I would've, but I was still stuck on bum goods.Surely, she didn't mean…?I squinted. "The earrings?"
"What, like I sold you something else?" She reached into her purse and pulled out a thick yellow envelope. "You should've seen the seller's face. They were absolutely mortified."
The seller.All along, I'd known who that was.
Tessa.
Franny thrust the envelope in my direction and said, "Anyway, it's all there. You wanna count it? A thousand bucks, plus interest."
Suddenly, I was finding it hard to breathe. "Interest?"
"Yeah, somegoodinterest, too. They didn't get cheap."
I still hadn't taken the envelope. "And you flew here forthis?"
"Me? Nah. I'm not a good flyer." She perked up. "We drove."
Like a man who was drowning, I latched onto that single word. My breath hitched as I glanced toward the doorway. "We?"
"Yeah. Me and the girls. Darleen and Beverly. Carol couldn't make it on account of bunco night."
Fuck.
Hope slipped, leaving something colder behind. "The seller – did they know who bought them?"
Franny looked insulted by the suggestion. "Do I look like a blabber?" Her chin lifted. "I didn't tellyouthe seller's name, did I?"
No.
She hadn't.
But shehadcaught me outside my hotel and offered me a "heck of a deal," genuine sapphire earrings, a half-carat each.
I'd seen those earrings on Tessa, so I'd bought them on the spot, paying the thousand dollars up front before those earrings had ever made it to my hand.
And why?
Because after learning from Jamison that Tessa was about to be homeless, I'd wanted to help her – and not only with rent.
And then, I'd fallen for her.Before the end of it, I'd been planning to give the earrings back, polished and cleaned, along with a sapphire necklace to match.
Instead, I'd gotten that text from the jeweler, telling me the earrings were fake, which meant that Tessa – much like the guy who'd ruined my mother – wasn't above a con.
Except I'd been wrong.
Tessa hadn't conned anyone, especially me. And now, my world was spinning.
Franny shoved the envelope closer. "How come you're not taking it?"
I felt like throwing up. "Because I don't want it."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not gonna sue, are you?" She threw back her shoulders. "Because I'm a witness that the seller tried to make it right."
The room felt suddenly too small.I didn't want to talk. I wanted to think. Absently, I said, "I'm not suing anyone."
But already Franny was saying, "They had to sell their bike to get it, so you'd better be telling the truth."
The bike.
