Larissa bit her lower lip. “Okay, but don’t shoot the messenger. Simone’s here.”

Sam’s mind shut down. One second there was thought, then there was nothing. It took several seconds for his brain to begin rebooting.

“Here, as in...”

“In the foyer. Right now.”

He was on his feet and moving before Larissa finished speaking. He sprinted down the hall, then consciously slowed as he rounded the corner.

Larissa had been telling the truth. His ex-wife stood looking at her cell phone, impatience pulling at every line in her body.

Sam came to a stop. She was older, but he couldn’t see evidence of that on her face. She was still beautiful, still sexually appealing. She was five years older than him. Back when they’d met he’d been a relatively innocent twenty-two-year-old and she’d been far more experienced. Looking back he could see their courtship for what it was—a planned seduction with a specific outcome. But at the time, he’d been blown away by what he’d assumed was the woman of his dreams.

She was tall and thin. Large breasted. While they’d been married she replaced the implants she had with bigger ones. She’d also had her nose done. She was a blue-eyed blonde. Sassy, irreverent and, at her core, ruthlessly selfish. It had taken him five long years to figure out theirs wasn’t a marriage. It was a platform from which Simone planned to launch the rest of her life. He’d been expecting love and a fifty-year marriage. She’d wanted exposure and a hook. In the end, she’d been the one to get what she wanted.

“Hello, Simone.”

She glanced up at him and smiled. It was the same smile that had first caught his attention twelve years ago. Bright, perfect, welcoming. He’d been drawn in then. Intrigued. In a sea of groupies, she’d been a real woman with something to offer.

“Sam.” She dropped her phone into her purse and walked toward him. “It’s great to see you. You still look amazing.”

She stopped in front of him and put her hand on his forearm before leaning in for a kiss. He let her, mostly out of curiosity. Her mouth brushed his and he felt nothing. Not revulsion, not anger. Just nothing.

Exactly what he’d wanted but it was nice to be sure. Their marriage had ended badly. But that had been a long time ago. Any feelings had long since died. Which made her return so interesting.

Before he could ask her what she wanted, he heard footsteps in the hall. Kenny, Jack and Taryn burst into the foyer and approached. Sam grinned as he saw them. They all looked pissed and protective. While he didn’t need any help, it was nice to know they were there for him.

“Simone,” Taryn said. “You’re looking...older.”

Simone stiffened. “I see you’re still a bitch, Taryn.”

“Yes, I am. I’m really glad you remember. Why are you here?”

Jack and Kenny flanked Sam. They were impressive but they would leave the talking to Taryn, Sam thought. Because neither of them had been raised to take on a woman. Still, there was strength in numbers.

“I want to talk to Sam,” Simone said. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

Sam stepped between them. “Thank you,” he said. “But I’ve got this.” He motioned for Simone to follow him. His friends followed, stopping only when he and his ex entered his office.

Sam waited until she’d seated herself on the sofa in the corner. He took a chair opposite.

“This is nice,” she began, glancing around the office.

“Don’t bother with small talk,” he told her. “Get to the point.”

She leaned toward him. “Oh, Sam, there was a time when you were thrilled to have me talk about anything. You loved the sound of my voice.”

She’d had more work done, he thought as he studied her perfect face. Her blond hair tumbled perfectly over her shoulders. Her jeans clung to slender thighs. He remembered how his hands had shaken the first time he’d undressed her and how expertly she’d faked her orgasms. He’d only found about the latter when he’d read her book. A how-to self-help bestseller on landing a professional athlete as a husband. Making him feel like he was a god in bed was her number-one tip. He still remembered most of the passage.

Don’t worry if he can’t get you off. This isn’t about you—this is about making him feel that he’s the king of the world. Get a decent vibrator and take care of yourself later. You’re not in the relationship for sex. You’re in it for the goal. Learn to fake it convincingly and you’ll solve a lot of problems.

She’d detailed all the ways she’d faked it with Sam. And there had been many. The irony being how she’d apparently told his mother she missed him in bed.

“Sam?” she asked. “Are you listening to me?”

“No. Why are you here, Simone?”

She turned on the smile. “My publisher wants to reissue my book. A 2.0 version, if you will. I want to add some new material. I thought I could interview you, talk to your friends. That sort of thing.”

Incredible. And yet not the least bit surprising.

“No.”

She pouted. “Oh, Sam. Don’t be like that. Why won’t you help me?”

“Because your book violates every reasonable assumption of privacy a person can have in a marriage. You lay it all bare.”

“It’s a self-help book. I have to be honest so people believe me.”

“When were you honest in our marriage?”

She sighed. “I should have known you would be difficult. I was hoping you’d changed in the past few years, but I guess that’s too much to hope for.”

“It is.” He rose. “You need to leave.”

She stood and moved toward him. “I can get what I want without your help.”

“Then good luck with that.”

Her pretty face hardened as she glared at him. “You were never there for me. Not once.”

“Goodbye, Simone.”

She stalked out of his office. He heard Jack in the hallway and knew his friend was escorting her out of the building.

Sam crossed to his desk and sat down, but he didn’t return to work. Simone wasn’t the type to give up easily. He had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to like the rest of her plan.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“WHEN DID YOU start throwing like a girl?” Justice called.

Ford glowered at the other man. “What did you say?”

Justice chuckled. “You heard me.”

Sam used their momentary distraction to steal the ball. He bounced it once, twice, then jumped up and tossed it in for a clean basket. Kenny ran by and they exchanged a high five. From the sidelines came a shrill whistle. Eddie or Gladys was showing her approval.

The morning basketball game had become a fixture in all their days. Three times a week a group of them played hoops for an hour. It was a great workout and more fun than the treadmill. The small audience of two octogenarians was disconcerting, but the guys had all gotten used to them.

Justice took the ball out, passed it to Jack and the game was on again. It ended forty minutes later. Sam’s team won by four points, something he would be mentioning most of the day. He shook hands with the other guys and reached for a towel from the stack Larissa dropped off every game day. His gaze caught unexpected movement. He turned and saw Simone sitting on the bench next to Gladys. She had a tape recorder in one hand and was nodding eagerly at whatever the old woman was saying.

Sam swore. If she couldn’t get what she wanted directly, she would go around him. He wasn’t surprised.

“Want me to take care of this?” Kenny asked.

“You gonna take on the old ladies, too?” Sam asked, then shook his head. “Leave it. She’ll do whatever she’ll do and I’ll deal.”

Kenny patted his shoulder. “It’s hell to have an ex.”

“You know it.”

* * *

CLOSE TO ONE that afternoon, Sam headed for city hall. The mayor had asked him to join the business economic development council. He’d resisted, she’d insisted and here he was—going to his first meeting. He’d given himself extra time for the walk. He wanted to stop by Brew-haha and get a coffee. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the most interesting meeting he’d attended this week.

But even as he mentally complained, he found himself looking forward to finding out what they had in mind. There were a lot of ways a community could support local business. Score’s customer base was outside of the area, but most of the other companies were tied to the geography. He figured they could learn from one another.

He stood at the corner, across from Brew-haha. As he waited for the light to change, he looked in the windows of the coffee place. Most of the chairs were filled and there was a line. Some of the—

He retraced his visual steps and saw Simone sitting at a table with Dellina. Dellina spoke and Simone laughed. He saw the tape recorder between them.

Something hot and sharp hit him in the gut. Betrayal, he supposed. Given the circumstances, he almost couldn’t blame Dellina. Simone could be charming when she wanted and there was no way Dellina would guess what she really was. But she had to know how he would feel about her talking about him. About them.

The light changed, but Sam ignored it. He turned and walked back the way he’d come. There was more than one way to get to city hall.

* * *

“I’M PRETTY SURE I did this right,” Dellina said as she pulled folders out of her tote. “I followed your instructions, which I know will make you happy.”

She paused, waiting for Sam to make a comment. But although he nodded, he didn’t seem that engaged in their conversation. He almost seemed...remote. As if he were holding himself apart, somehow. Which was really strange.

She’d brought the final invoice to the Score offices, as he’d requested. She’d also dragged along all the supporting invoices so they could go over them together. Now that she understood what she’d been doing wrong, she was pretty sure she could get the numbers to do their thing, but she appreciated Sam looking everything over for her—just in case.

Still, something wasn’t right, she thought. She abandoned her tote and sat on the chair opposite his.

“Sam? What’s going on?”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not yourself. Is something wrong? Or is this a bad time? We can reschedule the meeting.”

His dark gaze was steady as he studied her face. While she had no idea of the topic, she could practically see the wheels turning in his brain.

“What?” she demanded. “There’s something.”

“I saw you talking to Simone.”

It took a second for the name to sink in. Because she didn’t know any Simones. Only she’d met one today.

“Your ex? Yes. She wanted to have coffee.” Dellina relaxed. “She’s, um, interesting. She wants to do an updated version of her book and wanted me to help.” She shook her head. “Can you believe it? As if I would give up any information. I told her that. I explained there was no way anyone in town would help her and that she was wasting her time.”

Sam’s wary expression never changed. “She was laughing.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “I can be funny on occasion. Not that I’m ready for the stand-up circuit, but still.” A knot formed in her stomach. “Sam, I didn’t say anything about you. I wouldn’t do that. Not only do I understand and respect your need for privacy, but I agree with you for a lot of reasons. She’s out for what she can get for herself, the rest of the world be damned. I’m telling the truth about this. You have to know that.”

She waited, hoping he would relax a little, but he didn’t.

She searched for the right words, only there weren’t any. She’d told him the truth. Now it was up to him to figure out if he believed her or not.

Love blended with fear and neither was especially comfortable. The logical side of her brain reminded her that without faith in each other, they were doomed. They could be doomed for a lot of other reasons, too, but this was a deal breaker.

She loved him, and because of that love, he had the power to hurt her emotionally. She didn’t think he would be cruel on purpose, but he was determined and fairly rigid.

“Okay, then,” she murmured, and began collecting her folders.

“You don’t have to go,” he told her.

“Yeah, I do. You don’t believe me. After everything we’ve been through, you still think I could be the kind of person who would betray you to your ex-wife.”

She shoved the folders back into the tote and started for the door.

“Dellina, wait.”

She turned, trying not to hope.

His expression hadn’t changed, she thought. He wasn’t moved by her words. Or, very possibly, by her.

“I want to help you with your invoices.”

Words that cut to the bone. Or in her case, the heart. “Thanks, but I’ll take my chances on getting them right myself.”

She hesitated. She loved him. Despite this illustration of his biggest flaw, her feelings were unchanged. At some point she was going to have to suck it up and tell him, then accept the consequences. Just not today, she thought grimly. There had been enough emotional body blows already.

* * *

SAM TOOK OUT his temper on the exercise equipment in the office gym. He ran eight miles, then did an entire circuit on the weight equipment. He finished with alternating single-arm push-ups, going until his strength gave out and he was lying gasping on the mat.

Sweat poured off him and burned his eyes, but the strange sense of everything being wrong hadn’t gone away.