“Did he sleep with her, do you know?”
“He admitted he did, but says it didn’t mean anything.”
“Your father seemed to like her.”
“Yeah, but as Nick knows, Mom’s the tougher critic.”
“Any idea what she thinks?”
“None at all,” he says, wrapping an arm around me. “But don’t worry, babe. No matter who Nick ends up with, you’re always gonna be her favorite daughter-in-law. Night.”
I try to get back to sleep, but I can’t seem to. After about thirty minutes, I slip downstairs, where I pour a glass of water, and park myself on the couch again. My phone’s still on the coffee table and I notice two text alerts on the screen. The first text is a reply from Shawna:
Thanks for going with the flow. Have a nice weekend.
Not what you’d call a direct response to my comment about hoping everyone was happy, but I don’t want to bug her and press for more.
Andthere’s a message from Billy, sent only ten minutes ago.
I’ll give you the name but first tell me why you’re so hot to know.
That’s typical of Billy. He likes to use gossip as a bargaining chip. Confident he’s still up, I tap his number and call him.
“Why aren’t you in bed with that hunky hubby of yours, the wine impresario?” he says.
“What makes you think I’m not?”
“Let me hear him snoring.”
“No. What aboutyou, the playboy of the Western world? It’s Friday night.”
“She just left.”
“Right.So do you remember the girl I’m talking about?”
“Of course, but tell me, why so curious?”
“Uh, I was at a party at my in-laws’ tonight and I thought a woman I was talking to might be her.” That’s the most I’m revealing to Mr. Blabby. “I’ve been racking my brain to think of her name.”
“Well, the actress’s name—excuse me,actor’sname—was Hannah. Hannah Kane.”
So my memory had been correct after all. It’s possible Hannah’s simply forgotten, but that seems unlikely. The showcase was only two years ago, and most actors can tell you every part they ever played, right down to roles like “Shepherd #1” in the fourth-grade Nativity play.
“Not her then?” Billy says into the silence.
“Actually, itis. But she swore she wasn’t in that showcase. Why would she lie?”
“Maybe she wants to pretend that whole nasty experience with the other actress never happened.”
The skin on the back of my neck begins to crawl. “What nasty experience?”
“You don’t remember? The night of the dress rehearsal turned into a real shitstorm. Because Hannah stole a wad of cash from the other actress.”
3
My heart skips. Nick’s new girlfriend isn’t only a liar, she might be a thief, too?
“How much cash are you talking about?” I ask.
