Page 36 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

“No, it’s okay. I overstepped the line. I mean, you’re here to do a job, not spill your guts about your personal life to your client.”

“Honestly,” he said, “I can tell you about Therese, if you really want to hear.”

“I’d like that,” she said, wandering into the room to sit beside him.

“Don’t hold back on telling her how fantastic I am,”Therese said from where she stood near the window.“Feel free to wax lyrical. You can’t share too much.”

Noah stifled a groan as he fought to keep his eyes off his deceased wife. He smiled ruefully at Annabelle. “Therese was… a pain in my ass.”

That surprised laughter out of Annabelle, while Therese stamped her foot.“If I could move things, that lamp would be flying at your head right now.”

Noah couldn’t help but smile. “She was fiery,” he told Annabelle. “Some would say mouthy. She had an opinion on everything and stuck her nose into everyone’s business, but she had a heart of pure gold.”

“That’s more like it.”Therese sniffed.“Carry on.”

“She sounds formidable.” Annabelle toyed with a button on her ugly pajamas.

“Oh, she was a presence, alright. If Therese was in a room, you knew it. She had a way of making people open up to her, and then she’d step in and meddle with their lives. Funny thing was nobody ever got upset about it.”

“Probably because they realized she meant well.”

“Probably.” Amusement bubbled inside him as he remembered what life had been like with Therese. “She was always on the go, always busy with something. I never knew what she’d do next. She lived life to the full, you know? Almost as if she knew what was coming.”

“I didn’t,”Therese said.“I just had a lot I wanted to do. How people can be bored, I have no idea.”

“I remember you saying it was cancer?” Annabelle said softly.

“Yeah, it came on fast, and there was nothing anybody could do. She was a fighter and a planner right to the end, though. She made loads of videos for the boys to watch on their birthdays. Every year, there’s a message from her to them, along with some piece of wisdom she felt they should know.”

“What a wonderful thing to do.” Annabelle’s eyes teared up, and she blinked them away.

“See?”Therese said.“She totally gets me.”

“She made one for me too,” Noah said. “I’ve never watched it, though.”

Therese threw up her hands in disgust.“Which annoys me no end. I put a lot of effort into that video.”

“Too hard?” Annabelle nodded with understanding.

“It’s more that the title freaks me out.” He smiled wryly. “She called it ‘advice for your next relationship—so you don’t screw up.’”

Annabelle’s laughter felt like bubbles against his skin. “I bet I would’ve enjoyed knowing your wife.”

“Damn straight,”Therese said.“For a start, I’d have gotten her out of this building. It’s not healthy for a young woman to live like this. You need to fix her, Noah.”

Yeah, he’d get right on that. An ex-cop could totally do what a trained psychiatrist couldn’t. He shot his wife a disbelieving look before speaking to Annabelle. “We grew up together, were high school sweethearts, and got married straight after graduation. There was a group of us, five guys and Therese, and we’d all hang out together. Therese had a group of female friends too, but that didn’t stop her from interfering in the lives of my friends. Not that they ever complained about her always being around—or any of the stuff she talked them into doing. We all miss her.”

Annabelle seemed surprised. “You’re all still friends? I don’t have any school friends left, just a couple from college.”

“I couldn’t shake those guys even if I tried.” Noah grimaced. “And trust me, there have been times when I’ve tried. We all went our separate ways for a while but kept in touch. Now, we all work for Benson Security in some capacity or another. Two of the guys have full-time jobs and freelance with the team when they can.”

“They’re all in Houston?” Annabelle frowned, obviously wondering why she hadn’t met them yet.

“No, one’s in Scotland, two are in London, and the other travels a lot. I was with the London team before they started up this new crew. Thought it would be good to get back home for a while.”

“But Houston isn’t your home, right?”

“Atlantic City born and raised.”