Neil nudged his knee. “You don’t have to tell us. We know you didn’t have anything to do with the woman’s murder.”

Rick leaned back and closed his eyes. “Clearing my name . . . proving I’m innocent . . . When did this become my daily life?”

Blake glanced behind Rick, letting him know someone was standing there.

He tilted his head back. Judy’s smile wasn’t as big as it had been and Rick knew instantly that she heard him and took his complaint personally. “Hey.”

She handed him the beer she’d obviously brought over for him and attempted a grin. “Thought you might like another one.” He took it, but she didn’t meet his eyes before turning and walking away.

“Excuse me,” he told the guys.

Rick set the beer on the coffee table and moved to catch up with Judy as she headed out the back door.

She was several yards from the house before he caught up to her. “Hey, hold up.”

She kept walking, an audible sniffle proved she was upset.

Stepping in front of her, he cut her off. “Judy,” he said softly.

There were tears on her cheeks, each one a knife to his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry this is happening to you.”

“Hey! Don’t.” With one finger, he lifted her chin to bring her eyes to his. “This isn’t your fault.”

“You just spent three nights in jail because of me.”

Rick shook his head but before he could say anything, she kept going.

“You get out of jail by getting married and you still have to prove you’re innocent.” She pulled her chin away from his hand and swiped a finger under her right eye, then her left.

He placed both hands on her arms before running them down to clasp her hands. “I spent three nights in jail because the police are blind to how much I care about you. Getting married to get out so I can be here . . . right here beside you, was brilliant.” He squeezed her hands and bent his knees to meet her eyes. When he finally captured them, he slowly smiled, desperately trying to coax a grin from her. “I’m frustrated . . . but not with you. You’re the only bright light in my day.”

She blinked and shook her head.

“C’mere,” he said as he pulled her to a two-person swing that sat on the edge of the yard. Holding one of her hands, he gave the swing a little push. “Remember when we met?”

She didn’t say anything, just gave a half smile.

“I remember that day like it was yesterday. You tried so hard to hide the spark you obviously felt. You were so damn cute I couldn’t get enough.”

Her smile was a little more genuine now and he kept going. “When I came back to LA, Karen told me you went to college in Idaho.”

“Why did she do that?”

“I don’t know . . . a practical joke? You’ll have to ask her sometime. Anyway, I had planned a trip to Idaho, thought maybe we could accidentally meet up. When I mentioned to Michael that I’d be in your neck of the woods, he corrected me. I scrambled and spied and found your address in Washington.”

Her tears had dried up and she seemed genuinely intrigued.

“How come you didn’t call?”

“I don’t really know. I guess I knew you wanted to finish school and a distraction might actually work against me. When Michael told me you were applying for internships here, I just waited. Then I saw you hustling pool and that spark was just as strong as the first day.”

“I don’t hustle pool,” she denied with a grin.

He released her hand only to put his arm over her shoulders and pull her closer.

“The denomination of the money earned doesn’t define a hustle . . . knowing you can kick someone’s ass in the game and betting makes it a hustle.”

He sighed and when Judy’s head hit his shoulder, he felt himself starting to relax. “Wanting to date me, hook up, isn’t the same as going to jail and getting married for me.”

He kissed the top of her head. “We definitely get a nomination for craziest dating dance ever . . . but in light of everything that’s happened I wouldn’t change it. So if I’m frustrated, or you’re frustrated, we need to talk about it and not assume we’re upset with each other. With the serious nature of everything going on, we need to be open and honest. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

This was good.

“Right now I’m really frustrated,” he told her.

“Oh?”

“Yeah . . . we have a house full of people celebrating us and all I really want to do is unwrap that red dress and see the color of your panties.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Everyone had left and Meg disappeared into her room. Judy kicked off her shoes and wiggled out of her pantyhose, but left the dress on while Rick locked up the house. They’d come to an understanding in the garden. She was going to do her best to not blame herself for the craziness of their lives, and they were both going to keep their conversations open and honest.

When Rick didn’t follow quickly behind her, she sat up on the bed and grabbed her tablet.

The game she’d played obsessively hadn’t called out to her in weeks. She saw the icon and clicked into the game. Sure enough, there were many chat messages, all asking where she’d been. A few closer players, people she’d talked to off the game, asked her to send a private chat. All that could wait. She went through the routine of collecting money from her virtual buildings and restoring those that had been bombed by others. It was silly and mindless . . . and it felt strangely comforting to have a desire to pick it up.

Rick stepped into the room while she was vaulting the money she’d collected. While the dial spun, she glanced up and noticed him smiling at her.

“You’re beautiful,” he told her as he slid next to her on the big bed and looked at the game in her hand. “War games?”

She closed the tablet and tossed it aside. “Stupid, I know.”

Yet he was grinning even bigger, his hand found her knee and started a slow ascent up her thigh.

She was pretty sure she purred.

“I think it’s cute,” he told her, his lips going straight for the V of her dress. Judy closed her eyes and slid lower in the bed.

“Cute? I’m a three-star general on that game. I kick serious ass . . .”

Rick’s fingers were dancing up her thigh, sending shockwaves up her body. She arched into him.

“Tough as nails on the Internet, soft and supple in real life.” He pushed the edge of her dress aside and exposed her breast.