Read Online False Tongues by Kate Charles - Free Book Online

there been any dead nearby. She grabbed Callie’s hand and scrutinised the ring. ‘Oh. My. God. But who? You’ve been holding out on me, girl. Tell me everything!’
    Callie smiled at her friend, bemused. She was glad that they’d retreated to her room—with its thick, soundproof walls—for their after-breakfast chat, rather than a more public place. ‘Where do you want me to begin?’
    â€˜At the beginning! Since you haven’t bothered to tell me anything at all about this mystery man. I mean, as far as I knew, you were still pining after that love-rat Adam. And you haven’t put anything on your Facebook page about it.’
    â€˜I know. I know. Guilty as charged.’ Callie put her hands in the air in mock surrender.
    â€˜Well? Who is he?’
    â€˜His name is Mark. Mark Lombardi. I call him Marco.’ Saying his name conjured him up in Callie’s mind, vividly, and she couldn’t help smiling.
    â€˜And?’ demanded Tamsin.
    â€˜He’s a policeman. A Family Liaison Officer, in fact—he deals with families of murder victims and that sort of thing. And he’s Italian,’ she added.
    â€˜Oooh. The dark and handsome type, I suppose.’ Tamsin rolled her eyes. ‘Do you have a photo?’
    There must be some on her phone, Callie realised. Probably not very good, yet better than nothing. ‘Hang on a second,’ she said.
    The phone, plugged into the wall, hadn’t fully recharged yet, but there was sufficient juice in it to access the photos. She clicked through them till she found one that seemed to represent him with reasonable accuracy. She handed it to Tamsin. ‘Here.’
    â€˜Umm.’ Tamsin squinted at the photo. ‘Gorgeous. How did you meet him, and how long has it been going on?’
    â€˜I met him on an aeroplane, actually. Coming back from Venice, right after my ordination.’ Relaxing on the bed, Callie recounted the story: how she’d chatted with the attractive man sitting next to her, and the way things had developed since then. She left out the part about his demanding Italian family, his sister’s insidious attempts to undermine their relationship, and a few other messy details that she didn’t consider relevant or necessary.
    Tamsin sighed happily. ‘He sounds perfect. Lucky old you. But why didn’t you tell me about him before?’
    Why hadn’t she? ‘I suppose I didn’t want to jinx it,’ Callie admitted. ‘I didn’t want to assume too much. Not until he actually went down on his knees and asked me to marry him. I mean, after what happened with Adam…’
    â€˜That toe rag,’ snorted Tamsin, then had the grace to look slightly guilty. ‘Sorry about breakfast. I was sitting there chatting with Nicky, and Adam came along and sat on my other side. Just like nothing had happened. Like we were still good friends. I didn’t even want to speak to him, after what he did to you. But I didn’t feel I should cause a scene by getting up and leaving. I hope you didn’t think…’
    Callie sat up, waving her hand dismissively. ‘No, of course not. I wish he hadn’t come, but since he’s here we just have to deal with it. All of us.’
    â€˜How do you feel about Adam?’ blurted Tamsin.
    It was a subject she tried not to dwell on—and had been fairly successful, until yesterday afternoon. ‘Angry, still,’ Callie admitted, probing her feelings like a tongue relentlessly seeking out a sore tooth, trying to be honest. ‘I’m not in love with him any longer, if that’s what you mean. I don’t fancy him. I don’t even like him, much. But when he’s here, where everything happened between us, I can’t just ignore him and pretend it didn’t happen.’
    Tamsin chewed on her lip, looking as if she was sorry she’d asked the question. She got up from the chair where