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I’d held her for two hours before they took her away

“Tinker, I’ inside He carried a bundle of flowers I stared at hi how the hellhospital when Brandon couldn’t She’d been his daughter, too

I hated him

“Let arita said, and while her words were perfectly polite, her tone was just this side ofworked for Brandon and Brandon was the enemy She despised hie did, so I really should’ve paid more attention to when he proposed My dad always called s out the hard way, even as a little girl

Guess he was right

“Brandon—”

“Unless you’re going to say Brandon isn’t here because he was in a fatal car crash, don’t bother,” Margarita snapped Craig looked between us, then his head dropped, shaking slowly

“I’ down his computer when I left”

We stared at hiflushed, and I took pity on him

“It’s not your fault,” I said “Do you want to sit down?”

“No,” he replied, shuffling his feet “I should get ho, and I need to go in early to finish prepping Take care, Tinker If there’s any e can help—I mean, the staff at the prosecutor’s office—letof you”

To hell with that If they thought of h, because I was pretty fucking pitiable There was another knock at the door, then Brandon opened it, stepping into the room

“Tinker?” he asked softly He carried two dozen red roses, which uilty One dozen for roiveness That tis

I hated diamonds Always had Seemed like a husband should know that about his wife

“Little late, aren’t you?” Margarita asked, her voice like ice Brandon stared her down

“I’d like some time alone with Tinker”

“No fucking way—”

“It’s all right,” I told her, twistingalone totaled nearly four carats, encrusted and bright It wasn’t the original, of course Brandon liked to upgrade it every few years, because God knew his wife couldn’t wear so simple His family came froned—but I’d always thought it was tacky as hell Margarita glanced toward me, and I read her look Are you sure you want him here?

“It’s fine,” I told her “Why don’t you take Craig to find so day”

“Coffee would be perfect,” Craig blurted out, ive hi to the hospital couldn’t have been easy The flowers he’d brought probably cost ten bucks down at Pike Place, but I liked them better than Brandon’s overpriced roses

They were sincere

Margarita and Craig walked out, leaving me alone with my husband

“So,” he said, setting the bouquet on the s over ? I’ case, and you kno big a deal it is Today ere scheduled to cross-exa anyone else take over I would’ve come if I could”