“I liked the chocolate,” Nora said.
“Me too,” Maddy said. “But I liked the cheesecake best of all.” It had come with a single flickering candle, which she pretended to make a wish on.
The server stopped by the table, making sure desserts had been perfect. She left the bill folder and recorked champagne on the table and left with their empty plates.
Nora opened the bill folder and reached into her purse. She’d seemed a little off tonight. Quiet. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones.
Emma set her napkin on the table and reapplied her lip gloss. “Expensive, but worth every penny. Of course, that’s easy for me to say since I’m not picking up the tab.”
“It really was delicious,” Maddy said. “Thank you, Nora, for the meal.”
“Of course. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Nora stuck her credit card in the bill folder, and the server snapped it up almost immediately.
Emma checked her watch. “It’s still early. Do you want to do anything else?”
“I’m so full I can hardly move,” Maddy said.
Emma put her hand on her stomach. “I’m right there with you. I ate way too much.”
“We still have almost two hours of daylight left. I wouldn’t mind getting some work done on the house.”
“But it’s your birthday!” Emma said. “We should do something fun.”
“It’s Sunday night,” Maddy said. “The town’s pretty much shut down. Besides, the sooner we get the house done, the sooner we can all go back to our lives, right?”
She balked at her own words. What life? She had no job, no boyfriend waiting for her. Only an empty apartment.
“That’s true, I guess.” Emma probably wasn’t eager to get back to her problematic relationship with Ethan.
Nora, who hadn’t weighed in, was the only one who really had a life to get back to, but she seemed in no hurry either.
They decided they’d do some of the smaller jobs around the house tonight and save the painting for later.
The server approached the table and set the bill folder down by Nora and spoke in a hushed voice. “Um, I’m sorry, ma’am, but the credit card wouldn’t go through.”
“Oh no.” Nora pulled out her purse and removed her wallet. “I’ll have to call home later and see what’s going on. Maybe there was a fraudulent charge.”
“I hate when that happens,” Maddy said, trying to smooth things over. “Your card gets canceled abruptly, and then you have to change all your auto-pay bills over to the new card. Such a hassle.”
“Oh dear.” Nora was visibly rattled. “I only brought the one card on this trip. And I don’t have enough cash on me.”
“No worries.” Maddy reached for her purse. “I’ll get it.”
“You will not,” Emma said. “It’s your birthday. I’ve got this.”
“I’m so sorry,” Nora said, her creamy skin now mottled with pink. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
The server hovered awkwardly, waiting for Emma to withdraw her credit card.
Maddy thought it odd that Nora had only the one card with her. Even she traveled with three credit cards, and she hardly had Nora’s amassed wealth.
Other things had tweaked her curiosity lately too. Nora, who normally enjoyed life’s finest, was buying a lot of generics at the grocery. Her contact with home had been infrequent. Maddy overheard her on the phone with Chloe sometimes, but she hadn’t noticed any calls between her and Jonathan at all. Could there be trouble in paradise?
“I’ll pay you back,” Nora told Emma as the server scurried away with the bill.
“You’d better,” Emma said, her laughter breaking the tension. “That was my entire grocery bill for a month!”
Chapter 18
