Naomi pressed on. “Ladies, I know we just met, but let’s face it, we have the same shoes and we were screwed over by the same guy, so as far as I’m concerned, we leapfrogged a few steps in the female-bonding process.”

“Perfect, I’ll invite you over for a slumber party,” Claire said in a cutting tone. She stood, apparently deciding she’d had enough of this. Whatever this was.

“Hold up,” Naomi said, reaching out to stop her. “I’m not suggesting we get matching tattoos, just that we can help each other.”

Audrey was skeptical, but intrigued, and Claire seemed to be as well, because she sat back down. “You want me to help my husband’s mistresses—do what, exactly?”

“We watch each other’s blind spots as it relates to men. Left to our own devices, obviously we’re no good at seeing a guy for who—and what—he really is. But what if we combined forces? Help each other spot another Brayden.”

Audrey pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, running a hand over her hair as she considered the proposition with undisguised skepticism. “Respectfully, I don’t even know you. I get your point, but why would I have two strangers do a gut check on a guy I like instead of my friends?”

Even as she said it, she saw the flaw in her own logic. She had plenty of friends. But none of them had protected her from Brayden. Not even Clarke West, her best friend since childhood, had been able to stop the hurt, and she knew he’d do anything for her. Audrey winced, belatedly realizing that poor Clarke was waiting for her in the church, probably worried about where the hell she was.

Naomi was still pushing her plan. “Because who knows better how to spot another woman getting scammed than three women who just experienced it?”

Damn. It was a good point. A really good point. And the truth was, Audrey didn’t know if she could survive the past week for a second time. She bit her lip and looked at Claire. “You know, I don’t hate this plan?”

Claire wasn’t as sure. Audrey could see it in the way her eyes remained wary, the way she fiddled with her watch as though biding her time until she could politely excuse herself from the situation.

Naomi’s gaze was also locked on Claire’s watch. “Cartier.”

Audrey hadn’t been paying much attention to the watch itself, but she jolted at that. She wasn’t in the accessory business like Naomi, but she knew a Cartier watch.

She knew because she had one at home. Her gaze dropped to the watch. She knew what she’d find, but her heart twisted all the same. They didn’t just both have Cartier watches. They had the same Cartier watch.