My Duplicated Husband novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: The Secretary

Lorne went still.

All the color left his face at once.

"That voice," he said.

"You know her?" I whispered.

"I..." He pressed the heel of his hand to his temple. "I don't know why my stomach just dropped."

The knocking started again, louder.

"Lorne? Lydia? I can see your truck from here, and I'm not leaving."

I wiped my face on my sleeve.

I didn't cover the swelling on my cheek.

Let her look.

I opened the door.

Dina Palfrey stood on my porch in a camel coat and pearl studs, with her blond hair cut in a perfect line at her chin.

She'd been Lorne's executive assistant at the yard for five years.

She had been at our table for dinner dozens of times.

She had watched my husband put his hands on me at the Christmas party and gone to get another drink.

"Lydia," she said brightly. "I'm so sorry to barge in. We've been calling and calling. Is he all right?"

Her eyes slid past my shoulder.

I watched her see him.

It lasted a second, no more.

Her smile didn't fall.

It stopped.

Her pupils went huge.

Her fingers tightened on the strap of her bag until her knuckles turned white.

Then the smile started again, warm and wet.

"Lorne," she said. "Oh, thank God. Look at you."

"Dina," he said slowly, testing the word.

He didn't say it like a man greeting his assistant.

He said it like a man picking up something that had burned him before.

"You scared us half to death," she said, walking into my hallway as if I had invited her.

"You missed the supplier call Friday, and the sheriff's office phoned the yard."

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