“Heck yes. I sure haven’t.”
The coffee machine lets out an obnoxious buzzing noise that sets off a jab of pain in my left temple. I’m already planning to buy Maria a new coffee machine for Christmas. You can never start planning for Christmas too early. During all of December, I usually do Christmas-themed episodes of Sweet Secrets.
Maria pours me a cup of coffee in a white mug with a little crack on the side. I pour in some milk and a few teaspoons of sugar, then take a sip. Just as I suspected—it’s awful. Barely edible. I’m definitely buying her a coffee machine. Something amazing. It will change her life.
Her eyebrows bunch together. “Is the coffee okay?”
“It’s fine!” I pour in a little more milk in an attempt to make it tolerable. “Delicious. But you know, the secret to a really good cup of coffee in any machine is grinding your own beans. It’s never going to taste as good if you buy coffee grounds at the supermarket.”
Maria nods politely. “Oh, okay.”
“Sorry!” I say quickly. “This coffee is fine. It’s just… This is what I do, and it’s hard to turn off the tips, you know?”
“Of course. And thanks for the tip.” Maria takes a sip of her coffee and seems to be genuinely enjoying it. Huh. “Anyway, I would love to join the PTA. I’ll just have to see if I can fit it in with my work schedule.”
“You work?” I can’t disguise the surprise in my voice. Most women in this neighborhood are stay-at-home moms. With my weekly YouTube show, I do more than most.
She flashes me a self-conscious smile. “I manage Helena’s.”
Oh my God! So that’s why she looks familiar!
She raises her eyebrows. “Have you heard of it?”
“Heard of it?” I shake my head. “I love Helena’s! Your clothes look so great on camera. I could buy the whole store, except it would wreck my profit margin.”
That’s not an exaggeration. The last time I went to Helena’s, it was a hide-the-credit-card-bill situation. They have incredible stuff, and it’s also expensive. Whenever I look at the price tags, I want to cry. It’s like a tease to have such beautiful clothing that I can’t afford.
“Well,” Maria says, “I get a thirty percent employee discount that you’re welcome to take advantage of.”
“Are you serious?”
She nods.
Okay, this really is too good to be true. This lovely woman is my neighbor, and not only does she have a son the same age as mine, but she can get me thirty percent off at my favorite clothing store in the entire world.
“Thank you so much, Maria,” I say. “Believe me, I will pay you back in brownies. Or chocolate cake. Or scones. I make really good scones.”
She laughs, but I’m not kidding. I adore this woman. And I do make great scones. The secret is that you have to bake them close to each other. Scones like to be kissing.
I clear my throat. “So where is your husband? Is he at work?”
“Oh, no,” she says quickly, as if such a thing would be ridiculous. And it is ridiculous. I still can’t believe Elliot went to work after the scare we had. “Sean just stepped out to grab some groceries. He’ll be back soon.”
“What sort of work does he do?” I wonder if he’s a lawyer like Elliot and Julie’s husband. There are a lot of lawyers on this block. And bankers. Most of them commute into the city—I’m lucky Elliot has an office out on the island.
“He has a contracting business.” She lifts her chin. “He started it from scratch. And in the last couple of years, it’s taken off.”
As if on cue, the front door lock turns. I jerk my head around just in time to see a guy with light brown hair and a well-trimmed beard lumber into the living room holding a bag of groceries. That must be Sean.
“Daddy!” Owen screams.
He abandons his Lego creation and propels himself at his father. What follows is several minutes of pretty adorable roughhousing between father and son. Owen loves it. Bobby looks on with a crease between his eyebrows, which makes me realize that this is something Elliot never does with him.
When Sean finally disentangles himself from Owen, he looks up and his eyes widen at the sight of me sitting in his kitchen. He clears his throat.
“Sean,” Maria says, “this is April and her son Bobby. They live next door.”
He straightens up and retrieves the bag of groceries from the floor. I can’t help but notice his worn T-shirt and frayed blue jeans are a far cry from what my husband was wearing today. “Next door, huh? Are you the one who keeps leaving us notes about our car being parked wrong? Or are you the one who makes cookies on YouTube?”
I laugh. “Cookies.”
A smile spreads across his lips as he deposits the groceries on the kitchen counter. “Well, then it’s nice to meet you, April.”
Sean’s dark blue eyes meet mine as he sticks out a hand for me to shake. I can’t help but notice that his palm is rough and calloused compared with my husband’s. Hmm, Elliot might not be the hottest husband on the block anymore.
“Sean was planning to take Owen to the park to practice soccer,” Maria explains.
My ears perk up. “Bobby adores soccer. Does Owen play a lot?”
“God, yes,” Maria says. “He loves every sport, but especially soccer. Sean used to coach back at his old school.”
“Oh yeah?” I shouldn’t be surprised. Sean looks like a natural athlete. “That’s great. What coach do you have here?
Sean pauses in the middle of sorting the groceries. “Unfortunately, we were too late to get Owen on the team. I put him on the waiting list, but we’re not hopeful.”
I feel my eyes light up. I love helping people out with problems. “I’m really good friends with Mark Tanner, Bobby’s coach. I could talk to Mark about putting Owen on the team.”
Sean beams at me. “You think you could do that?”
“Definitely.” I grin at the Coopers. “I’ll just make him up a batch of chocolate cupcakes. Nobody says no to chocolate cupcakes.”
“Thanks so much, April.” Sean puts the last of the groceries—a dozen eggs—in the refrigerator and then pours himself a cup of that terrible coffee. He takes a swig of it black. “Hey, would Bobby like to come to the park with us to practice now?”
That is a very tempting offer. Bobby loves playing soccer, but Elliot never has time to play with him during the weekend.
But at the same time, I’m still shaken about Bobby going missing. Even though I found him after less than fifteen minutes and he was perfectly safe the whole time, the thought of sending my little boy off with a man I literally met two minutes ago leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
“April is a little shaken up,” Maria explains to her husband. “Bobby wandered over here without telling her, and gave her quite a scare.”
“Oh?” Sean looks at me with interest.
I shrug and try to play it off. I didn’t even tell them about the creepy text message. “It was a bit scary when I didn’t see him in the backyard.”
Sean places a hand on his chest. “I promise, I will guard him with my life, April.”