path had their heads turning to the side as Ember came walking down the path from Lily’s house.
“It’s a little chilly to be standing out here this late at night,” Ember said when she was within hearing distance.
“I’m about to go home,” Winter told her. “Moon and I were just chatting.”
Ember wrapped her arms around his, blatantly pressing it against her breasts. “I put the order form on your bed, Moon. The girls are so excited for their extra presents.”
“I’m glad they’re all happy.”
“You want me to make you a plate?” she offered. “It’s the least I could do.”
Moon pulled his arm away from Ember. “I’ve already eaten.”
Pouting at Moon, she left to go into the kitchen.
“What made you so generous all of a sudden?”
Moon shrugged. “I can be generous when I want to.”
Winter raised dubious eyebrows. “You’re the least generous person in the club. You gave a whopping ten dollars to the toy fund for Christmas.”
“Lily caught me before payday.”
“Okay, I’ve had a long day, and I’m tired …”
Did Winter really think she would be able to distract him then slip away?
“You never did answer my question. Who else went upstairs?”
Her expression turned stubborn. “No one that I know of. You’re really being obnoxious, and that’s saying a lot for you.”
Flipping his cigarette toward the firepit, he told her, “Whoever went upstairs left a memento behind.”
A frown furrowed her brow. “What kind of memento?”
“A size-eight pair of panties.”
Winter started laughing. “Do you know how many times I’ve gone into that bathroom to find panties in there?” She rolled her eyes at him. “I’d take it up with the women who live up there to quit leaving their underwear lying around.”
Moon cocked his head to the side. “She didn’t leave them in the bathroom. They were left in my room.”
Moon could tell Winter was floored by the information. It wasn’t often he had seen her speechless. The silence didn’t last long.
“Your bedroom has a revolving door—”
“Actually, it doesn’t. Haven’t been in a mood for company the last couple of months, and before you can come up with another excuse, she was wearing them when she came into my room. I was the one who took them off her.”
“I don’t understand, then. Why are you pressuring me about who went upstairs?”
“I was lit, and the room was dark. She pulled a Cinderella act and disappeared before I could turn the light on. So, do you still want to stick with the story that you were the only woman who went upstairs?”
“No, I don’t think I do.”
“Then who was she?”
“I have no idea.”
Moon’s expression turned frigid. “You’re lying.”
One second, he was standing there. The next, he was flying through the air, hitting the side of the gazabo.
Managing to catch himself before falling to the ground, Moon spun around to see which motherfucker had tossed him through the air.
“Are you calling my wife a liar?”
Moon didn’t shy away from Viper’s gaze. “Either she’s lying, or I have something that belongs to her. Which is it, Winter?”
Bracing himself to be tossed off the side of the mountain, he raised his hands, preparing to defend himself.
Winter caught the back of her husband’s shirt. “Stop it, Viper!”
“Brother, you better explain yourself!”
“I’ll leave it to Winter to explain. Maybe she’ll tell you the truth, because she isn’t telling me jack shit.”
Viper grabbed him by the arm when he would have walked into the house. “I expect you to be in the office first thing in the morning,” he snapped.