AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was Camille, though, who came right out and asked, “Who’s Lana Judge?”
“She runs half of Judge Fashions Industry while Isobel’s brother runs the other half,” Shaw answered, “and from the way Ezra talks about her, she’s the devil incarnate.”
Kaitlynn nodded miserably. “That’s actually an apt description.”
“Wow.” I blew out a low whistle, knowing a woman just like that. “If Kaitlynn Judge—the bearer of all things positive and perky and bright—is calling someone evil, then they’re damn evil.”
Kaitlynn immediately winced and slunk deeper into herself. “Ugh. Now I feel bad. Lana’s really not so awful,” she started, though we could all tell she didn’t believe what she was saying at all.
Camille patted her on the back sympathetically. “It’s okay not to like someone.”
Smiling gratefully, Kaitlynn reached for Camille’s hand to thank her, only to become distracted by a sudden thought.
Turning back to Isobel, she cried, “Hey! You’re his sister. You can answer my question. You know that Maleficent costume you made Ezra wear to the Halloween party at work because he lost a bet to you? He said it was your second choice. But he refused to tell me what your first was. So, please—please, I gotta know what you originally wanted him to wear that night.”
As Isobel slowly said, “You know about that bet?” I nodded to myself and blew out a relieved breath.
Because, whew, thank goodness Kaitlynn had been at some Halloween party with this Ezra guy on Saturday and not at home. No wonder why she hadn’t answered the door after I’d frantically knocked on it for what felt like forever. She hadn’t even been there. That actually made me feel tons better.
Suddenly, in the middle of whatever Isobel and Kaitlynn where saying to each other, Shaw pointed at Kaitlynn and shouted, “Holy shit! You’re the yellow Power Ranger.”
Kaitlynn winced. “What—how did you know that?”
With a sigh, I clapped my hands to get their attention. When everyone glanced curiously at me, I motioned between Camille and myself, explaining, “Yeah, we’re lost over here. We all started this conversation together, so you can’t just go off and leave us out of what sounds like the most interesting part. Now. What the hell are you guys talking about with Halloween and Maleficent and yellow Power Ranger costumes?”
“Oh, that’s easy to explain,” Shaw answered. “Nash—er, Ezra—Iz’s brother, threw a Halloween party at JFI, the company—”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved a hand. “The company he runs with Kaitlynn’s evil stepmother. I got that part.”
“Right. Well, he went as Maleficent—because Iz and I made him wear that costume after he lost a bet to us—” Shaw shared a brief smile with his other half before turning back to me and Camille. “And he met a mysterious woman dressed as the yellow Power Ranger there. They hit it off, made out in the company gardens, and then she took off before he learned her name.”
“Wow,” Kaitlynn said in a small voice. “Ezra really told you everything, didn’t he?”
“No, he told me,” Isobel answered dryly. “I’m Ezra’s confidante. This one…” Nudging Shaw in the ribs, she rolled her eyes. “Just has a nasty habit of eavesd
ropping.”
“Truth,” Shaw said, unrepentantly. “Except the last time he talked to us—er, to Isobel—about you, he still had no idea who you were. I take it he knows now, since he recognized your, uh, cookies and called you Kaitlynn.”
Closing her eyes, Kaitlynn clutched her head and confessed. “He does. And he didn’t like learning I was the stepdaughter of his nemesis. So, now do you see why I ran off as soon as I realized who he was that night? I knew he wouldn’t like learning my connection to Lana. As soon as I found out who he was, I knew. And I swear, I didn’t know it was him in that courtyard before we started talking. Except, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe me. That’s basically what he told me this morning, anyway, when I finally confessed who I was. He thinks I knew all along and that I’m somehow in league with Lana and therefore must be up to something tricky and bad to hurt him. So, yeah, in his eyes, I’m the anti-Christ. Just like my stepmother.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” I argued. “You’re the epitome of goodness and kindness. You’re the only one in the building who leaves Christmas cards and treats in our mailboxes. And the day we moved into the building, you helped us carry boxes inside, then entertained my little brother for hours while we unpacked shit. How could anyone believe anything even remotely nefarious about you?”
Camille nodded her agreement. “The way Gran tells it, you’re so sweet the freaking sun shines because you smile.”
“Okay, that’s a little farfetched,” Kaitlynn grumbled, beginning to blush hard. “I’m not anything special.”
“Hey, if Gran likes you, then you’re cool,” Camille said in a stern way as if to warn everyone not to disagree with her grandmother’s hallowed opinion.
Before Kaitlynn could argue the point, the door opened again, setting off the bell.
I turned to find that Mr. Suit—aka Ezra—had returned.
He looked at Kaitlynn as if she were the only person on the planet. Her very presence seemed to captivate everything about him. If it weren’t so sickeningly sweet and so dang romantic, it would’ve been insulting how he completely ignored the rest of us.
The two exchanged cutesy lines, and he stepped toward Kaitlynn as if he was going to sweep her off her feet and carry her away into the sunset to live out their happily ever after right then, while she practically vibrated with eagerness to be hauled off in his arms.
But, nope, I wasn’t having any of that until I knew for sure this guy was going to treat my home girl right.
