a goal that was never going to be achieved. Bobby was never happy and she didn't think he wanted to be either.
"I don't like to think of you alone," Caroline pressed. "Do you have a cat or a dog?"
"I'm thinking of getting a cat." She waved away their concern. "I'm fine. Honest. I'm just glad to see both of you. It's been so long."
Welling up with tears again, Caroline sniffled. "I love both of you so much but I hate that we're together because of Brad's death. I guess I fooled myself into believing that he was really alive all of this time. You know, he used to talk about faking his death. Do you remember? He said he'd go off to some tropical island and sell fishing gear to tourists. I didn't want to think anything bad happened to him so I would imagine that he was there."
"I heard him say it more than once," Daphne said. "I didn't take him seriously. I assumed it was a joke."
"I'm sure it was a joke," Caroline replied, her eyes watery. "But it made me feel better, if that makes any sense. Now I can't pretend that he isn't gone."
"When did you last talk to Brad?" Mariah asked. "What did he say?"
"He said he wanted to stay and drink some more with Theo. He told me he'd meet me at the airport the next morning. I told him that we should both go home but you know how he was, stubborn as a mule. He wanted to stay so there was no point in arguing with him."
"And you didn't hear from him after that?"
"No, but I didn't expect to. I went home and went to bed. When we got to the airport, he wasn't there. But you know that."
Caroline had been livid when Brad hadn't shown up that day. Absolutely furious. She'd tried to call him a dozen times at least while they waited to board the plane. She'd been pissed off during the entire flight but had finally settled down when they'd landed, deciding to enjoy the trip without Brad.
Sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, Caroline stood from her chair. "I'm going to the ladies' room to try and fix my eyeliner. I'll be right back. Will you order me another martini?"
When Caroline turned the corner and was out of sight, Daphne leaned closer to Mariah.
"She was cheating on Brad. I think that's why she's so upset. She feels guilty."
This was news to Mariah. She'd never even suspected.
"Cheating? Are you sure?"
Daphne nodded toward Trent, who was talking to Ryan. "With him. She told me. She was mad at Brad for running around and not paying enough attention to her so she was sleeping with Trent. When we were in Hawaii, I saw her sneak into his hotel room when she thought the rest of us were asleep."
"What were you doing up?"
Smiling even wider, Daphne waggled her eyebrows. "I was sneaking into Theo's room."
"How did I not know any of this?"
"There was a lot of sleeping around back then but you and Ryan weren't a part of that. We didn't hide it from you, but we didn't shout about it either. Honestly, I think you just wanted to think the best of everyone, so even if you had seen me sneak into Theo's room, would you have thought I was doing it to have sex with him?"
Was I that naive back then?
"I wasn't a prude or anything. I wouldn't have judged you."
"I know. You're not that type." Daphne's gaze moved to Caroline's husband Dan at the end of the table. "I don't think Danny knows about Trent, so let's just keep that between us, okay? It was a long time ago and it doesn't really matter anymore, right?"
"Right. I won't say anything to him." Mariah wasn't so sure that it didn't matter anymore, however. "Did Brad know about Caro and Trent?"
Daphne's eyes went round and she shook her head. "No way. He would have killed Trent."
"They were arguing a few days before he disappeared. And he was kind of nasty to Caro that night. Are you sure he didn't know?"
"Well...I don't think so. Brad would have been livid. He wasn't an equal opportunity cheater, if you know what I mean. It was one thing for him to chase girls but he would have gone ballistic if he thought Caroline was doing the same thing. No, I don't think he knew. It would have been ugly if he did."
It had