AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smirked and turned back to the pallets. I left him to his work.
In my apartment the cats stared at me as I changed into a sleek black cocktail dress and heels. Tara’s condo was only a fifteen-minute drive from my apartment, so I texted that I would pick her up so we could drive together.
The condominium complex where Tara and Gio lived (and Dominic, too, I reminded myself) was upscale but not obnoxiously so. As I parked and then walked to her door, I saw several young, sleek-looking professionals milling about, attached to their phones. One of them, a guy in a gray suit, who was lounging on his patio with a glass of wine and bore an unfortunate resemblance to the detestable Braxton, smiled at me.
“You look hot!” Tara greeted me when she opened the door.
“Okay, Miss Supermodel,” I said, and let out a wolf whistle. Tara obliged by twirling and laughing. Gone was her usual ensemble of casual sweatshirt and yoga pants accessorized with a Disney Princess diaper bag. She wore a deep-blue full-skirt taffeta dress and slingback heels.
She stared down at herself and wrinkled her nose. “I feel like I’m attending the prom. I might have overdone it.”
“Not at all,” I assured her, and held up my phone.
“Are you taking a picture?”
“Yup. And I just sent it to Gio so he can drool over what will be waiting for him at home tonight.” I paused. “Will he think it’s weird that I sent him a hot pic of his wife?”
Tara shook her head and laughed. “No.”
As Tara grabbed a shawl, I hung back and looked around. There were six units to each building and perhaps a dozen buildings scattered around picturesque courtyards. Personal touches adorned many of the doors and balconies. One of Tara’s neighbors had several cactus plants in clay pots right outside their front door. That certainly didn’t seem like Dominic’s style, though.
Tara poked me and pointed a few doors down. “It’s that one.”
“What?”
“That’s where Dominic lives.”
I stared at the plain brown door. “That’s nice,” I said. “I didn’t know that. I mean, I’ve never been to his place. I’d have no reason to go there.” I started to cough just so I could stop myself from babbling.
“Oh, Melanie.” Tara grabbed my arm and squeezed it as we walked toward my car. “It’s okay. I know you and Dominic are together.”
“You know?” I squeaked. I tried to press the unlock button on my key fob, but I was clumsy and accidentally hit the alarm. It was loud. Faces peered over balcony walls as I fumbled, dropped the keys, picked them up, and frantically pushed buttons in search of a way to make the noise stop.
Tara gently took my keys away and pressed the correct button. My ears rang from the sudden silence.
So Tara knew.
And if Tara knew ...
“Gio knows,” I said flatly. “Doesn’t he?”
She shrugged. “Of course.”
I swallowed. Shit. And here we had flattered ourselves that we were such good actors no one could possibly suspect. “How did he figure it out?”
“Well, Dom admitted it to him. And it’s been a big topic of gossip among the staff, even over at Espo 1.”
“Dom admitted it? And the staff knows?”
“Yup.”
“So the staff knows. You know. Gio knows.”
“Mel, it’s really all right.”
“Is it? Is there anyone who still doesn’t know? Maybe the governor of Arizona ought to call a press conference to make sure.” Somehow, I’d started shouting. A young couple, out walking their poodle around the courtyard, stopped and stared.
Tara gave me a brief hug. “You seem a little shaky. I’ll drive. My car’s just over there.”
