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Ashley whirls around to face me, hands coming to her hips. “Why are you asking?”
“I just heard some strange things.”
“The rumors aren’t true. She’s not a con artist.” The desperation in her voice makes it clear I’m not the only one of the two of us she’s trying to convince.
“I know. I don’t think she is, but—”
“But what?”
“I don’t believe what they’re saying.” My words sound flat even to my own ears, even though I’m telling the truth. Maeve is a con artist, not a witch sacrificing animals during a full moon. “She was wearing your ring. I ... guess it made me suspicious.”
“I think you should go.” Ashley moves toward the door.
I trail her to the exit, stepping over the rainbows cast by the assortment of crystals surrounding the window. She flings open the door, and I walk out. Before the door closes in my face, I catch it. “I didn’t mean to ambush you. I’ve just lost a lot of people and a lot of things that were important to me. You have to understand—I don’t have much left. I can’t take a risk.”
Ashley’s shoulders ease away from her ears. “I do get that. But one thing you’ll learn from Maeve is that sometimes you have to lose what you’re holding on to in order to find what else you might need.”
She lets the door close and avoids my gaze as she turns the lock. The click echoes in my ears—a long, somber note, a memory.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t see the woman standing by my car until I’m nearly on top of her.
“Fancy meeting you here.” She flashes me a lopsided smile.
“Vicky?” I glance behind me. The yoga-studio door is tightly shut, the shades drawn. “What are you doing here?”
“Picking up Ashley. What are you doing here?”
“I—” My words scatter. There’s a reason I stuck to writing scenes rather than acting in them. “Just checking on Ashley.”
Vicky gives me a discerning look.
“Well, it was nice to see you.” I step around her toward the car door.
She holds her ground. “You want to know if it was legit.”
“If what was legit?”
“The flowers. Maeve. Chloe. All of it.” Vicky raises an eyebrow.
“I do know. She’s legit.” If this is a test, I’m failing miserably. I barely believe myself.
Vicky breathes a laugh. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell, and I agree with you.”
“You do?”
“Of course. Everything she told Ashley was available somewhere on the internet, if you know how to look.”
“So why were you there?”
She looks up at the yoga studio. Tenderness enters her features. “Ashley needed the closure. There’s no harm in going if it gives her some peace.”
“Yeah ...” Peace is elusive. The last time I felt truly at peace was before my father died. Since his death, it has felt like the world is constantly rearranging itself and I’m just a step behind. No matter how far and fast I run, I never catch up. “So you don’t care that Maeve is manipulating her?”
“I don’t know that I’d call it ‘manipulating.’ Maeve doesn’t make any promises. As long as Ashley doesn’t run off or decide to break up with me to pursue an art career like some of the others, it’s harmless.” Vicky breathes the easy laugh of a person who isn’t worried that the person who means most to her will disappear.
“What about ...?” I lean in the way Annette and Delilah do before exchanging gossip. Vicky seems to be on my wavelength, but we’re still strangers, and it would be so easy to disturb the candidness she’s demonstrating. “Did Ashley give away her ring?”
Vicky frowns. “It was Chloe’s lucky ring. She wore it to every doctor’s appointment. Ashley wore it a few times, but she said it was too hard to look at. She gave it to Maeve the other night. She thought maybe Maeve would find someone who could use a little luck.”
