She cut him off. “Is this where you tell me it’s not me, it’s you?” She was a beautiful woman, there was no doubt, but there was something off about her that had always unsettled him. It felt like a feral neediness that he just wanted no part of. He took four bites of the Cobb salad and began itching for the check, trying to catch the waitress’s eye.

“Look,” he said. “We’ve known each other a long time. What happened between us was nice, but…” And then he stumbled over what to say next.

She leaned in like she was expecting him to finish the sentence.

“I’m with Lara now.” This wasn’t entirely true—in fact, it was a damned lie—but he wished it were true so that had to count for something. The other night on her porch when she’d told him she thought she’d seen Todd Sutton, he felt like an idiot to wish for anything more. He wasn’t sure when things had changed for him from Lara just being a case—a phone number he called because it was part of the job—to someone whose voice he couldn’t wait to hear. That wonderful rough, gravelly voice. And the way Lara laughed, a full laugh. “I’m sorry if I led you to believe anything else. Truly, I am.”

Her face fell a little, but she tried to cover it up. “It’s a little soon after Todd, don’t you think?”

Ben contemplated her question and the suggestion made him furious. “It’s been nearly a year, Kim.”

“Has it?” she said, gazing off into space like she was adding up the months. “And here I was hoping you’d save me from another boring Sunday night with my cats.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She shrugged. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Lara Barnes is a lucky girl.” Her tone had changed abruptly, and she picked up her purse. “I think you’ve got this, right?”

“Yeah,” he said with a weak smile. “I’ve got this.”

Kim Landau was out of the booth in one swift motion; only her perfume lingered.

Ben pondered what she’d said about Lara. In his mind, Lara Barnes was far from a lucky girl. What had happened to her had been cruel and devastating.

“I think I’m the lucky one,” he said to the empty booth.