A Deadly Slice of Lime: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 6 Read Free Page A

if she discovered anything of
interest about Elizabeth Melman. When she connected to the internet, she put
the elderly woman’s name into the search bar and hit enter. Multiple entries
popped up, and she scrolled through, looking for verification that the
Elizabeth Melman in the various listings was the same woman who had fallen in
her store last week. She was so absorbed in her task that it didn’t even
register with her when the bells over the door jangled to let her know that
someone had come in the door, so she was startled when she heard a familiar
male voice quietly say, “Hello Marilyn.”
    Her
heart leapt to her throat, and her stomach roiled dangerously within her when
she looked up and saw the athletic and tanned form of her ex-husband standing
on the other side of the counter. Hot color flushed her cheeks as she battled
the firestorm of feelings that rose up inside at the mere sight of the man who
had been her life and her love and had ultimately betrayed her in the worst way
possible.
    “Daniel,”
she acknowledged his presence, his name sounding foreign on her lips. She was
trying very hard to maintain a neutral expression, despite her extreme
displeasure with the fact that he had just popped in on her with no notice or
invitation. “Tiara said she was meeting you at the marina at one o’clock,” she
said, making a Herculean effort to keep overtones of accusation from her voice.
    He
nodded, his blue eyes fixed upon his ex-wife with an expression in them that
she couldn’t quite identify. “I know. I just…I wanted to come by to see you.
Things didn’t end well between us and I…” he began.
    Marilyn
put up a hand to silence him. His very presence was a painful reminder of her
shattered illusions, and she refused to rip the scab from those very old
wounds. “Don’t,” she commanded softly. “What happened, happened,” she said
slowly, averting her eyes so that he wouldn’t see her anguish – she wouldn’t
give him the satisfaction. “Rehashing things won’t change anything, and frankly,
I don’t want to get into it,” she set her jaw, feeling stronger, and met his
gaze head on. She’d never had boundaries when they were married, and it felt
better than good to be able to assert some with him now.
    “Patricia
and I ended things right after you and I got divorced,” he said, ignoring her
request.
    “Look,”
she interrupted, leveling him with a glare. “I don’t care, okay? I have no
interest in hearing about the demise of your love affair. You chose to cheat on
me, you chose to not break up with her after I found out about it, and things
didn’t work out for you. Sorry, Daniel, you won’t see me shedding any tears for
your broken heart,” she spat bitterly. “Why on earth would you come here to
tell me that? Are you some kind of sadist or something, because that’s pretty
cruel.”
    “No,
I don’t want your pity Marilyn,” he replied, jaw muscles twitching. “I’m
telling you this because I’m trying to apologize. I regretted the choices that
I made, but you ran away before I could even talk to you about it,” he accused.
“At least own your part in what happened between us,” his eyes narrowed just
the way that they used to when he tried to control and manipulate her every
move.
    “My
part? My part?” Marilyn was furious. “You were a vicious, tight-fisted control
freak who made me feel like I never did anything right. You cheated on me and
destroyed what few shreds of self-esteem that I had left, and you have the
colossal nerve to tell me to own “my part” of the torturous mess that was our
relationship?? You’ve got a lot of nerve, Daniel,” she shook her head in
disgust. “Apparently some things never change.”
    “Marilyn,”
he uttered angrily, his teeth clenched in a way that brought back far too many
memories of painful, belittling fights.
    “Get
out of my shop, Daniel,” her tone was quietly ferocious. “And if you ever
darken my doorstep again,