A Hard Man to Forget (9 page)

“When it comes to you, it’s all in a day’s work.
Besides, you’re holed up here with so little human contact it
could be weeks before anyone realized anything was wrong.”

“So you sicced Aimee on me?” Will knew how he felt about
the woman. When Meredith was here, he’d put up with Aimee for
her sake. If there was one benefit to her abandonment, it should have
been that he no longer had to deal with the witch. Unfortunately,
untangling himself from Aimee was proving to be impossible. The woman
refused to accept what she didn’t want to hear.

Will had the decency to look chagrined. “All right. That might
have been going overboard. Where were you anyway?”

Simon wondered how Will would react if he told him the truth.
Following the woman I thought—I still think—is Meredith.

Every minute he spent with “Laura,” the more convinced he
became of that fact. She set off a chain reaction in his body that
only one person had ever affected in him. Meredith.

His groin tightened at the thought of that too-brief kiss they’d
shared. Her tongue seeking out his, her mouth hungry. She’d
pulled at his mouth with a fervor that verged on desperate. Almost as
if she was rediscovering something she’d been denied too long.

Her mind may not remember him, but her body did. It reacted in
different ways; he couldn’t ever remember Meredith pressing
herself against him like she had in that kiss. Meredith had always
been demure, a little shy. Some part of him had recognized that he
overwhelmed her, but she’d never complained. When he looked in
her eyes in those brief moments before her eyes skittered away and
color flooded her cheeks, he knew she wanted him as badly as he
wanted her. When they made love, she clung to him and cried out his
name in a way that always pushed him right over the edge.

Blinking, Simon shook away the memory. Laura had reacted differently.
There was nothing shy in her response, nothing embarrassed in the way
she returned the kiss. She was unguarded in her passion, and it
stirred him in a way she never had before. The sensation was strange,
overpowering, and irresistible.

“Simon?”

He started at the sound of Will’s voice.

Will was staring at him, that strange gleam back in his eyes. “Simon,
tell me the truth. What’s going on here?”

There was a cautious edge in his voice, like he was concerned and
trying not to show it. Little did he know just how right he was to be
worried. If Simon told him the truth about the last few days, Will
would probably be convinced he’d lost his mind. Simon wasn’t
sure he could disagree. Every moment since he’d first spotted
“Laura” seemed heightened and a little unreal.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said firmly.
Meredith was his concern. His and no one else’s. His wife. A
fierce wave of possessiveness washed over him, the same way it always
had. The need to see her again burned inside of him, and that meant
Will had to go. “Now why don’t we get down to business,
so you can be on your way?”

IT WAS COOLER HERE, Laura noted as she followed the path behind the
house. Unlike the August heat that had been so oppressive in
Harrisville, there was a definite chill in the air surrounding the
house. She didn’t know if it was because of the shade provided
by the dense foliage or if it was all in her head, the effect of this
place on her nerves. Perhaps a combination of the two.

At the end of the path, the woods opened up. Laura found herself
standing on the shores of the lake.

The spot was quiet and forlorn. A gentle wind rustled the trees, and
the sounds of muffled whispers filled the air. A long dock stretched
out into the water, rocked by the almost black water of the lake.

The same uneasiness that had washed over her that morning struck
again.

She knew it was ridiculous. She obviously wasn’t in the lake if
she was standing on the shore. Still, there was something about the
murky depths that gave her the chills. The water was dark and
impenetrable; it was impossible to see anything in it. She could well
imagine how hard it would be to find a body in it, how a person could
disappear in the muddy waters and never expect to be found again.

The longer she stood there, though, the more her wariness faded, the
more aware she became of how sad this spot was. All along the
shoreline, trees bent to dip their heavy boughs into the water,
shedding leaves like tears. The stillness was almost eerie.

She tried to imagine herself living here, coming down to stand at
this spot everyday, unable to see anything but the lake from all
those windows in the house. She couldn’t do it. She didn’t
think she could be so isolated, so far from people and noise.
Melancholy swelled inside her just standing here. She thought back to
the photographs of Meredith, the sadness that had haunted her eyes
and added premature lines to her face. Laura could almost feel the
same effect falling over her now.

What kind of man would choose to live here, in a house shrouded in
perpetual shadow?

The taste of his kiss still fresh on her lips, Laura wasn’t
sure she wanted to consider the question too deeply.

“It won’t work.”

The voice was shocking in the silence. Startled, Laura whirled
around. Aimee stood a few feet away, her arms folded over her chest
and her hooded eyes shimmering with emotion. Laura wondered if the
other woman had followed her or if she’d been there the entire
time. She hadn’t made a sound.

She really was incredibly beautiful, something she no doubt had gone
to great lengths to emphasize before coming to see Simon. There
wasn’t a single dark hair out of place. Her make-up perfectly
highlighted her exotic eyes and sensual mouth, which seemed fixed in
a perpetual pout. She had smooth porcelain skin and a curvy physique.
At the moment, that curvaceous figure was fixed in a predatory
position, as though she was about to leap from the trees and pounce.
From the look on her face, Laura wouldn’t put it past her.

Laura tried not to show that momentary burst of fear that had
exploded in her veins. That was exactly what the woman had hoped to
accomplish. To frighten her, to catch her off-guard. Laura wasn’t
in the mood to accommodate her.

She lifted her chin and stared back. “What won’t?”

Aimee’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Pretending you’re
Meredith. No one will believe you.”

“Simon does,” Laura couldn’t resist saying.

The sound of disgust that burst from Aimee’s throat was so
rough Laura was surprised when she didn’t spit afterward.
“Simon’s not the most impartial judge, now is he? It
doesn’t matter. If he doesn’t figure it out, Will
definitely will, and he’ll make sure you don’t get a dime
out of Simon. You might as well save yourself the trouble and leave
now.”

“Is that what you think I’m after? Money?”

“No, of course not,” Aimee said, her voice thick with
irony. “You just happened to hook up with a rich guy whose dead
wife could be your twin. That makes perfect sense.”

“Believe me, I didn’t even know Simon was rich until you
mentioned it.”

Aimee snorted. “Right.”

“Not that it matters, but I really didn’t know,”
Laura said. “I don’t know anything about Simon. I don’t
even know if I’m Meredith. That’s what I’m here to
find out.”

She stared at Laura for a moment, her gaze shrewd. “You know, I
know who you are.”

A jolt rocked Laura’s body. “You do?”

“Of course. You’re that woman who they found in that
little town a few years ago, the one who they couldn’t
identify.”

The woman couldn’t have shocked her more. “You knew about
me?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I get the San Francisco papers. I
saw the notice.”

Incredulous, Laura could only stare at her. “And you never
thought to mention it to anyone else?”

Aimee arched one dark brow. “Why would I? You’re not
Meredith. She’s dead.”

Something in the unflinching certainty she heard in the woman’s
voice put Laura on edge. “You seem awfully sure of that.”

“It’s the only explanation.”

“Simon thinks she left him.”

Aimee rolled her eyes and released an extravagant sigh. “Meredith
didn’t have the guts to leave him. God knows she probably
should have. She wasn’t cut out to live out here with him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Simon’s a serious man. He broods. He spends a lot of
time by himself thinking. He spends most of his time on all those
computers he has. I respect that. The last thing he needed was Little
Meredith Sunshine running around here, distracting him with her
smiling and her chirping.”

Laura couldn’t hide her disgust. “I thought you were her
friend.”

Aimee rolled her eyes. “I was. I was always nice to her.”

“And behind her back?”

Aimee’s smile was sly. “I kept my options open. I’ve
always known I would be a better match for him.”

Laura had never thought it was possible to utterly hate someone she’d
only known for five minutes. Now she knew better. “Why? Because
you’d be better at spending his money?”

“Isn’t that what you plan to do when you step into
Meredith’s shoes?”

Anger rolled through her. “I am nothing like you. For someone
you claim to care about, you don’t seem to give a damn that
he’s in a lot of pain. And based on the way he looked at you in
there, you’re not fooling Simon one bit.”

Aimee blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing, startling them
both. “Now I know you’re not her.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you seem to have a backbone. And that is one quality
poor Meredith was sorely lacking.”

Laura was not amused. “People change. I’ve gone through a
lot the last two years and fought hard to be where I am today. No
matter who I might have been, the person I am now isn’t going
to put up with a vulture like you hovering around my husband.”

Cold hatred burned in Aimee’s eyes. She stepped close, possibly
trying to intimidate with her height. The tactic was too obvious to
work. Laura stood her ground.

“I don’t know who you really are and I don’t care.
You just need to know one thing. Simon is mine. I’ve waited
long enough.”

“It’s been three years and he hasn’t given you a
second glance. Why don’t you take a hint?”

For a moment, Laura was sure Aimee was going to lunge at her and
shove her in the lake. “Because Simon and I were meant to be
together. I understand him. Not every woman could put up with the
kind of life he lives. Look at Meredith. She killed herself to get
away from him. I, on the other hand, can be the kind of wife he
needs. As soon as he takes care of this Meredith business, he’ll
realize it.”

Something in Aimee’s words set off warning bells in the back of
her mind. “What do you mean, ‘take care of this Meredith
business?’ How do you know we won’t stay together?”

“Why would he want to do that?” Aimee laughed at the
stunned look on her face. “You don’t think he still loves
her, do you?”

Laura recalled the anger in his voice, the bitterness he’d
thrown at her yesterday. Definitely not the actions of a man in love.
But that kiss...

That was desire
, a doubting voice inside her said. Not love.
She didn’t like the distinction. “You’re saying he
doesn’t?”

Aimee snorted. “Of course not.”

“Then why would he bring me here?”

“I have no idea.” Aimee tipped her head to one side and
surveyed her through hooded lids. Laura’s skin crawled. “Maybe
he’s trying to prove his innocence once and for all.”

Unease slithered through Laura’s system. “What do you
mean?”

A malicious grin curled Aimee’s mouth. “Not everyone
believed she killed herself, you know. When she disappeared, some
people thought he killed her. Not the sheriff, of course. As far as
he was concerned, Meredith went off the deep end—literally. But
it was a little fishy, the way she went out. Some people still think
he got away with murder.”

“Why would he kill her?”

Fiendish pleasure glowed in her amber eyes. “I have no idea. He
would have to be crazy to do something like that, now wouldn’t
he? Absolutely stark raving mad.”

Simon hurried Will along as fast as he could. It was still a good
half hour before he finally left. As soon as the door closed behind
him, Simon headed down the path after Laura.

He found her on the dock, staring out at the lake. As soon as he
spotted her, the tightness in his chest loosened. Relief poured
through him.

Her back was to him, her arms folded defensively over her chest. The
breeze swept through her hair and pulled her clothes tight against
her body. Remembering the feel of those curves, Simon felt a familiar
stirring rekindled inside of him.

She looked so alone out there, and the pose reminded him of how
she—Meredith—used to sit on the beach and stare at the
water for hours. She’d long since withdrawn from him at that
point. He’d often wondered what she saw out there in the waves,
if she found the answers she sought. He’d never found out. He
couldn’t count the number of times in the last three years he
wished he had.

She didn’t turn as he approached. He called out, “Laura?”

She didn’t move.

Concerned, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and whirled
to face him, her eyes wide with alarm. The look only faded slightly
when she saw it was him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it. He dropped his
hand. “I called your name. Didn’t you hear me?”

“No. I guess I was lost in thought.” Her look became
suspicious. “What name did you call me?”

“Laura.”

“Good.” She nodded her satisfaction and turned back to
the waters.

Simon followed her gaze uneasily. He’d never been that
comfortable around the lake after Meredith left. Even though he knew
she wasn’t in there, it was too connected to her disappearance
in his mind. He remembered those long days when the police had
searched it for any signs of her body, the despair of those hours
he’d spent waiting, just in case. Just being near it now
brought that feeling back.