Breaking Steele (Sarah Steele Legal Thriller)

Chapter 54

MANDY FUSSED OVER ME and told me to take a week off, but I bargained for a day instead. I slept the longest I ever had, a full eight hours, and woke up feeling like a new woman.

At the breakfast table, Mandy served me warm cinnamon rolls with green tea just the way I liked it.

“How long are you going to spoil me like this?” I asked, taking a big mouthful.

“Don’t get used to it,” she said. “But we are going on a trip to Rio next month. You know we’ve always wanted to go there together, and we’d better do it soon before you’re attached to another case.”

I gave a small smile. Another case. I was looking forward to my next one. Where would it take me this time?

I snapped back to the present. “Okay, we’ll go,” I said. “Let’s book the tickets right away before Dan calls me in.”

She grinned and spooned some sugar into her coffee. And then her eyebrow creased.

“What is it?” I asked, my stomach dropping.

“There’s just something I don’t understand, something that doesn’t add up,” she said. “If you came here from the bed-and-breakfast, why didn’t you bring your bag?”

I hesitated a beat to think up a lie. “I left my bag because I wanted to sleep there tomorrow night.” But the hesitation was all she needed to know that something was up.

Silence stretched between us. I took a sip of tea, and it tasted more bitter than normal.

“I know you’re withholding something from me,” she said. I was about to speak when she held up a hand. “And that’s okay. Just know that I’m here.”

I moved my roll from one side of the plate to the other. My heart felt full. Those words meant more to me than she’d ever know.