Nerves surfaced, but before she could squash them, someone knocked on the locked front door of the store.
Patience crossed to open it. She didn’t recognize the woman standing there and wondered if she was a lost tourist.
“Can I help you?” she asked, taking in the other woman’s long, wavy hair and warm smile. Her irises were cat’s-eye green. She was tall and lean, but with a hint of perfect curves under her tailored black pantsuit.
She looked so happy to be there, Patience couldn’t help smiling back. Only to realize the happiness wasn’t aimed at her.
“Justice!”
The tall, elegant woman brushed past Patience and launched herself at Justice. Just as horrible, he caught her in his arms and swung her around.
“You made it,” he exclaimed.
“Of course. I couldn’t let you be here all by yourself.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
All the pleasure Patience had just experienced bled away, leaving her with the sense of having been played for a fool.
PATIENCESTOOD THERE, watching the happy couple. Shock didn’t describe the combination of dismay and mortification burning through her. Not three minutes ago, she had been naked and making love with Justice. Now he was hanging on to some other woman? The chasm of the years he’d been gone had never stretched so far between them. She wanted to run but couldn’t make herself move. Then she remembered this was her store and her town. Even if Justice wasn’t her man.
Justice and the woman hugged again, laughing happily. Patience glanced around, idly wondering if there was anything she could throw at them. China. A bucket of water. She wasn’t feeling particularly picky.
Justice finally looked up and saw her. Amazingly, there wasn’t any guilt in his expression. Just contentment.
Sure, she thought bitterly. Why not? Talk about having his cake and all that.
“Patience, let me introduce my business associate Felicia Swift. Felicia, this is Patience. The girl I knew when I lived here.”
The tall, elegant beauty moved toward Patience, her intentions obvious. They were going to greet each other politely. Because that’s what civilized people did.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you,” Felicia said with a brilliant smile. “Justice told me a little about your past together.” She gave him a wry look. “Not that he talks about his personal life very much at all, right?”
“Right,” Patience said. “He’s very secretive. Not necessarily a good quality in a man. In fact, it can be annoying.”
Justice looked at her, his brows pulling together.
She wanted to stomp her foot. Seriously? He was going to pretend to be confused?
Felicia laughed. It was a low, throaty, sexy sound that made Patience hate her instantly. Not that she’d especially liked her before.
The other woman patted Justice’s arm. “And for the record, I’m not your associate. Not anymore.”
Justice kept his gaze on Patience. “That’s right. Felicia is going to help us set up the business, but then we’re on our own.”
“How sad,” Patience murmured.
“It is. She’s a logistical expert.” He turned back to the stunning redhead. “You’ve saved my ass more than once.”
“Just doing my job.” She smiled at Patience. “As I’m sure he’s already told you, I worked with Justice when he was in the military. Then we both went to work for the private security company. Now we’re here.”
“How very special.”
Patience pressed her hand against her stomach. It was writhing again, but this time for very different reasons. She’d never experienced jealousy before. Not like this. When Ned had announced he was leaving, she’d been stunned and upset, but not jealous. Her pain had mostly been for her daughter—losing her father before she’d even gotten to know him.
It was her ability to let go that had convinced her she hadn’t loved Ned at all. Theirs had been a marriage of convenience, brought on by her pregnancy.
This time was different. This time the jealousy burned hot and bright. The need to throw or possibly destroy was still there. Reminding herself this was her store and any damage would be hers to fix helped keep her in check. As did her basic grasp of normal behavior. But she was furious and devastated. Crying and screaming seemed equally likely outcomes.
She felt her control slipping and knew she had to get away from the happy couple. Or at the very least, get them to leave so she could throw up in private.
“You two probably want to catch up,” she said with what she hoped was a smile. “Don’t let me keep you.”
Not her most subtle moment, she thought. But she wasn’t in a position to be picky.
“Are you all right?” Justice asked.
“Peachy.”
His frown deepened.
Not knowing what else to do, she walked over to the front door and held it open. “You should show Felicia around town. Fool’s Gold is really lovely this time of year.”
“I’ve seen some of the town,” Felicia said happily. “It’s charming.”
“Isn’t it?” Patience motioned to the exit. “And it’s waiting for you to go explore. Bye-bye.”
Justice hesitated for a second, then walked out. Felicia paused to smile at Patience.
“It was wonderful to meet you. I look forward to spending more time together.”
“I can’t wait,” Patience lied, then slammed the door shut behind them.
Silence was everywhere. Silence and pain and the sense of having been a complete idiot.
The facts were really simple. Justice had lied when he’d moved to Fool’s Gold all those years ago, and he was lying now. Okay, withholding was more accurate, but so what? In the end, he hadn’t told her the truth. Not about who he was or why he was around.
A case could be made that while he was in the witness protection program, he couldn’t be honest. But since then? He’d never called, never come to see her. That was a really big clue about his character.
She drew in a breath and paced the length of the store. Okay, she could figure this out. She’d had sex. She’d been smart and insisted on protection, so she wasn’t pregnant. Basically a man she found attractive had given her fantastic orgasms. Yes, he was also a complete dirtbag, cheater, liar, skunk-dog. So based on this new clarification of his character, her choices were really simple. Keep pining for said skunk-dog or find a functioning brain cell and move on.
Which would be easier said than done, she thought grimly. But she was tough. Or if she wasn’t, she would be by the time she was over him. And over him she would get. She’d already been to this dance with Ned, and there was no way she was going back.
* * *
JUSTICESTOOD ON the sidewalk with Felicia. “Where do you want to start? A tour of the town? Or would you rather go to your hotel?”
“I’ve already been to the hotel,” she told him. “I went there first.”
“You found it.”
She