“Shit,” Joanna said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Pardon me for saying this, but most women I know would be ecstatic to have an entirely new wardrobe. I must say, from what I’ve seen, these clothes are beautiful.”

Joanna reached out to finger the fabric of a silk blouse. “It’s not that,” she said, her voice sinking to a whisper.

“Then what is it?”

“Honestly? Who’s going to notice?”

Chapter Nineteen

Standing in front of the mirrored armoire, Joanna fastened the last tiny gold button on her cream-colored silk blouse. “Not bad,” she said to herself, turning around to look over her shoulder. “Not bad at all.” With the first part of her ensemble chosen, Joanna headed to the wardrobe to retrieve a skirt, but she only made it a few steps before she practically jumped out of her skin when the door to her room swung open and banged against the wall.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Spinning around to face Addison, Joanna held her chin high. “I’m trying to get dressed. Do you mind?”

With her mindset one of murder, or at the very least a form of maiming, it took Addison a moment to realize the woman she wanted to kill was wearing only a blouse, the tails of which came to a stop just a hint above a pair of ivory lace knickers. Distracted for a moment by the sight of Joanna’s naked legs, when Addison finally did raise her eyes, it took yet another moment before she found her voice.

“What...what I mind is this,” Addison said, tossing a newspaper on the bed. “Who the hell told you that you could leave this house?”

Joanna’s eyebrows squished together. Assuming the newspaper held the clue she was looking for, she went over, picked it up, and immediately tried to suppress a grin. On the cover was a photo of herself apparently taken during her shopping trip with Fran the day before. “Well, I guess we weren’t as covert as we thought.”

“We?”

“Yeah, I went with Fran.”

“You went with Fran?”

“Yes,” Joanna said, turning around. “I drove to the office—”

“You drove?”

“Yes, I drove the Ferrari actually.”

“You know how to drive?” Addison said, crossing her arms.

Joanna’s eyes creased at the corners. “Of course, doesn’t everyone?”

The cords in Addison’s neck became visible, her thoughts returning to carnage as she glared at Joanna.

Glancing at the paper again, Joanna shrugged and tossed it back on the bed. “Oh well, shit happens.”

“Shit happens? Is that all you have to say?” Addison said, taking a step into the room.