Page 87 of Remember Me

“Finn, did you ever suspect who I really was?”

“There were similarities. The way you looked at me... your eyes... that first kiss... the way you danced with me and followed my lead. Plus, how you and Maddie took to each other. There were other little things, but I ignored them, thinking it was impossible.”

“That morning at the motel, did you see my tattoo when I was in the shower?”

“To be honest, I saw something. But in the steamy frosted-glass stall, it looked more like a bruise.”

“You had a lot of nerve going into the bathroom while I was naked in the shower.”

He chortles. “Hey, I needed my clothes.”

I laugh back. “I needed you.”

A saucy smile crosses his lips. Tenderly, he brushes a fingertip over the one-inch scar that slashes my eyebrow.

“Another one of your scars?”

“Yes. It used to be a lot worse. It still bothers me. An ugly reminder.”

“I think it gives you character.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m going to add it to your portrait.”

His words move me. How much I love him!

“Did you deliberately play Springsteen’s “Brilliant Disguise” when you painted me this afternoon?”

“No, it was just a coincidence.”

A beautiful coincidence.A beautiful surprise.

“Then, when Maddie showed me the locket, everything changed in an instant. I went crazy. I had to know.”

Leave it to our daughter to unite us. To end the charade.

“Oh, Finn, I’ve missed you so much. Never stopped thinking about you.”

Unconsciously, he plays with my locket.

“Baby, I never stopped thinking about you either. Remembering you.” He slides the gold heart close to my own. “How could I? Every time I looked at Maddie I saw you.”

I weigh the intensity of his words and an alarming reality hits me. “Finn, what are we going to do?”

“About what?”

“About us? About Maddie?”About her.Kayla’s name stays stuck in my throat.

A shaky breath follows as I hear Finn inhale and exhale, feeling the rise and fall of his chest beneath me. “I don’t know yet. It’s complicated.”

Complicated...that’s an understatement. Our situation is like a soap opera. So over-the-top crazy in every way. The kind of story some whacked out romance or thriller writer would come up with.

In addition to Kayla, there’s a killer out there. Someone after my life.

When I wake up in the morning, Finn is gone.

CHAPTER 54