“Weird. And…you still don’t know who wrote the anonymous letter?”
“Well, it isn’t Roger Van Cleave. He finally admitted it to me last night. Honestly? If I didn’t have a copy of that email I’d think the whole thing was a figment of my imagination.” She downed the rest of the cocoa. “The good news is I get paid today. So I can pay my fine and get my license reinstated.”
“So you’re leaving town?” Mimi asked as if that wasn’t a foregone conclusion.
“I’ll stick around for the football game. Watch my niece cheer. Then head out tomorrow morning.” After I make sure Claire tells you and Zeke about her extra-curricular activities…
“I’m sorry, Allie. I was really hoping something big would happen for you.”
“Thanks. But I’ll think of something else to send in to the magazine. Either they’ll hire me or they won’t. Not much I can do about that.” She glanced down at the empty mug. “I think…Tom thinks he’s in love with me,” she blurted.
“What the hell, woman! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Does this have something to do with the fact that you announced to everyone at the séance that you and Tom had sex?” Mimi leaned forward in her chair, her blue eyes glittering with excitement. “I wasn’t going to say anything because you seemed so down, but…was it completely and totally awesome? You don’t have to tell me the details, but then, I might have to kill you if you don’t.”
Despite herself, Allie managed a laugh. “It was all right.”
“You’re kidding? Just all right? ‘Cause he looks like he’d be—”
“It was fine,” Allie said, hoping that would be enough to satisfy Mimi’s curiosity. If she told Mimi exactly how all right it was, she’d never hear the end of it. “I thought it would make things easier between us. You know, cut out some of the sexual tension? But I think it just made everything worse.”
“Because now he thinks he’s in love with you? Just exactly how is that making everything worse?”
“He didn’t actually say the words, but, basically, yeah. I think he’s got love confused with some nice sex. And of course, I don’t feel the same way. Not at all.”
Mimi raised an incredulous brow.
“Promise you won’t tell Zeke. He’ll blow a kidney. He already hates Tom enough as it is. If he finds out we had sex and that half the town knows he’ll have to go on dialysis.”
Mimi made a face. “I can’t promise Zeke won’t find out, but he won’t find out from me.”
It occurred to Allie that she was putting Mimi in a bad position with her husband and she didn’t want to be responsible for adding any more tension between them. “I changed my mind, please do tell Zeke. Just wait till I leave town.” Pause. “By the way, when did Lauren Donalan join your Bunco group?”
“She was subbing last night.”
“Talk about awkward,” Allie muttered.
“Oh, I don’t know, she seemed kind of pleased, really, to find out you and Tom had been together.”
“Just what kind of relationship do those two have?”
“Not the typical divorced couple, that’s for sure,” Mimi said. “It’s kind of refreshing, actually. I really think she wants Tom to be happy.”
“Sorry to disappoint her, but he’s not about to be happy with me, that’s for sure.”
Mimi looked as if she’d just opened up a box of Oreos only to find the luscious cream filling missing from each cookie. “So, you don’t think he was sincere when he told you he had feelings for you?”
“We were together for a few months twelve years ago and a few days now. How can anyone be in love after that?”
“Oh, sweetie, I fell in love with Zeke in ten minutes. I didn’t want to. I knew his reputation, but when your brother decides to lay on the charm…” Mimi shrugged.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“It just is, is all.”
Mimi stood and placed the dirty mug in the kitchen sink. “You can tell yourself whatever you want, Allie, but the truth is, if we got to pick who we fell in love with, the world might be a tidier place. But a lot more boring, too.”
*~*~*