take this envelope back to Braden’s house. Now. I pull one of my wire earrings out of my ear and stuff it inside my purse as well. Then I head back to Braden’s. I can only hope Christopher is still on his walk with Sasha and Annika answers the intercom.
I’m literally shaking as I walk into Braden’s building. I smile nervously at the doorman. I make my way to the intercom—
My cell phone rings.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It’s Tessa. Probably with news about her drinks with Betsy. Now what? I can talk to Tessa later, but if she has news, I need to know it now, before I attempt to put this piece of mail I so foolishly stole back in place.
I can’t stay here in the lobby of the building. What if Christopher returns with Sasha? “Hold on a minute, Tess.” I walk out of the building and continue walking. “What’s up?”
“Betsy’s really sweet.”
I sigh. I already know that. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Don’t hate me. But I have a dog.”
“Why would I hate you? You know I love dogs. When did you get a dog, and why am I only now hearing about it?”
“Because she’s a fake dog.”
I make a face into the phone. “Huh?”
“I’m not sure how it happened, but she was talking so much about her business and how much she loves animals, it just kind of popped out.”
“O…kay.”
“Anyway, once she found out we have a love of dogs in common—and I do love dogs; you know that—she opened up and we talked about…a lot of things.”
My heart races. I’m still walking, now a block away from Braden’s building. I dodge inside a small café and sit down at a table. “What did she say?”
“She and Addison have known each other since grade school. They didn’t go to high school together. Addie went to some private school, but they stayed in touch and always got together over the summer. Betsy was kind of a charity case for Addie and her family. They paid for her to go to all the same programs Addie and Apple went to over the summer, except they didn’t go away for the summer after graduation. Instead, Betsy stayed at Addison’s house.”
“So she knows about Braden.”
“She does.”
“Did she tell you anything?”
“Oh yeah.”
I look down at my shaking left hand. I will it to still. “Don’t leave me in suspense. How did they meet?”
“You’re not going to believe this. One weekend when Mom and Dad were out of town, Addison and Apple threw a party at the mansion, and Braden and his brother, Ben, showed up.”
“How would they know about a party at the Ames house?”
“Got me. Betsy didn’t know.”
“Okay. Wait, hold on a second.” A server approaches. “Black coffee,” I say. Then, to Tessa, “Go ahead.”
“According to Betsy, Addie was all over Braden, but he didn’t give her the time of day.”
“What? They both cop to having a thing.”
“They did, but it didn’t start that night. Addie got obsessed with him. She couldn’t understand how anyone could turn down an Ames heiress, and she was determined to lose her virginity that summer…to Braden Black.”
“Oh my God…”
“She found the construction site where he was working and showed up there the next week. He rebuffed her again and again, but she didn’t get the message.”
“Seriously? She’s a stalker?”
“She was then, anyway. Braden had a small apartment in South Boston, and Addie found the address.”
I don’t like where this is going. “And…?”
“Betsy stopped talking,” Tessa says.
“Are you kidding me?” I wave thanks to the server when she sets my cup of coffee on the table.
“Yeah. She even covered her mouth and begged me not to tell anyone what she said, that she wasn’t supposed to talk about it.”
“What did you do?”
“I assured her I’d be discreet, of course, but that I tell you everything. She said that was okay but that you couldn’t tell anyone. I assured her you wouldn’t. I didn’t want to push her any further. She’s so sweet, and it’s really not any of my business.”
I take a sip of coffee. “Ouch!” The hot liquid scorches the inside of my mouth. I swallow quickly, burning a trail down my esophagus.
“What?”
“Nothing. I burned my tongue. Then what happened?”
“I said good night, we made plans to have drinks again sometime, and I promised I’d visit her boutique to get more treats for Margarita.”
“Margarita?”
“My fake dog. Rita for short.”
“All you could think of was Margarita?”
“What can I say? I was drinking a strawberry margarita.”
I roll my eyes. Tessa and her froufrou