Lemonade & Loathing Read online

  I glanced outside and realized that Lettie and Melody would be home soon. But…Lettie was married, and this wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have in front of her spouse. How to trap her? I left my friends and made my way home to Simon. It was so easy to wrap my arms around his waist and just be grateful that I wasn’t Jane today. Or Lettie. Or Lila. What were they doing? Was Lila currently dealing with the anger of her fiancé? Were they still getting married or had he called it off?

  What about Lettie? Was she mourning Danny right then, having heard that her one-time lover had died? Or was she grateful that he’d died before her spouse realized she’d cheated on him?

  “What are you thinking about?” Simon asked me. He knew me well enough to know I was, at least, curious about his case.

  “Cheaters,” I said.

  He turned inside of my hug so that my chest was pressed against his and looked down at me. “You thinking about cheating on me?”

  “Never,” I said. “How do you recover from that?”

  He pressed a kiss on my forehead and said, “I don’t know. With time? My Dad cheated on my mom. I remember them fighting a lot. She cried all the time. Like cutting the crust off of my sandwich and crying into her hands and then handing me a salty sandwich. But you wouldn’t know it now. They love each other and that’s for real.”

  I hadn’t known that. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know it. They were going to be my in-laws and would be coming for the wedding. Would what I knew about them weigh on my interactions?

  “So,” I said, shaking off thoughts of my future in-laws for Danny and his slew of brides, “People can recover from cheaters?”

  “Yes, definitely,” Simon said. My sweet Great Dane, Goliath, nosed between Simon and I and I laughed. I curled my fingers into his skin, giving him a good scratch as I joined Simon on the couch. I’d eaten with Az and the girls. Simon had picked up a burger and fries on his way home, so we decided to light a fire and watch a movie. It was, perhaps, my perfect evening. Curled into the side of a man I loved who had not, in fact, cheated on me. I didn’t ever see either of us taking that route.

  Was it because we were older than these brides Danny had slept with? Was it because we were ‘true love’ or was it something else? Or general character? I couldn’t be sure, but I wanted to know. Surely, Simon got a lot of his character from his father? Maybe I could trust Simon because he’d had a front row seat at the pain his father’s cheating had caused his mother? I wished it was possible to get a peek inside someone else’s mind. I would love to know what the difference was. A bad decision in a bad moment? Something as simple as that?

  Chapter 6

  It turned out that asking Lettie to meet me for coffee and breakfast at the diner was easy. I simply alluded to having a few questions to ask her about Danny and wondered whether it would be a good idea to stop by her workplace or if she wanted to meet me in the private room of the diner. Was I evil that I set it up like as soon as I found out that Lettie Parker-Delancey worked in the same office as her husband?

  Maybe. I wasn’t sure that I cared so much about it being unfair. I think, in the end, I was being pretty kind by not being the one who outed her to her husband. Maybe, however, the unfairness was assuming that Lettie had actually slept with Danny. I believed Lila when she said she’d only kissed him. Maybe Danny hadn’t been as successful as the rumors wanted him to seem.

  The more I had thought about it as I snuggled with Simon the previous night, the more I thought that even a little flirting might lead to people assuming that the bride had slept with Danny. He had a reputation, and the bride had flirted. I had to wonder how much of his reputation was deserved.

  I’d opened the backroom today, sweeping it out, wiping down the booths, and then setting up one in the back for me and Lettie. I wanted her to be able to talk to me without worrying that her neighbor or someone she knew would hear her. I was seating someone when I saw a young woman come in. She wore a brown straight skirt, a high-necked blouse and sensible pumps. The outfit of a suspected cheater if ever I saw one.

  Her eyes darted around the diner, but what gave her away was the way that her eyes were tight, her mouth pressed together, and her back was so straight, she could have had a rod strapped to her.

  “Lettie?” I asked as I approached with a coffee carafe in my hand.

  The woman nodded and I said, “I’m Rose. Let me show you the way to the back, and I can grab you some breakfast.”

  Lettie nodded without saying anything. I led her to the back, asked her what she wanted, and gave the order to Az. He’d made lemonade waffles today, which I wasn’t sure about at all, but of course, I’d ordered them. They were a lemon flavored waffle, topped with lemon curd, strawberries, and whipped cream. I wasn’t the biggest fan of tart lemons, but Az promised me it would be on the sweeter side of the lemon flavor.

  I brought Lettie a quad espresso and myself a mint tea and seated myself across from her.

  “How did you hear about me?” she demanded. Maybe she didn’t care about Danny having died and only cared that there were rumors about her?

  Her lips trembled just a little bit and I leaned back to examine her. It wasn’t very kind to leave her stressing, but I wasn’t sure how kind I wanted to be. I think I was angry on behalf of her spouse. I don’t think she’d have been so quick to agree to breakfast with a stranger if she hadn’t actually cheated on her fiancé, now husband. Especially when she’d clutched at the idea of a private location.

  “A couple of people,” I finally said. “Danny had a reputation. You got linked to it.”

  She paled at that and then said, “Look…I’ve been married almost a year now. I’m not…I didn’t…it wasn’t me who killed Danny. Besides, I couldn’t have held him down.”

  She was pretty little, but I wasn’t sure exactly how he died. Sure, he’d been found in the fountain but Simon hadn’t let me get close enough to see if there was evidence of a fight. Even if there hadn’t been, that didn’t mean that he hadn’t been hit with something first and then held under the water after? Or just murdered and then tossed in the fountain to mess with the evidence.

  Simon was keeping it all pretty close to his chest. He had always been worried and protective. But, once we’d started talking about babies and going off of birth control, his protectiveness had upped to a whole other level. Even last night, we’d talked about cheating on significant others, but when I’d try to weasel some information out of him, he’d kissed my forehead and changed the subject. Three times. I’d narrowed my eyes at him and gotten a smirk so mischievous, it reminded me of Zee.

  “So…it’s out? About me and…Danny?”

  And confirmation. “Not exactly,” I said. “I asked about brides who had been linked with Danny. You were mentioned in a string of names.”

  Lettie leaned back, face shocked. She couldn’t have thought it was just her, could she? But her mouth dropped open and tears flooded her eyes.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that Danny Harvey has a reputation for preying on the cold feet and stresses of being a bride. I understand he was very charming. I’ve also heard he was pretty successful in his…hunting among the brides.”

  “That can’t be true.” Lettie’s lips trembled and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Her perfect makeup didn’t streak a bit in the face of her emotion, but her eyes showed the stress. They were turning red as she fought to hold back her emotions.

  I took a sip of my tea as I thought about how to reply. It was, in fact, true.

  “It’s just rumors,” I said, placatingly. “So, you met Danny while you were arranging your wedding?”

  Lettie nodded, her lips still trembling. “I. Well. Danny was my DJ on the day of the wedding, and beforehand, he worked for Flora’s Flowers with delivery and setup. I met him a couple times at different bridal events while I was planning everything.”

  “I understand he was quite charming,” I said, gently.

  “Oh he was,” Lettie nod
ded. “I can’t believe he’s gone. We…” She snapped her mouth shut.

  “Were you still seeing him?”

  “No,” she said. I was sure she was lying. I wasn’t quite sure what told me so, but I was sure of it.

  “You know, Lettie. It’s going to come out if you were and you lie about it. If you didn’t kill Danny—”

  “Of course I didn’t,” she wailed.

  “You loved him,” I suggested, eyeing her carefully.

  “I…well. Yes. Yes, I loved him. I love Tracey too though. And…it’s just that Tracey is…what I’ve always known. And Danny was exciting. I love—loved—different parts of them.”

  “And you loved Danny even though he was dating your best friend?”

  “That was just…” She stopped suddenly and wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  Oh my, I thought. I examined her face. Best friends, my behind, I thought! Not that I’d had a lot of really good friends before she’d come here, but now—with that glance—with that cut off statement— Lettie knew Danny was dating Melody. Knew that Melody loved him and hadn’t cared. I was sick to my stomach as I suggested, “They were dating as a cover for you?”

  I could Zee in the doorway with a tray and I shook my head slightly to send her away.

  “Melody…it’s…well, it’s complicated.”

  “Of course. Supposedly Melody is your best friend. Yet you were using her relationship with Danny to hide that you were sleeping with him. That’s pretty hard to explain. Especially since you are supposed to be friends.”

  Lettie was a brilliant red and you could almost see the shame rolling off of her.

  “I mean, it’s not like you can tell your best friend that her boyfriend is really your boyfriend. Especially since you’re married.” My tone of voice was flat, but I wasn’t feeling all that sympathetic to her.

  “I couldn’t. Of course I couldn’t.” Lettie looked at me pleadingly as though I would feel all that much sympathy for her. I’d felt bad for the bride at the cake shop, but she’d been devastated at her choices.

  “And how could you tell your husband that you fell in love with someone else while planning your fairytale wedding.”

  Lettie let her face drop to her hands. She sniffled into them, blindly searching for a napkin. I unrolled the silverware I’d placed on the table and gave her a napkin, leaning back to watch her cry.

  Did I feel sorry for her? Not really. I believed she was upset. But did I believe she didn’t know the rumors about Danny? I thought back. She’d been tremulous when she’d arrived and shocked when I’d come out with the rumors about her, Danny and even more women. Lettie probably didn’t know about them. If she did know, she’d actually be pretty high on my suspect list. But that look of horror on her face. I just wasn’t sure if that was horror because she was involved in the rumors or horror that Danny was cheating on her while she cheated on her husband—let alone her best friend. I did, however, believe she was mourning something. Even if it was just loving the love she thought she had that had never been real.

  What was worse, she’d have to hide the mourning she was feeling. It wasn’t like she could go to her best friend and say, I loved Danny and how he’s dead. Melody was mourning the man she thought she was dating. Unlike Lettie, Melody didn’t have anything to hide or be ashamed of. Well, as long as she wasn’t the killer.

  I would have taken any bet that Danny had told Melody he loved her and wanted to be only with her. All the while sleeping with Lettie whenever the chance presented itself. And then pursuing Lila. And the other brides Flora had listed off. I admitted to being even more disgusted. Not just with Danny—he was a snake. But with the woman across from me. Weeping over a man she’d slept with. The thing was—I could almost feel sorry for her if not for Melody and her spouse.

  “I’m sorry,” Lettie finally sniffled. “It’s just so hard. I can’t… No one… It’s just…”

  Zee had appeared again and I nodded, waving her over. Lettie looked up as Zee, expressionlessly, placed our plates on the table.

  “You said this would be private,” Lettie accused.

  I raised a brow at her and said, “Zee you were there when that bride admitted to kissing Danny. When was that?”

  “That she admitted it or when she kissed him?”

  “Kissed him.”

  “About two weeks ago, I’d say,” Zee seated herself next to me, crossing her arms over her chest as she let her mean gaze almost assault Lettie.

  “That can’t be true,” Lettie said. She leaned forward to Zee as she was trying to force Zee to admit to lying.

  “I’m not a liar,” Zee said. “It’s Lettie Parker isn’t it? Pretty sure I babysat you some when you were a little one.”

  “Lettie Delancey,” she snapped.

  I flinched for her. You didn't attack Zee and not expect her to respond, especially since there was so much ammunition for Zee to fire back. It wasn’t Zee, after all, who’d been sleeping with someone else while married and that someone else being your supposed-best friend’s boyfriend..

  “You got married pretty recently, didn’t you? I remember the invitation. The photo was centered on your wedding ring instead of you and Tracey. I talked to your mom while you were planning it. I remember now. Your mom was pretty excited about her baby girl marrying such a good boy. Didn’t your mom save for years and years? All to give you the princess wedding you deserved.”

  Lettie nodded, face paling.

  “And now, you’re another of Danny’s— Well, I wouldn’t use the term victims.”

  I couldn’t agree and lose whatever confidence I’d gained with Lettie. If I’d gained any, but either way, I kept my face impassive.

  “You know I was asking around about him at my knitting circle last night,” Zee mused, “I heard he was dating Melody Hanover. Isn’t that your best friend?”

  Lettie jerked back.

  “In fact, I think I babysat the two of you together one weekend while your parents were going out of town. Best friends forever? Matching necklaces. Blood sisters. Yes…I remember, you two stole my kitchen knife, cut yourselves, and mixed your blood under the full moon to swear friendship and sisterhood forever. Am I remembering that right?”

  Lettie looked away, but she said, “Yes.”

  “Are you not friends anymore? Did your ceremony not stick?”

  “Of course we’re friends,” Lettie sniffed, crying into her napkin again.

  “So she doesn't know that you were sleeping with her boyfriend?”

  “It wasn’t real between them!”

  “So you were using your best friend’s heart to hide that you were cheating on your husband?” Zee’s disgust was so evident, I could almost touch it.

  “It wasn’t like that. It was just— I wanted to call it off, but I would have lost everything. My job. My home with Tracey. Danny lives in his uncle’s basement and his uncle was about to kick him out! My mom wouldn’t have understood. We’d spent so much already.”

  “For her princess,” Zee snarled, meanly. “Some princess.”

  Lettie sniffled more, biting at her lip. Her gaze darted around the backroom of the diner without settling on anyone’s face.

  “And your best friend,” I said. “Not very many women would forgive their best friend since childhood using them like you and Danny used Melody.”

  Lettie choked and then stood up, “If you don’t need anything else…”

  We let her go since I wasn’t sure she would answer any other questions. As she fled, Zee pulled Lettie’s ham and cheese scramble to herself and glanced at me before tucking in.

  “Did you find out anything from Carver?”

  “Every time I tried to ask him anything, he talked about the weather,” Zee said, sniffing. Her eyes were narrowed, and I shook my head. I wasn’t going to fight with Simon over him keeping his job private. But Zee. Well. She was a woman for vengeance. “You?”

  “Simon changed the subject every time,” I admitted.

  Zee’s eyes gli
nted with mischief, and I grinned at it. I was almost looking forward to how Zee got her way with Carver.

  “Don’t the boys have some poker thing tonight?” Zee asked. “Do you need to do wedding stuff?”

  “Yes,” I said, “But I’d rather break into the resort property and check out the ground around the fountain to see if there is any evidence of a struggle.”

  Zee’s smirk lit up the room as I tried the waffles. She was cackling, but I had to hold up my hand and close my eyes and have a moment. I breathed them in, marveling at what was happening in my mouth. For the love of goodness, Az was a genius. Waffles like this were perfection. Perfect, amazing, melt in your mouth wonder filled pastries.

  Murder definitely came second to waffles.

  Chapter 7

  Now that Zee had dragged me on more than one of her late night, semi-illegal adventures, I had invested in a full outfit of black clothes that didn’t look too suspicious. Cute black jeans. Black boots that reached my knees and were good for both running through the mud, possibly in the woods, keeping my feet dry, and looked awesome with a knee-length plaid skirt. My sweater was a simple black turtle neck topped with a black Columbia jacket. Simon had said the green one would set off my complexion, and I hadn’t been able to explain myself and why I wanted black, so I’d shrugged and gotten both. One for when I was with Zee. One for Simon. It was the kind of jacket that you could put lining in or leave it out. It was September and the nights were cold, so I was lined tonight.

  I stuffed a black knit beanie in my jacket to cover my frizzy red hair and braided my hair down my head. It would work for a knit cap, but I could hide the knit cap and look semi-normal. I put a bright scarf around my neck. It would up my normal factor if I came across anyone other than our friends, but it was easily hidden under my jacket.