Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux Page B

the world would my father want to search for an adulteress? An adulteress! Scum-of-the-earth.”
    Mike watched her. “Interesting. Such a forceful opinion about adultery. Any personal reasons for such vehemence?”
    Not answering him, she watched the waitress place the food before them.
    â€œYour father wasn’t sure what happened to his mother,” Mike continued. “He thought for a while that she was a victim of foul play. Purse nabbed, then murdered, that sort of thing, but a year after she disappeared, she sent Cal a postcard from New York saying she was safe.”
    â€œHow thoughtful of her,” she said sarcastically.
    Mike waited a moment for her to say something else, but when she was silent, he spoke again. “Maxie wrote that she was safe. Not that she was happy or well or send my clothes to so and so. She said she was safe.”
    â€œSafe in the arms of her lover?”
    â€œIs that bitterness I hear in your voice?”
    â€œWhat I think or feel is none of your business. All I want from you is to know how much I have to do before the requirements of the will are met.”
    â€œGet me in to see Barrett and that’s it. I want to meet the man. No one’s seen him in twenty years. He’s a recluse who lives on an estate in Connecticut with fences, dogs, and armed guards.”
    â€œHas it ever occurred to you that my grandmother—if she’s still alive—might be living there with him?”
    Mike grinned. “The thought had crossed my mind.”
    Samantha thought about the possibility of seeing her grandmother again. Her grandmother had abandoned her family, had left the people who loved her for another man, and Samantha wasn’t sure she could forgive the woman. On the other hand, she thought of this man Barrett, a man she didn’t know but who may actually be her grandfather.
    â€œI might like to see him,” she said, then added quickly, “but not her.”
    Mike’s shock showed. “You can forgive a man for being a gangster, but you can’t forgive a woman for adultery? Murder seems worse than sleeping with someone besides your spouse?”
    She ignored his comment. “What is it you want me to do?”
    â€œNothing much. I’ll write a letter to Barrett telling him that Maxie’s granddaughter wants to meet him. It’s my guess he’ll answer right away, then we go to meet him. Simple.”
    â€œWhat if he wants to see me alone?”
    â€œI thought of that, actually, so I need a good, solid reason to be your escort. You wouldn’t like to get married this afternoon, would you?”
    â€œI’d rather be roasted alive,” she answered sincerely.
    Mike laughed. “Liked being married, did you?”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know, there’s a reason for all the divorce in this country.”
    Dave had told him little about Samantha’s marriage, saying only that he had encouraged her divorce and had helped her obtain it, but even so, Mike was startled by her hostility. Looking down at Samantha’s hand on the table, he knew he shouldn’t touch her because she seemed to have such an aversion to being touched—at least by him, anyway—but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
    Picking up her hand, he looked at it, so small in his own, then kissed the palm. “I could show you one heck of a great wedding night.”
    Angrily, she jerked her hand out of his grasp.
    He sighed. “Is it me you hate or all men?” He was surprised at how much he wanted her to say that she didn’t hate him personally.
    But Samantha didn’t answer his question as she looked at her eggs. “Why don’t you tell him the truth?”
    It took Mike a moment to remember who they’d been talking about. “You mean tell Barrett that I want to write about him?”
    â€œI can fully understand his aversion to writers.” She said the word writers