Damn it all to hell. Damian. God!

My ex-husband. A pain in my ass. Would I never get rid of that man?

“Yes, I can tell you that I’ve been in contact with my ex-husband recently,” I answered.

“And what did you discuss?” he went on.

“We didn’t discuss anything except me asking him repeatedly to stop contacting me,” I replied.

He studied me.

Then he asked, “So was this on the phone or did you meet?”

“On the phone,” I told him.

“You didn’t meet?” he pushed.

“No.”

He opened the folder in front of him and my eyes dropped to it. He flipped some papers over and finally he pulled out some black-and-white eight-by-tens, turned them, and slid them across the table to me.

In them were photos of me and Damian having lunch.

Okay. This was not good. Why were people taking photos of me and Damian having lunch?

And second, this was not good because I really had to consider never wearing that top again. It didn’t do me any favors even in black and white.

“Would you like to amend your last answer?” he offered, and my eyes went to him.

“No,” I replied, his brows went up but his head turned slightly to the side, toward the mirror.

Yep. People were watching.

Damn.

“Mrs. Heller—” he started but I interrupted him.

“My name, sir, is Ms. O’Hara. Actually, it’s Tess because no one calls me Ms. O’Hara. And I’ll explain those photos and my answer,” I stated, then went on before he could speak. “You asked if I’d been in contact with my ex-husband recently. I have on several occasions, as he calls me frequently. Sometimes I pick up and tell him to stop calling me. Sometimes I don’t. I was married to Damian for ten years. He dislikes being ignored and he’s not skilled with catching hints. He responds better to direct communication, although this endeavor unfortunately takes time because he doesn’t respond well if that communication happens to be something he doesn’t want to hear. Those photos”—I lifted a hand out of my lap and gestured to the photos on the table before dropping it back to my lap—“were taken of me having lunch with Damian what I believe was at least six months ago. That is not, in my definition, recent. If your definition of recent is different, I apologize that I didn’t give you the answer you expected, but even so, I still gave you one that was honest.”

He didn’t hesitate after I spoke before he asked, “Can you tell me what you discussed during this not-recent lunch?”

“Can you tell me why I’m here?” I returned.

“I prefer to ask the questions Ms. O’Hara.”

I stared at him then I pulled in a breath before I answered, “Damian wanted to discuss reconciliation.”

“He wants you back,” he stated.