Prologue

Michelle

My super sleuth instincts kicked in and I decided to follow my ex-boyfriend. It was easy, as I had the GPS tracker hidden on his car. It had been there for a couple of weeks. After doubting his sketchy explanations I finally caved and purchased the dang thing. Putting it to use had been easy. He said his parents lived out in the country. So when I tracked him the first time, I was happy to see he did indeed drive out to the middle of nowhere.

But then, when he drove out there late at night, on a Wednesday, my suspicions rose. My questions were always hedged and never answered to my satisfaction. Who was this man I had spent so much time with? I grew uneasy and that’s when I acted.

That’s how I found myself sneaking around at night, following him down a gravel road. Surely I was going to get caught. My car was barely moving—a mere five miles per hours—inching along to avoid stirring up dust. The headlights were off and I was only using my parking lights, which wasn’t the smartest thing to do. With my luck, I would probably run off the road into a culvert, never to be seen again. Rounding a curve, I came up on a small house. He was parking his car outside, next to another one. I pulled off to the side of the road and parked. I waited a few minutes before braving the next steps.

This was a really bad idea. I should’ve listened to my gut instincts. Tailing him in the car was one thing, but walking up to that house was another. I pulled out my phone and used the flashlight app to pick my way over to the house so I could spy on him. Peeping into a window—a window of some stranger’s home—sunk in like a rock. I was exactly like some creepy criminal, spying on my boyfriend, because I didn’t have the courage to ask him the simple question on the phone. “Exactly where are you, Oliver?”

The more I watched, the more intrigued I became. I was glued to the interaction being played out between them. Once I looked it confirmed it was the right decision to track him. This wasn’t his parents’ house. The rat was seeing someone. Through the slits in the blinds, I saw him talking animatedly to an attractive blonde. Tall, curvy, and wearing a baseball hat, she was someone I knew! Then they both turned, her back facing me, and he started lifting her shirt. Oh my God, was he undressing her? Suddenly, my blood boiled. My stance shifted and the stupid paint bucket I stood on tipped precariously, forcing me to grab the window ledge. Unfortunately, my head rammed into the damn glass and I lost my grip, falling face first into the huge hedge. Lights blazed on and by the time I pulled myself out of that damn bush, I was staring up at the same two faces I’d been spying on moments before.

“Michelle, what the hell are you doing out here?” Oliver asked staring down at me.

What in the world was I going to say to that? Brushing leaves and twigs off me as I stood, I answered, “Maybe I should ask the same of you.”

“Jesus. It’s not what you think.”

“Well then, what exactly does Jesus think?” my smart mouth asked. I stared between my former boyfriend and his very attractive lover and examined their body language. The girl glanced away as soon as our eyes connected. Then she tugged on her ear. Guilty. That’s what it was telling me. Oliver stared at me for a second, then grimaced. He was clearly uncomfortable and it was funny really. I was the one who was caught creeping around, spying on him. Shouldn’t I be the one who felt awkward? No, you big dummy! You weren’t caught cheating on your girlfriend! Or ex-girlfriend as it was.

“Michelle, this isn’t … I mean we weren’t …” he blew out a breath.

The other woman said, “You might as well tell her.”

“Tell her?” he asked, his voice rising.

“Tell me what? That you’ve been screwing around on me? That’s obvious,” I said.

“That’s not what we’re doing here,” he said, gesturing wildly with his hands. He held something in one and a wire flew all around. “Tara and I work together.”

“Indeed. We’ve met. Remember? I’m sure you get a lot of work accomplished. At least now I know where you go on all your family outings.” Family my ass. My face burned, but not from embarrassment. I scratched the heck out of it when I tumbled into the bushes.

“Michelle, your face. It’s bleeding a little.”

I dabbed my fingers to it and held them up to the light. Sure enough, blood was present. “Great. Exactly what I need.” I was done with him and this conversation. I started to walk away when he grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going? Let me help you clean your face up.”

“No, I’m going home.” I tugged my arm out of his grasp.

“No, you honestly don’t understand. Tara and I were … working.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“No! I mean yes.”

Shaking my head at him, I said, “You two need to get a better story than that. I’m out of here.” I moved past him, but he grabbed my arm again.

“Michelle, I have to explain. Come inside. I can help you clean up your face. Besides, you really don’t understand. None of it. Tara and I work together but not in the way you think.”

I aimed my finger at him. “See. I knew it. You two are together. Look, you’ve done enough damage already, Oliver. I thought I was important to you … meant something to you. But things never added up. Now I know why. The lies, the secrets. It all makes sense now. You and Tara. Well, for a while I thought we had a chance, but now … I’m completely done with you. Let me go.”

This time I wrenched my arm from his grasp and didn’t give him the chance to stop me. Only his words made me falter. “I love you, Michelle and it really isn’t what you think. Please don’t leave.”

But I grew a backbone. “Yeah, tell that to your other girlfriend,” I mumbled, intending to jog back to my car. Tears clouded my vision. Why did I have to fall for a guy who couldn’t be faithful? Why couldn’t I fall for someone who only wanted me? And why the hell did I stand on that stupid paint bucket of all things?