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Back A Small Affair Save as PDF
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. About the Author
  5. Part One
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. Part Two
  22. 1
  23. 2
  24. 3
  25. 4
  26. 5
  27. 6
  28. 7
  29. 8
  30. 9
  31. 10
  32. 11
  33. 12
  34. 13
  35. 14
  36. 15
  37. 16
  38. 17
  39. 18
  40. 19
  41. Part Three
  42. 1
  43. 2
  44. 3
  45. 4
  46. 5
  47. 6
  48. 7
  49. 8
  50. 9
  51. 10
  52. EPILOGUE
  53. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  54. Booklist

She shifts her eyes away, then back to me. “I’m dating Jackson Ledecky.”

I think I’ve heard her wrong, but I need to keep the contempt out of my voice. “You’re dating Jackson Ledecky?” I say stupidly.

She nods. “I know how it sounds, but he’s been so nice. He’s been taking me out for all these insanely expensive dinners and sending me flowers and taking me to parties and introducing me to people. And the sex is unbelievable.” She lets out a hiccup of a giggle while I try not to choke.

Jackson Ledecky was Tom’s COO at SNAPea, surely the tall, lithe blond guy whom I’d spotted her scoping out at the book party. I hadn’t known what he looked like, but I certainly knew his name.

Jackson Ledecky was one of the best friends of the man who had murdered Page’s pregnant sister.

I try to stifle my reaction to this insanity. “Well, I hope he continues to be nice to you!” I say lightly. So this is why Page hasn’t reached out in weeks, why I had so keenly felt she didn’t need my help anymore. “Did he know Odilie well?”

I must have done a good job disguising my disgust because she seems to relax. “Yeah, he’s great. I think he was weirded out at first by his connection to my sister, but now that we’ve gotten to know each other he doesn’t seem to care. He’s taking me to some huge party at the Benningtons’ place out in Wyneck this weekend actually, where I used to live, so I guess it’ll be nice to visit.” She completely ignores my question about her sister, inching her hand back toward her phone and that’s when it comes to me: her nails are painted the same burgundy, shaped into coffins, just like mine always used to be before my life fell apart, over a year ago. When I still cared about that.

“Wow!” I plaster on my biggest smile. “Could I tag along? I’ve always wanted to visit Wyneck!” I can tell Page is making the calculations, deciding whether it’s worth it to invite me. “I know where we can get you the best outfit on sale. And I have an in at the Carlyle Hotel’s salon, if you want to get your hair and makeup done!”

That hooks her.

15

ODILIE

Ten years ago

Odilie got a call from Page Sunday afternoon. “We’re doing family dinner. Six o’clock.” Odilie heard the crack of a peanut shell over the line, the chomp of the nut inside, Page’s current favorite.