Deadly Notions - By Elizabeth Lynn Casey Page 0,14

an evil eye on the other moms who so obviously had had enough of Ashley Lawson.”

“Maybe there’s something good there after all.”

“Maybe . . .” she allowed, albeit grudgingly.

“Word on the street is she’s a fabulous designer.”

“Well, designing dresses for pageants is all well and good—even better if she’s truly that good at it—but being a decent human being should mean a little more, don’t you think?”

“Agreed. But people place different importance on different things. Makes it easier to sort the apples from the lemons that way.” He nudged her chin upward until their eyes met. “It’s finding the little diamonds underneath all of those apples and lemons that isn’t always easy.”

She smiled up at him, his honesty and his openness catching her by surprise for what had to be the millionth time. “Oh trust me, I’m well aware of that.”

Chapter 5

Tori, of all people, knew life could change in an instant. She’d lived it when she’d found Jeff in the closet with a mutual friend. She’d lived it when she’d become the top suspect in a murder she didn’t commit. And she’d lived it when she made the conscious decision to give love another try.

She just hadn’t counted on living it when Milo’s first love walked into the room, proving once again that pictures don’t always capture a person’s true beauty. The hair that had looked blonde in the college photographs he’d shown her was golden in real life, the exact shade reminiscent of the fair-haired beauty in Rumpelstilskin. The eyes that had looked as if they were just regular blue were actually blue as blue could be, their ocean-colored hue popping against her flawless porcelain skin. And the figure that had been that of a young college coed was suddenly all woman.

“Oh my,” Tori mumbled under her breath as she noticed every male head in the room look up at the same instant, their jaws dropping in time with hers.

“Do you know her?” Debbie asked as she wiped her flour-dusted hands across the front of her apron.

“No. Not personally. But that’s . . . um . . . Milo’s old girlfriend.”

The bakery owner looked from Tori to the woman and back again. “Oh. Okay. That’s who that is. She’s kinda pretty I guess.”

“Kinda?” she echoed. “Kinda?”

“Her name is Beth, right?”

“Yes. Beth Samuelson.”

“Victoria is a much prettier name,” Debbie said as she nodded to Emma, her college-aged employee, to take the register. “Much prettier.”

“Because let’s be honest, men notice names.” Tori heard the hint of sarcasm in her voice and was instantly ashamed. “Hey, don’t mind me, I didn’t get home until late last night and I was so wound up from sugar it was hard to sleep.”

Debbie studied her closely, her eyes nearly burning a hole into her soul. “You’re prettier, too.”

She laughed. “Perhaps you’ve had too much sugar.”

Her friend shook her head. “No, seriously, I think you’re prettier. I really do. You’re the whole package, as my Colby likes to say.”

Pulling her gaze from Milo’s former love, Tori fixed it on Debbie instead. “My package isn’t wrapped like that . . .”

“There’s something to be said for beauty that just is, rather than beauty that is because it’s been fussed into place.” Debbie filled the to-go cup with hot chocolate and topped it with whipped cream before handing it across the counter to Tori. “You, my friend, just are. She”—Debbie cast a sidelong glance at the woman now talking to Emma—“on the other hand is because she tries.”

Tori glanced back in Beth’s direction. “I don’t know . . .”

“Have you met her yet?”

She shook her head. “No. Milo invited me to go to dinner with them last night but I’d already promised Melissa I’d help with Sally’s party.”

“Then I think you should introduce yourself now. It’s like my grandmother used to say, Victoria, ‘sometimes what we imagine is far worse than reality.’ And besides, when I saw her in here yesterday morning she seemed fine to me.”

Was Debbie right? Was she making this woman out to be something she wasn’t? Besides, she knew Milo. Trusted Milo. And knowing she’d gone out of her way to be kind to someone he knew would make him happy.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” She stepped forward, her hot chocolate cup in her left hand. “Beth? Beth Samuelson?”

The woman turned, her eyes wide. “Yes?”

Tori held out her right hand. “I’m Tori. Tori Sinclair. Milo Wentworth’s girlfriend?”

“Tori Sinclair? Hmmm, I don’t remember hearing your name but I certainly know who Milo is.” Beth reached