I feel my face turning pink. “Maybe you should ask them.”
“I did.”
I hear a voice in the background. Maria’s voice. She’s here.
That explains it.
“Fine.” Tears are pricking at my eyes, but I don’t want to cry in front of Lucy. I can just imagine what she would say to the other women. “I’ll go.”
Before I can even say goodbye, Lucy has closed the door in my face.
Now I’ve got two dozen cookies and nowhere to go. I suppose I could donate them somewhere. Is there a homeless shelter around here? I know there’s a food pantry because I bring a canned goods donation once a month, but I don’t think they accept fresh baked cookies.
That proves I’m a good person, doesn’t it? Bad people don’t donate huge boxes of canned food every month, right?
I turn back in the direction of my house. I don’t know how to explain what happened to Elliot. He knows about Bobby pushing Leo, but I haven’t told him about the PTA theft thing. I don’t know how to say those words to him, especially now. And frankly, I’m not looking forward to spending an evening with that man after what he did to me.
So instead of going home, I get in my car. I put the cookies in the passenger seat and take off.
The first place I go to is Taco Bell. Right now, I want some greasy, cheesy processed food. The kind of stuff I would never let Bobby eat, except possibly at a birthday party. I go to the drive-through window and order a quesadilla and two tacos with a large diet soda. Then I park in the lot to eat.
I devour the quesadilla and tacos in under five minutes. And then I eat about ten cookies. After all that food is sloshing around in my belly, I feel mildly nauseous, but I welcome it. Anything is better than that sick clawing feeling in my gut.
I turn on the radio in the car. It’s a Maroon 5 song I’ve heard a million times before. When I first met Elliot, he sort of reminded me of Adam Levine. That was back when he had hair. I almost laugh at the memory.
I was so happy when the two of us got married. Then soon after, we had Bobby. He was the man I had been looking for my entire life. We were just so in love. I know a lot of people say they’re in love, but Elliot and I were really in love. The kind of love where we wanted to be together every second of the day. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. From the moment I first met him, I knew he was going to be my husband and we would be together forever.
Well, there’s no point in dwelling on the past. It doesn’t matter how in love Elliot and I were back then. The only thing that matters is now.
Now we’ve got a problem.
Brianna.
Chapter 33
I stumble home about two hours later, after eating a bunch more cookies in the parking lot of Taco Bell, then taking a mind-clearing drive. There’s so much to think about, it helped to cruise along the empty streets, letting my mind wander.
I try to fit the key into the lock to our front door, but it doesn’t go in. I try a second time, but it still doesn’t seem to fit. I get a flutter of fear in my belly. Did Elliot change the locks while I was gone? Is this his way of telling me we’re through?
But then the door swings open and Elliot is standing in front of me. His dark brown eyebrows knit together. “April, are you okay?”
I hold up my keyring, the offending key between my thumb and forefinger. “My key won’t fit.”
He smiles crookedly. “That’s because you’re using the mailbox key.”
Oh. “Oops.”
“April,” he says, “have you been drinking?”
“No.” I slip past him into the foyer. Bobby is clearly in bed, because the living room is completely silent. “I haven’t been drinking. I’ve been thinking.”
He raises his eyebrows. “What have you been thinking?”
“About you, mostly.” My words come out flirtier than I intended. But I don’t regret it.
“Oh?” His smile widens. “And what have you been thinking about me?”
I open my mouth to answer, but before I can get any words out, I find myself throwing my arms around his shoulders and pressing my lips against his. He stumbles backward, shocked. But after that initial surprise wears off, he pulls me closer to him and kisses me back. It’s a long lingering kiss that guarantees we’ll end up in the bedroom.
“You’re incredible, April,” he breathes in my ear.
“Don’t you forget it.”
He squeezes me tight to his body. “I didn’t think you’d be up for this anytime soon.”
“Well, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“Is there now?”
“There sure is.”
Elliot shakes his head at me, and then we’re making out again. And for the first time in a very long time, we can’t even make it up to the bedroom. We do it right on the couch, ripping each other’s clothes off like when we first got together.
Chapter 34
I find myself singing out loud as I cook breakfast the next morning.
No, the Brianna situation isn’t resolved. But that’s okay. I’ve solidified my marriage and that’s the most important thing.
And no, I haven’t forgiven Elliot—not even close. I’m not a complete pushover. I still expect him to do a massive amount of groveling. I may make him sleep on the floor a few more times. But I want to give him a hint at what the reward will be.
“Why are you singing, Mommy?” Bobby asks as he walks into the kitchen.
“Why can’t I sing?”
Bobby thinks about this a moment, but can’t come up with an answer. “What’s for breakfast?”
“Chocolate chip pancakes.”
Bobby couldn’t have looked happier if I told him that we were having an early Christmas tomorrow. But he’s had a rough week. He deserves chocolate chip pancakes. And so do I. I’ve had a rough week too.
I’ve just finished mixing the batter when the doorbell rings. I lower the flame on the stove and race to get the door. I don’t check the peephole before throwing it open, which turns out to be a mistake.
Because there’s a squad car parked in my driveway. And what I presume is a plain-clothed police officer standing at my door.
My heart sinks. Is this about the shoplifting thing? Because my court date isn’t for another couple of weeks. I haven’t done anything else wrong. I’ve barely left the house!
“Mrs. Masterson?” the officer says in a thick New York accent.
He’s in his early forties with red-tinged brown hair and he’s solidly built, with a scar running through the stubble on his left jawline. He has pale blue eyes that make him look non-scary—he’s actually pretty cute. He’s the sort of officer I’d see in the community and bring him some baked goods to enjoy on his break, and maybe flirt a bit for fun.
But right now, I’m scared out of my wits.
“Yes, I’m Mrs. Masterson,” I manage.
“I’m Detective Hanrahan.” He flashes a badge at me. “Is your husband home?”
He wants to talk to Elliot. That’s a good thing, I assume. It means at least I haven’t allegedly done anything else wrong.
I go to the base of the stairs. Elliot was in the shower when I came down to make breakfast, but I don’t hear the shower anymore. He must be getting dressed. “Elliot!” My voice cracks. “Could you come down here please?”