Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,51

a South Beach bistro that looked over the pier and backed up to tasteful boutiques just a block away from the boardwalk.

Jackie had grown up in a ranching family farther down the coast. She was the privileged oldest daughter of two successful parents and had a keen financial mind that had taken Frank Dusi’s vegetable business national and then international.

Jackie also knew everyone.

“Hey.” She stood and kissed Toni’s cheek. “How’s Nico?” She turned to Megan. “You must be Megan. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I adore that bag.”

Megan held up a mustard-yellow leather tote bag that complemented her rose-colored blouse. “Thanks. I was just looking at yours.”

“It’s my favorite, and you can’t get them anymore because the shop went out of business. Isn’t that the worst?”

“I hate that.”

“Wow,” Toni said. “Yeah. Purses. And stuff…”

Jackie smirked. “Toni will never admit to caring anything about fashion, and yet she always manages to look amazing and completely her own style. As long as she’s out of her work coveralls, obviously.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Toni knew she stood out in the pale, sun-washed dining room decorated with tasteful coastal influences and driftwood. She was wearing a slim pair of dark blue denim jeans, her favorite Merle Haggard concert T-shirt, and a brown leather jacket. “You asked about Nico.”

“Yeah.” Jackie’s expression turned hard. “This whole thing with Marissa? It’s bullshit. Anyone who knows Nico—knows our family at all—knows that we will come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who hurts one of ours.”

Megan said, “So you had a good relationship with Marissa? Because most of what I’m hearing is—”

Jackie lowered her voice. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I think she’s a complete bitch.”

Megan blinked. “Oh.”

“But she’s a bitch. She didn’t abuse her children. She didn’t murder anyone. She fucked around on Nico—I’m pretty sure—and she was never satisfied with the life they had, but she’s gonna regret those things eventually. She’s still Beth and Ethan’s mom. And she adores her kids. She’s a selfish little shit about it, but I know she loves them.”

Toni said, “Her parents were at the hospital. Did you see them?”

Jackie nodded. “Marissa is gonna end up straightening up her life after this. She was going through some kind of midlife crisis, but she’s got a good family, and she’ll figure it out. Whoever beat her up like that?” Jackie shook her perfectly coiffed head. “They better pray the police arrest them before Frank and the boys find out who it was.”

Toni looked around the small restaurant. “So Pamela Martin is going to meet us here?”

Jackie kept her voice low. “I told her to meet me about fifteen minutes after I told you so we have a little time to talk. You think Pam knows something?”

“I think she was involved with Whit Fairfield,” Toni said. “That’s what Drew said. Marissa thought they were sleeping together.”

Jackie wrinkled her nose. “No accounting for taste, but it wouldn’t be her worst. I like Pam a lot, but she tends to have horrible judgment when it comes to men. Of course, it wouldn’t be a bad move for her professionally.”

“Why?”

Jackie kept her voice barely over a murmur. “Everyone knew he was expanding his place. What did Nico call it that one time? The Disneyland of wine? He’s not far off. Fairfield wanted to build a hotel, a spa, a restaurant. Rumor was he even wanted a golf course attached to it.”

“That’s ambitious,” Toni said.

“Yep. But land is still cheap here compared to up north. He wanted to put Moonstone Cove on the tourist map and buy up as much property as he could before everyone discovered it.”

“He was looking at development?”

“Oh yeah. He picked up some acreage over in the hills above North Beach. Got another stretch farther south, closer to my parents’ place. And there was that piece he wanted to buy from Nico, of course.”

“Do you have any idea why?”

“I think it’s just proximity. Fairfield’s tasting room and operations look over the creek right into that little corner of Nico’s land. If Fairfield had it, he could build a bridge and expand a little. It seems minor, but if Whit got it into his head? I can see him being a massive asshole until he got what he wanted.”

“But why was it good for Pamela to hook up with him?” Megan asked. “She’s got a steady position at the country club.”

“A club that would have a lot less appeal if Whit Fairfield created a hotel,