Tiffany sniffed. “Yes, really. We live two miles apart from one another in Miami and we either see each other every day or talk on the phone. To be honest, I’ve missed him. So I came up yesterday to surprise him. I spent most of the day in Hopalinka helping move his mother but I had to come back to the house for a conference call. I’m pretty sure the family won’t be back till late tonight, if at all. Thirty-six years is a lot of memories to pack up.”
Jenna felt the room spin.
He’d lied to her. Maybe not lied exactly, but he’d told her the packing would only take a few hours. Obviously, he hadn’t wanted her assistance. Not when he had his “best friend” here to help.
Tiffany softened her voice. “I’m sorry, Jenna. It’s obvious to me that you’re in love with Ben.”
“What? No! You’ve got that all wrong.”
“You should have seen the look on your face when I answered the door.”
“Okay, so I was surprised to see you, but that’s only because he misled me into believing that he’d be here tonight.”
“Are you calling Ben a liar?”
“I never said that exactly.”
“No, you were careful.”
“Obviously not careful enough,” she muttered.
Tiffany looked at her shrewdly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have invited you in.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Let me tell you something about Ben. I met him when I was at the lowest point of my life. My husband had just died, literally right in front of my eyes, and the entire world thought I was nothing but a joke. Do you know how many lawyers wanted to take my case? None. He didn’t just fight for me, he became a champion for women everywhere. He’s the best person I know.”
“A champion for women everywhere? Wow. And I’m the one who’s supposed to be in love with Ben? It sounds like you’ve got a pretty bad case of that yourself, lady.”
Tiffany’s face went scarlet. “I admit, there was a time when I had strong feelings for him, but they weren’t reciprocated, and I got over it, and now…never mind. I know Ben’s not a saint, but he’s not the kind of guy who goes around misleading women. So I’m sorry if you misunderstood your relationship with him, but if Ben wanted to see you today, he’d have been here. Or at the very least, he’d have answered his phone.”
“And on that note.” Jenna stood to leave.
Tiffany let out a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come across like a hard-ass, but you can’t come into Ben’s house and talk shit about him. I just won’t have it.”
How had things disintegrated so quickly? She’d had enough female bonding for the night. “Please don’t tell Ben I came by. Or tell him. I really don’t care.” She grabbed her purse and scurried out the door. If she had a tail, it would be tucked between her legs.
She wasn’t in the car five seconds when she’d called Kate.
“I think I just got in a catfight with Tiffany McAdams.”
“Ooh! Who won?”
“She did.”
“Now that’s depressing. Where are you?”
“I’m in my car. I just left Ben’s, where apparently, Tiffany is staying as his houseguest.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. And it gets worse. She’s just as gorgeous in real life as she is in her photos.”
“Witch.”
“And it gets even worse than that.” She proceeded to fill Kate in on everything that had happened in the last few days.
“Jenna, this is really bad. What are you going to do about that video footage?”