He was trying to figure out how to begin to explain this when Rachel sauntered into the room. She was in the black tank sundress and sandals that she’d had on when she’d come over late last night, and even without a shower or makeup, she was a knockout. At that moment, Archie wished she was ugly. Rachel was Susan’s physical opposite. Even Archie had not seen that until now, with the two of them in the same room. Where Susan was pale and freckled, Rachel’s skin was a solid golden tan. Where Susan’s figure was boyish, Rachel was curvy. Rachel was blond. Susan was … whatever color she happened to be that week. Rachel’s beauty was obvious. Susan’s was exotic.

Even worse, Rachel was two years younger than Susan. Since Archie had used his age difference with Susan as one of his go-to excuses for why he couldn’t be with her, this made him look like even more of a heel.

Archie fumbled for words. Susan didn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on Rachel. Her coffee cup had slipped forward at a perilous angle.

Rachel looked as surprised to see Susan as Susan was to see her. “Hi,” Rachel said.

Ginger glanced back and forth from one woman to the other.

Archie lifted a hand to his head.

“I have to go,” Susan said quickly.

“Susan, wait,” Archie said. He went after her, and she turned around and faced him at the door.

“It’s fine,” she said. “You don’t have to explain. You’re an adult.”

Archie mentally kicked himself. He shouldn’t have let her in. But there was nothing he could say that would undo it. “I’ll see if I can check up on our friend,” he said. Our friend. He hadn’t wanted to say Leo’s name in front of Rachel, but it came off as some weird platitude.

He wanted to tell Susan that she was not the reason why Leo was “distracted.” He wanted to tell her that he would make sure that Leo was safe, and that someone, somewhere, was looking out for him. Archie wanted to tell her, but again, he couldn’t.

Susan’s eyes were green and hard. She handed him her mug. It had a red ring of lipstick on it. “Thanks for the coffee,” she said.

She left, and Archie walked back into the living room and sat down in a chair. He set the lipstick-stained mug on top of the newspaper on the coffee table and looked at it.

Ginger had flopped in front of the door that Susan had just exited through, and was eyeing Archie accusingly. Archie called her, but she refused to come.

“Sorry,” Rachel said.