She threw up her hands, as if I’d finally worn her down. “Vítor and I fell in love. Or, at least, I thought we did. After my first procedure the attraction was obvious. We spent time together whenever we could. And then, when I went to Rio for the second time, he asked me to divorce Bryce and marry him.”

I’d considered multiple possibilities, including this one. But it still packed an emotional wallop. “That’s a surprise.”

“Why? I was fed up with being the wife of a sub commander. I was fed up with Connecticut, and the mommy track, and our sweet little house.”

Their house was anything but little. Still, I nodded. “And life with Calvo would be very different.”

“That life would have been so amazing.” For a moment she looked genuinely sad. “I told him yes. I would move to Rio. He had houses in Europe, a plantation in the rain forest. I would have met so many famous people.”

“So you asked Bryce for the divorce?”

“No. I told Bryce I was divorcing him, but not exactly why. I just told him I was unhappy and needed something different. Apparently, he followed up with some snooping and discovered I—”

“Hadn’t always been faithful?” I supplied.

“You are so well informed. For the record I don’t think he found out about Vítor, but yes, there was Milt, too. Bryce told me if I gave him full custody, he would keep what he discovered to himself. I could see the girls when I wanted, but he would have control.”

“You agreed?”

“It suited me.” She stopped, as if she realized she should say more. “And, of course, it was better for the girls. I wasn’t sure how much time I would be able to devote to them once I was Vítor’s wife.”

“So, how did Calvo end up dead?”

She sipped half her wine before she began again. “He sent me a letter in October, calling off the marriage. Wasn’t that a remarkably old-fashioned thing to do? Send me a Dear John letter? Pen, paper, the whole nine yards. He said he was sorry, but with time, he’d realized we weren’t right for each other. He wished me well, and actually told me...” Her gaze was smoldering now. “He actually told me a part of him would always love me.”

Calvo had hurt her. Then I realized how unlikely that was. Calvo had rejected her, and nobody rejected Wendy Wainwright.

I struggled to keep my tone even. “That must have come as a big surprise.”

“I couldn’t believe it! I hired somebody to look into it. Long story short? Vítor found a younger woman.”

“Was that when you decided to murder him?”

“No!” She stopped while our server brought my calzone and asked if we wanted anything else. Then as I began to dissect it with my fork, Wendy leaned forward. “I knew I had to talk to him. Too much time had passed since we’d seen each other. I thought if we met in person again, I could rekindle what he’d felt before.”