Flawless Prize

JULIET

“Mara?”I stare at her in disbelief, my mind racing. “What are you doing here?”

It couldn’t be her… Could it?

Mara smiles, holding up a bag of takeout. “You told me to stop by, so I couldn’t resist. Girls’ night!”

Her eyes trail behind me, looking around the apartment. “Whoa. You weren’t kidding. This place is amazing. And the location… Wow!”

Relief floods me. Of course she’s not my enemy. I suddenly realize I’m being rude and step aside. “Come on in.”

When she passes, I glance up and down the hallway. It’s empty.

Closing the door, I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Sorry. I didn’t think you’d come by tonight.”

She goes to the kitchen island and starts pulling tacos out of a bag. “You looked kind of strange, earlier. I thought you and Caleb might have had a fight?” She winces. “I mean, why else would he give you a separate place?”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

I slowly relax as she goes fishing around kitchen cabinets for wine glasses. “I wish I had my own swanky crash pad, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my guy, but when he leaves those little shaving specks all over the sink…”

I shake my head, still in a daze, as she passes me a glass of wine. “His and hers sinks,” I manage. “The secret of a happy relationship.”

“Isn’t that right?”

There’s another knock at the door. I tense, but then I get a text from Logan. ‘It’s me’.

I go over and open it to find him at the ready, hand on the butt of the gun under his blazer. “I saw someone come up.”

“It’s all right. Just Mara.”

He heaves a sigh and comes in. Mara studies him. “Hel-lo? Don’t tell me you’re juggling two hot guys at once?”

I quickly make the introductions.

“A private investigator?” She eyes him curiously, the food forgotten. “What do you need that for?”

“Well…” I pause. “That whole thing I told you, about me moving here? It was staged.”

“Staged?”

“I wanted Olivia to hear about it, because I thought she might try something.”

“Why?”

“This is going to sound crazy. But I think Olivia is trying to kill me.”

She stares at me, as if waiting for the punchline.

“It’s true,” Logan adds.

I sit down at the kitchen counter and explain everything.

“Oh, my god,” she says after hearing the whole story. “So you set this up? I knew it! I knew something was wrong with you, from the way you were acting.”

A bolt of fear hits me. If Mara knew something was off, then maybe Olivia did, too.

“You thought she was going to come here and try something. So where is she?” Mara asks.