into bed with me at night after having a bad dream.
After a while, she pulled herself away and once again wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Do you hate me?” Her voice wobbled with the question.
Startled, I replied, “No. Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Because I slept with another woman’s husband, just like Tiffany did with Marc.”
“Are you serious?” At her nod, I said, “Sweetie, there isn’t a comparison. Tiffany knew Marc was married, and she didn’t care. That isn’t what happened here. You were deceived and betrayed by a man you love.”
“I had to make sure. I couldn’t live with myself if you hated me.”
“Of course I don’t. But what are you going to do about Troy?”
Her expression went blank. “It’s over. There’s nothing to do about Troy.”
“You should press charges. He stole money from you.”
“No, he didn’t. He didn’t even ask me for money. I naively just gave him money when he said he needed it. Elizabeth, he never once asked me for a dime. Ever. Which makes this entire situation even more ludicrous.” She stood and then began pacing.
“You still might be able to press charges. I’ll look into it for you.” Nate might know. If not him, the attorney I used for my divorce maybe would.
Shaking her head vehemently, Alice said, “Even if I can, I don’t want to. I want to forget this mess and move on. That’s it.”
I sighed. “Are you sure? I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“I’m positive.”
“What about your lock? Does Troy have a key?” A shudder whipped through me at that thought.
“Shit. Yes.” Alice blinked as the implications took hold.
“Don’t worry! That one’s easy. We’ll call for a locksmith tomorrow and get it fixed. And, until it is, we won’t leave.”
“Thanks, Liz.”
“You feel like one of my super duper double dark chocolate cupcakes?”
“Definitely! I even have milk, which is a rarity. But Troy liked it, so I tried to keep it on hand.” Alice pulled me up.
Hopefully, the spell I’d cast when baking the cupcakes would work, and quickly, too. Alice could use a little magic right now. Of course, now that I had all the facts, I could think of another batch of cupcakes I’d love to make in the near future.
Peeling the paper wrapper off mine, I asked, “Hey, Alice, what’s Troy’s last name?”
She popped a bite of cake into her mouth. “Bellamy. Why?”
I shrugged. “Just curious, that’s all.”
“How horrible!” Maddie exclaimed. “I hope Alice goes for the jugular.”
“She won’t, but I might. You think you can get some information on him with just his name?” Maddie and I were at the mall. I was shopping for a new skirt to replace the totaled one, and she’d come along because . . . well, because she’s Maddie. Maddie loves to shop.“Of course I can! Who do you think you’re talking to? An amateur?”
Maddie also loves to snoop. With men constantly after her, she’d learned how to find almost anything out about anyone. She said she did it to ascertain that she wasn’t dating any fugitives from the law. My take on it was a little different. I thought it gave her confidence to know a few basic facts. It’s a harsh world out there, so more power to her.
“Hey, while we’re here, maybe I should see if the salon can fit me in. I still want to color my hair,” I said.
“I’ve been thinking about that. You shouldn’t bother. Your hair looks great. Why would you want to put all those chemicals in it?”
I glanced at her. “You dye your hair.”
“Not anymore. I read an article that said hair dye might cause brain cancer in lab animals. I’m tired of the upkeep, anyway. Hair, makeup, clothes—it doesn’t make me happy. And it feels like a stupid rat race every morning.”
A tingle of excitement teased at me. Now that she’d mentioned it, I noticed that while she did have makeup on, it wasn’t the full glamorous war paint she usually wore. Plus, she had on a plain old pair of jeans and a sweater, nothing like her normal fashion-plate ensembles. And guess what? She still looked beautiful.
We continued to window shop, neither of us seemingly in the mood to actually venture into any of the stores we passed. Not so unusual for me, but for Maddie? Again, this was a different side than I’d ever seen. Interesting, and more than a little cool. I was feeling quite smug about the spell I’d cast on her. No