As if she’d sent him a telepathic message, her phone chimed with a text from him.
How’d you like to do something fun tonight?
She smiled. Joe’s idea of fun could be anything and that was low-key frightening, but she trusted him.I’d probably like it. What is it?
I don’t know if I should tell you or not. I don’t want to ruin the anticipation.
She laughed.Should I be afraid?
He sent back a laughing emoji.No, I promise, nothing to be scared of. Unless you hate the water?
No, I’m good with water.She thought about that a second.Unless I’m going to be submerged. I might need more details if that’s the case. Do I need a swimsuit?She really hoped not.
Probably no submersion. Not on purpose anyway. Swimsuit is up to you.
How was she supposed to interpret that? She wasn’t sure. And her reporter’s instincts wouldn’t let her leave it at that.What’s the dress code?
Casual. Comfortable. Sturdy shoes.
She shook her head. None of this was helping.Where and when?
Can I pick you up?
She smiled.Sure. She sent him her address.What time will you be here?
Six.
I’ll see you then.She still couldn’t guess what he had planned, so if he wanted her to think about him for the rest of the day, he couldn’t have done a better job.
She sat back and did just that, trying to figure out what he was up to and where he might be taking her.
She spent about ten minutes ruminating, then got stuck on his dress code descriptions. That got her back on her feet and inside the house. What was she going to wear?
Casual, comfortable, and sturdy shoes? That could mean anything. And her wardrobe wasn’t the most expansive. She was not borrowing anything from Blaise again, either. Not when Joe had said the evening would involve water and unintentional submersion was possible.
The last thing she wanted was to have to buy Blaise a new Gucci scarf because she’d ruined it falling into a pool.
Cece’s eyes narrowed. Was there going to be a pool involved? She went back to her laptop and checked the community calendar to see if there were any poolside events tonight. There was a sunset water aerobics class at the athletic center, but she doubted that’s what Joe had in mind.
And why hadn’t he told her to wear a swimsuit? She stood in front of her closet exactly like she had the first time she’d gone out with him, trying to decide what to wear. At least then she’d known they were going to be bowling.
This time, she was clueless. Casual and comfortable described half of her clothing, but that was the half that she wore around the house, not out.
The rest was too dressy. She sighed. Maybe shewouldhave to call Blaise again.
No. She could do this. She was a grown woman. She could dress herself.
She checked the time. At least she had seven hours to figure it out.
Chapter Nine
Frank had gone golfing early, leaving Essie to run a few errands and putter around the house. There was also laundry to do and dinner to figure out. Maybe she’d roast a chicken and do it with mashed potatoes and green beans. She could make gravy from the pan drippings.
Frank loved that and it would be easy enough to pick up a roaster at Publix. Not only that, but with everything going on with Sophie, some comfort food might really do him good.
She did a quick inventory of the fridge and pantry to see what else she might need, then she ran her errands, hitting the post office and the dry cleaners, with Publix as her last stop.
When she got back, there was a golf cart in her driveway and Maude was sitting in it. She waved to Essie.
