“I can’t imagine it,” I said honestly. “It’s just bad timing. The two cases are hitting at once. Usually, the criminal one goes first, and if the defendant’s found guilty, the victim sues civilly for money. A conviction makes it easier to get damages.”
“Well, that makes sense,” Donna said slowly. “But Gloria wants to really mess with her, so I can see her being too impatient to wait for the criminal trial to conclude. But you’re going to get Nana out of it before that happens, right?”
My stomach cramped. “I’m sure going to try. I don’t think they have enough evidence for a criminal case. The burden of proof’s too high. The civil one could be trickier, but don’t worry. I’m on it.”
Tessa gave me a small smile, though the tension in her shoulders didn’t ease.
I hesitated, then decided I needed to get it out. “I should probably tell you two, because I need to tell someone. Pauley’s been working for Nonna.”
“What?” Donna’s voice shot up, drawing a glance from a nearby table. “You’re kidding. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
“Well,” I said quickly, “he promised he’s not hacking anything illegal.”
“Wait,” Tessa said, frowning. “Did you guys not know he could hack?”
I blinked. “No. I knew he was good with computers, but I didn’t know that.”
Tessa shrugged. “He’s helped me out tons of times. You know that.”
“Yeah, but that was setting up your Wi-Fi,” I said.
Donna snorted. “Same here. He hooked up my TV and fixed my laptop once, but hacking? That’s new.”
“I didn’t even know he could get out of the Matrix,” I muttered, and Tessa laughed hard enough to make the people at the next table look over.
Donna grinned. “For a lawyer who lives and dies by high-tech evidence, you’re a little behind.”
“Hey,” I said dryly, “I know the law, not the code.”
Donna smirked. “Fair. I’ll stick to selling houses. I’m better with people.” She wasn’t wrong. Donna could talk a banker into a full remodel loan in under an hour.
I turned to Tessa. “Enough about the cases and hacking. Let’s talk wedding again. It’s a much nicer topic. So what white flowers does Nick like?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve shown him a few options.”
Donna snagged another chip. “What do you like, Tess?”
Tessa chewed thoughtfully on a piece of chicken. “I guess I like white tulips and calla lilies.”
“Oh, that sounds gorgeous.” I pictured the bouquet in my mind. “You should go with that.”
She angled her head. “You think?”
“Of course. Nick doesn’t care. Do whatever you want,” I said.
She grinned. “That’s kind of what I was thinking. We’ll have Cousin Brano bake the cake.”
“Of course.” I smiled. “Nobody beats Brano’s cakes.”
Donna added another wing to her plate. “We should go dress shopping soon. It’s March, Tess.”
“I know. I’ve just been busy,” she said. “We can’t go this weekend because of the St. Paddy’s parade, but maybe the following weekend? I can take a few hours off.”
Donna nodded. “There’s a new bridal shop near the resort I’m listing. We could make a day of it.”
“Perfect.” I looked at the stack of folded papers on the table. “You have any wedding dresses in there?”
“I do.” Tessa started unfolding several pictures, spreading them across the table. Donna and I leaned in.
