Forever Hers by Walters, Ednah (top 50 books to read txt) 📕

reach his full potential as a neurosurgeon if he were a married man with a child. To her, it was another slap in the face, like she wasn’t good enough for her Dad’s star pupil. But Charles had stood up to them. She’d never loved him more.

“Amy?”

She lifted her chin and blinked hard, determined not to cry. “The burglars were in the apartment when we came back from my parents’ house. It was horrible.” Sudden chill crawled up her spine, sending goose bumps all over her skin. She hugged herself. “I would have died that night too if I hadn’t begged my attacker to spare my baby. Something about hurting me lost its appeal and he just froze. Then he ran to his buddy and there was the single gunshot. They didn’t need to kill Charles, but they did anyway.”

“Did you see Nolan that night?”

Nausea hit her hard, but she managed to hold the contents of her stomach. “At the restaurant where Charles proposed to me, Nolan was there with a friend and their dates. We left the restaurant and went straight to see my parents. He was also the first cop on the scene and took me to the hospital.” Amy shook head. “No, I refuse to believe he was behind the attack.”

Eddie leaned forward. “Right now it’s just a theory. Listen before you rule it out. Nolan was the lead detective in the case. If he was obsessed with you, he had the means and the motive to get rid of Charles. All he needed was a fall guy. In this case, fall guys—the burglars.”

This time, Amy couldn’t stop the nausea. She ran as fast as she could to the bathroom next to the laundry room and barely reached the toilet bowl before the contents of her stomach shot out.

Eddie pulled her hair away from her face. She tried to push him away. “Go away.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said firmly.

She continued to retch until she was spent and limp like a rag doll. She closed the toilet lid and flushed it. A wet cloth touched her forehead. She took it. “Thanks.”

“Sorry, I brought this up after you ate.”

“Go away, please.” She wanted to wallow in self-pity alone. She wiped her face and the tears that had sprung. The thought that the man she’d married might have had something to do with Charles’s death…

Dry heaves had her leaning over the toilet again.

Eddie stayed by her side and waited, until she picked herself up from the floor, splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth. She never wanted to discuss Nolan with anyone, but Eddie was supportive and willing to help her…just like Nolan had once been.

She shouldn’t even compare the two men. They were different as day and night. Eddie was a protector and a nurturer while Nolan was a…nutcase. Could he really be obsessed with her?

Amy sat on the couch, tucked her feet under her and waited for Eddie. He grabbed a beer from the fridge for himself then glanced at her. “Do you want something to drink?”

A bottle of Chardonnay had been sitting in the fridge since Kara and Baron left. “I think I’ll have some of the white wine.”

He poured some into a glass and brought it to her. She took a sip, cradled the glass and asked, “What else do you want to know?”

“We’re done discussing Reither for tonight.” He chugged his drink.

Amy shook her head. “No, I need to understand how he could have been involved. The two burglars were found guilty. They found the gun used to kill Charles and the things they’d stolen from us and the other students in their secret storage. The tattoos on their wrists were the same ones I saw on my attacker’s wrist.”

“They confessed to the previous burglaries but denied any involvement in the last two break-ins and the attack on you and Charles,” Eddie insisted. “I’ve gone over the investigation and the court files and something just doesn’t add up. Why did they keep the gun when they knew they’d used it to kill someone? Most criminals ditch the murder weapon at first opportunity. Why keep the things from your apartment?”

“Maybe they thought they wouldn’t get caught.”

“No, even they can’t be that stupid. Someone could have planted those items. Their lawyer even suggested it during the trial. As for the tattoo, it’s a common one. They even sell temporary ones in Charlottesville, another thing their lawyer brought up. I want you to think back to that night and see if you can remember anything…anything at all that ties Nolan to the attack.”

She didn’t want to revisit the night Charles died again. She had a headache and her stomach contracted, though it was empty. She wished she could eat something but the thought of food was nauseating. Eddie got up and collected the utensils from the table then took them to the sink, where he rinsed and put them in the dishwasher. Only Eddie could make such a mundane task look sexy.

In a week and a half Eddie would be gone. Back to his life. Back to his woman friend with no thoughts of her or Raelynn. Despite knowing all that, she still wanted him, and wished he’d want her with the same intensity.

What would he do if she walked to him right now, kissed him and asked him to make love to her, make her forget the ugly memories of Nolan? He would probably remind her he didn’t believe in relationships. She was a fool for wanting him and wishing he were different.

Sighing, she carried her wine glass to the sink, covered the leftovers and put them in the fridge. For a moment they worked in silence. She’d never throw herself at Eddie. That was just the wine talking. She’d better focus on remembering the events of her worst nightmare instead of thinking of Eddie and her as a couple. The saddest part of it was, she’d settle for just an affair if he’d