Read Lies You Wanted to Hear for Free Online

love.”
    “Fell in love with surfing,” I said, not wanting to talk about my Puerto Rican girlfriend. “You can’t believe how blue the water is.”
    She grinned and let me off the hook.
    I told her about the retired Boston police lieutenant I met on the plane back to the States from Puerto Rico. When I mentioned my interest in law enforcement to the lieutenant, he offered to make a few phone calls on my behalf. Eight months later I had my shield.
    Lucy said, “Did you meet Terry on the job?”
    “No, through softball. He’s good friends with a couple other guys on the team. I actually know Jill better. She talked me into coming to school and speaking to her fourth-grade class.”
    “And talked you into going out with me.”
    “Well, there’re only three bachelors on the team.” I smiled and took a chance. “The other two turned her down.” It’s always tricky, making a joke like that with a woman.
    Lucy laughed. “The smart ones always do.”
    The waiter came by and asked if we wanted coffee or dessert. Lucy said just coffee. I ordered one of the house specials, chestnut purée with rum and whipped cream. She smoked her third cigarette. Sometimes when she took a drag, she’d hold the cloud of smoke in her mouth for a second with her lips parted, then curl her tongue and pull the smoke in. She seemed to do it unconsciously. I wondered if she had any idea how seductive it was.
    “Impressive,” she said, watching me dig into my dessert. She spooned a dollop of whipped cream from my plate and put it in her coffee. “I like a man with an appetite .” As soon as she said it, she made a funny face. “Oh my god—” She covered her mouth with her hand, but a giggle squirted through her fingers. “I can’t believe I just said that.” She tried to suppress her laugh for a moment, then threw her head back and let out a husky, wine-soaked howl that made other people in the restaurant turn and stare. I reached across the table and interlocked my fingers with hers.
    Sandor came to the table with a bottle of apricot brandy and insisted we share a glass. Lucy thanked him for his hospitality.
    Sandor said to me. “You must bring your lady back.”
    “I will, definitely,” I said.
    He put his hand on my shoulder. “You want me to call taxi for you?”
    “Yes, please,” I said. “Thank you for everything.”
    Sandor took the rose from the vase on the table and handed it to Lucy. “Here is souvenir of your first visit to Café Budapest. You must come back soon.” He looked as smitten as I was.
    On the sidewalk, Lucy twirled the rose between her fingers. She snapped the stem in half and gnawed on the tough fibers until she’d broken it in two. Then she stuck the rose in her hair and struck a pose, one hand on her hip.
    “What do you think?”
    “ Me gusta .”
    She smiled. “Did that Puerto Rican señorita teach you Spanish?”
    “Look at that sky,” I said. It was dusk, the city bathed in a glow of red and purple.
    Two businessmen walked by with their briefcases. One leaned toward the other and said something, and they both laughed. If the joke was on me, I didn’t care. The cab pulled up to the curb. Lucy and I got in the backseat, and she gave the driver her address.
    Lucy sat close and rubbed her hand softly on my thigh. “What else did the señorita teach you?”
    I rolled down the window and let the warm air blow on my face. We drove along the river with the colors of the sky reflecting on the water. Couples were strolling along the Esplanade. I’d never seen the city look more beautiful. The driver crossed the bridge to Cambridge and made a few turns. Halfway down the block on Lucy’s street, she pointed at a ramshackle house with a lopsided front porch, most of the balusters broken or missing.
    As we got out of the cab, I asked the driver to wait.
    “You’re not coming in?” Lucy said, pouting.
    “I better take a rain check.” Since we’d left the restaurant, I had been debating with