Page 49 of Happily Ever After

She heard a knock on her door and frowned slightly. She wasn’t expecting anyone.

Maude set her brush down and went to the door. When she opened it, Cece stood there, still in her workout clothes, a tiny sheen of perspiration at her hairline, and her cheeks flushed with color.

“Hey,” Cece said. “Do you have a minute?”

Maude stepped back immediately. “Of course. Come in.” She had thirty minutes until she had to be at the hospital, but it only took ten to get there.

Cece exhaled as she crossed the threshold, like she’d been holding something in until she got there. Maude closed the door behind her and gestured toward the living room. “Let’s sit.”

“Thanks.” Cece settled on the couch.

“Everything okay?” Maude asked as she went to her recliner.

Cece nodded. “Yes. Well, maybe not. I don’t know. But I think you can help. Or the two of us together can. Or…I should probably start at the beginning.”

Maude smiled faintly. “That sounds like a good idea. What’s going on?”

Cece leaned forward, elbows on her knees, hands clasped loosely, looking very much like she was about to share top secret information. “Darcy came up to Paige and me this morning. At the fitness center.”

Maude’s attention sharpened. “Came up how?”

“We were on the treadmills, side by side,” Cece said. “And she walked up to us like she had a bone to pick.” Cece shook her head once. “She didn’t yell or cause a scene, but anyone that saw her face would have known she was riled up.”

“What did she say?” Maude asked, completely engaged.

“That we might think we’ve gotten the upper hand,” Cece replied. “But we haven’t. That we have no idea what’s coming. Her exact words.” She lifted her eyes to Maude’s. “It was one hundred percent a threat. Totally not vague enough to ignore, also not specific enough to do anything about. Well, not anything normal people could do.”

Maude ignored the normal people comment for a moment and sat back in her chair, absorbing the information. “So Paige was right. She’s not done.”

“No,” Cece said. “And I don’t think this is just about Paige anymore. Not since Paige did that interview and took away Darcy’s leverage. I think she’s refocused on the book club.”

“Wasn’t that kind of what her meeting at the community center was all about, though? Trying to make it so we couldn’t have book club?”

“Yes, but my original thought was that was just another way to get under Paige’s skin. Now that she’s got nothing on Paige, our book club is the only thing she has left to ruin. So I think that’s her new goal. Destroy the Queen Bees via our club.”

Maude considered that. “You might be on to something there.”

“The problem is, Darcy seems more motivated than ever before,” Cece said. “I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to her backstory than we know. Why else would she be going after Paige—and us—this way? There has to be more to this. There has to be some perceived wrong that Darcy’s looking to avenge.”

Maude sighed. “Which means we’re missing a piece.”

“Yes,” Cece said. “And what really irks me is that she thinks she can intimidate Paige into backing down. And the rest of us, for that matter.”

Maude nodded slowly. “All right.”

Cece looked at her, relief flickering across her face. “All right?”

“I mean, I agree,” Maude said. “It’s time to dig a little harder. Quietly, of course. We don’t poke the bear, but we also don’t pretend it’s not there.”

Cece exhaled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Maude gave a small, wry smile. “Darcy’s made it clear she wants a fight. I guess we’d better find some ammunition.” She checked the time. “But I can’t do anything until I get back from my shift at the hospital.”

Cece jumped up. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you.”

“No, it’s fine,” Maude said. She got to her feet and reached for her phone, thinking through the next steps. “My number one goal is going to be figuring out what Darcy’s real story is. I assume you’re going to be doing some searching, too?”

“I am,” Cece said, already moving toward the door. “And whatever I find, no matter how insignificant I think it might be, I’ll share it with you.”