“I see it takes him attacking you for you to take this seriously.”

He didn’t rise to the bait. “I should have been paying more attention. I’ve been having a lousy few weeks. The book’s not working. Hell, maybe you should start writing it for me. Kidding,” he said at her dark look. “Why don’t I give Joel a call, see if he can give us some advice.”

“I already talked to Joel, the last time Wilde acted up. He said we could sue but it’s going to take a lot of time and money, and without any proof that I didn’t post those notes, we’re going to have a—quote unquote—uphill battle to get a conviction.”

“But this is different, don’t you think?”

“Call him, then. Let’s hear what he has to say.” She took the ice off her arm, started poking at the bruise.

“Stop that. You’ll make it worse.”

“I was just seeing how much it hurts.”

“I’m sure it will hurt much less if you stop poking it.”

“Call Joel.”

“I am. Sutton...”

She looked at him with those blue-gray eyes, the smudges beneath hard as rain. There was no look of love or joy or acceptance in them. Of course not, he’d just hurt her, all she could be around him now was wary. They hurt each other all the time now, their words striking harder than slaps, the bruises deeper than broken blood vessels. They both knew how to use words, knew they were the greatest weapon of all.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was kneeling by her side, his head in her lap, crying. She cried with him. They ached together in their loss. The loss of Dashiell, the loss of their marriage. The loss of each other.

That they’d make love was inevitable. He was not expecting it to be quite so aggressive, quite so wild. They both went a little crazy. And when they were finished, slick and hot and sated, Sutton said, in a small, quiet voice, “I’ve missed you.”

And Ethan’s heart broke all over again.

The Man Is Lying Through His Teeth

THAT MAN IS LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH

Now