MY HEART POUNDED MOST of the way home. The speed of the car nowhere near matched my preferred pace, and the Christmas traffic should have irked me, but I welcomed its detainment. If Beth had called Nathan straight away, he’d be furious. Beth could convince herself as much as she liked that she could talk Nathan into laying the blame onto her, but I didn’t buy it.
Nathan most certainly wouldn’t.
By the time I parked the Porsche on the driveway, five o’clock had come and gone.
I paused in the hallway, nostrils flared, and stilled the rustle of bags as I listened. The truck outside announced a presence, as did the patter of water coming from the bathroom.
“Jem, is that you?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah.” I mounted the stairs and turned into my room, hiding my purchases in the wardrobe, before co
