A Hard Man to Forget by Kerry Connor Page B

mind
the fact that I was in San Francisco when it happened and had an
alibi. I came home that night, and that’s when I discovered she
was missing.”
    “Aimee thinks you brought me here to prove your innocence once
and for all. If Meredith is alive, you’re off the hook.”
    Damn that woman. If he was going to turn to murder, he knew who his
first victim would be. “I seriously doubt that Aimee thinks
that.”
    “Then why would she say it?”
    “To scare you off.”
    Laura’s mouth twitched. “Yes, she made it clear I should
keep my hands off her man.”
    “I’m surprised she came right out and said it.”
    “I don’t think that woman has a subtle bone in her body.”
    Simon had to smile at that. Truer words had never been spoken. Then
he sobered. “I didn’t do it, you know.”
    She glanced his way in surprise. Her eyes held his for a long moment.
“I know.”
    Something in the absolute certainty he heard in her voice set off a
response in his system. There was no doubt in her tone. She meant it.
For some reason, her having that much faith in him in spite of the
events that had brought them together meant a lot to him. It took him
a moment to be suspicious and realize the only way she could be sure
he hadn’t killed Meredith was if she was Meredith.
    “How do you know?”
    “Because it doesn’t make any sense,” she said
matter-of-factly. “Why would you bring up the suspicious
circumstances surrounding Meredith’s disappearance if you
killed her? It seems to me you would want people to think she killed
herself.”
    “Then why did you—"
    “Because you should have told me. There are enough things I
don’t know. I don’t need information like that sprung on
me out of nowhere.”
    He shouldn’t have felt any regret. If he was right, she’d
shown no consideration when she left, springing her entire
disappearance on him.
    He felt it anyway, sharp and swift in his gut. “I’m
sorry.”
    She nodded her acceptance of his apology. “So you didn’t
kill her,” she said, moving on. “Someone else could
have.”
    “Not possible,” he scoffed.
    She peered up at him with those big, observant eyes. “How can
you be so sure?”
    “Who would want to kill her? Everyone loved her.”
    “Aimee didn’t seem to be too fond of her ‘friend.’”
    “Aimee’s all talk. I can’t believe she’s
actually capable of violence.”
    He could tell Laura wasn’t convinced. “How can you be so
sure she’s not dead?” she asked quietly.
    “I told you. The explanation makes no sense. If she’d
wanted to kill herself, she wouldn’t have done it in a way that
terrified her.”
    “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
    Simon sighed, knowing there was no way to explain that didn’t
sound ridiculous, but knowing he had to try. “Because I would
know. We had a special bond, Meredith and I. There was an instinctive
connection between us. Don’t you think I would feel it if that
link had been severed?”
    “Not if you didn’t want to believe it.”
    “And not if she wasn’t dead. Do you really think I’d
rather believe she left me than she’s dead?”
    “If it meant there was a chance you could get back together,
sure. Wouldn’t you?”
    He couldn’t answer that. He didn’t know the answer. He
wasn’t sure he wanted to.
    Unable to resist any longer, Simon lifted his hand and brushed the
back of his fingers against her cheek. She shuddered and briefly
closed her eyes, turning her head into the caress. Though her skin
was cool, he felt like he’d been scalded by the contact. “You
feel that, don’t you? That connection between us?”
    She opened her mouth, then closed it without saying anything. After a
long moment, she shook her head. “I don’t know.”
    He took note of the color that flared in her cheek where he’d
touched her, the slight tremor in her voice. “Now who’s
lying?”
    Her mouth thinned with annoyance. Rolling her tense shoulders, she
turned her face away. “This