“No worries, kid.” As Honey rushed to greet her, tail wagging wildly, Rhiannon laughed. She squatted down, told her a few sweet nothings, and straightened up with her hands on her hips. “You didn’t come to the kids’ concert last night?”
“Ah, shit.”
Until she mentioned it, I’d forgotten all about it. It wasn’t a recital—those were scarce. Every Thursday, though, the kids who sang or played instruments gathered in the rec hall to show off what they were working on. Usually, I was there. As a musician myself, I normally showed up to watch the next generation develop their skills and guide them when they needed help.
“I completely forgot,” I said. “Andrew stuck me at the bakery ‘til almost 9 with a million cakes to decorate. Just completely slipped my mind.”
“Eh, it happens.” Giving a smile, Rhiannon lowered herself to the sofa. “Just wanted to check in and make sure you were okay. Axel said you seemed a little agitated last night. But I guess I would be too if I decorated a million cakes.”
“Eighteen during what was supposed to be a four-hour shift, but close enough.” Chuckling, I joined her. Honey hopped up between us, and I gave her silky ears a scratch. “Yeah, I was just exhausted. Passed right out when I came in.”
“I bet. That Andrew’s a piece of work.” She made atsk, tsk, tsksound. “Did you hear Julia kicked him out?”
“Molly told me yesterday, but I still don’t have the details.”
“She found some text messages.” A shit-eating grin lined Rhiannon’s slim features. “You won’t guess who with.”
I propped my elbow on the back of the sofa, swiveling to face her better. “Don’t tease.”
“The Lamaze instructor.” Eyes widening, she shook her head. “Can you imagine? Cheating on your fiancé while she’s pregnant with your kid is awful enough. But also, being that instructor? Meeting a guy at a birthing class, where he’s with his fiancé, and thinking ‘hmm, that’s the one for me.’”
Surely my expression showed my disdain. “I wish I could say I’m surprised.”
“You and me both.” Rhiannon ran her fingers through Honey’s fur. “Anyhow, that’s not what I came up here for. I was wondering if you’d talked to Simone?”
“I did, yeah. Something about a lash extension class? Or conference? I think?”
“Something like that.” Her eyes lingered on my face a bit too long. Like she was watching for a signal that I knew more than I was saying. “She’s been here for almost four years now. I’ve never seen her act like she did Wednesday night.”
“Neither have I.”
“But I know you guys are close, and it’s not that I’m asking you to gossip.”
Smirking, I shook my head. “You would never.”
Another laugh, but it seemed forced. Like she already knew something, or a whole lot of things, and she was waiting for me to fess up. “Do you know what happened? Why she got so worked up, I mean?”
To the best of my ability, I gave her the same spiel I’d given Axel.
I couldn’t tell if Rhiannon believed me.
She nibbled the inside of her cheek. “Triggers are strange. I could see it.”
Could she? Or did she know I was lying? According to Axel, I wasn’t very good at it.
“Well, I could use her right now. Simone, I mean,” Rhiannon said. “She always does a good job with the new girls. Showing them around, telling them how the ranch works, all that stuff. I don’t know what it is, but she makes them feel right at home.
“The new girl, Delilah, really needs someone to introduce her to everything. I’ve got a lot on my plate, and with Simone at her class, I was wondering if you could give her a tour? You two seemed to get along pretty well.”
“I can,” I said. “But I’m not Simone. I can’t guarantee I’ll make her feel at home the way Simone would.”
“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. You know how it is those first few days. It’s a ripe time for bonding.” Another smile, but she still watched my expression carefully. “Delilah asked about you yesterday. She liked you.”
I stifled a yawn. “Sure. It’s no problem.”
“Thanks, kid.” She stood. As she headed for the door, she gave me another smile over her shoulder. “I hope you have a good time tonight. Seems like Sebastian’s really looking forward to it.”
A hard swallow. “Yeah. Yeah, I hope so too.”
