“Are you fucking nuts? If Paula finds out, she’ll go mental. And what kind of friend is Ashleigh to be running around behind her best friend’s back?”

Spittle flew out of Nicole’s mouth. “I told you no good would come out of pursuing her.”

“Wow, calm down.” Steve put a hand on Nicole’s shoulder. “I know you’re worried about our friend, but Kelly’s not stupid. At least hear her out.”

The fight went out of Nicole. She slumped onto the sofa.

Feeling like a jerk for alarming Nicole, Kelly sat beside her and took her hand. “We were wrong.”

“Huh?” Steve asked.

“Not you. Me and Nicole.”

Certain Steve didn’t want to sit around listening to girl talk, Kelly put him to work. “Make yourself useful. Coffee please.”

“Aye, aye, madam.” Steve saluted as he marched toward the kitchen.

Luckily, Kelly hadn’t given her mother a specific time she’d be arriving, so spending half an hour with her friends wouldn’t make her mother worry.

“Ashleigh came into the café and asked if we could talk.”

Nicole’s eyes went wide. “I bet that set off alarm bells. Oh my God. What’d you do?”

A chuckle escaped Kelly’s lips. “I spilled my guts, for no good reason. It wasn’t her, Nic. Ashleigh’s fiancé picked her up shortly before Paula came inside looking for me.”

“Hang on a minute. If it wasn’t Ashleigh, why’d did she pale at Paula’s party? What was that about?”

“I’m not going to tell you the entire story because Ashleigh spoke to me in confidence.”

“Okay.” Nicole nodded, and left it at that.

It was a trait Kelly admired in her friend. Nicole didn’t get upset if she didn’t know every sordid detail. She was a fiercely loyal friend and wouldn’t expect Kelly to break a confidence any more than she herself would.

“Let’s just say, Ashleigh and I like some of the same things. The night of Paula’s potluck dinner she thought you could see right through her, then shame overtook her for not standing up to Paula and telling her friend to rein in her P.A.”

Understanding flashed in Nicole’s eyes. “That’s the reason Ashleigh wouldn’t look at me?”

“You got it.”

Understanding turned to concern. “Now what, Kelly?” Nicole asked.

“I’m going to take your advice and put it behind me.”

Which was exactly what Kelly had been trying to do before Ashleigh waltzed into her life and squashed their theory. Anymore guesswork could only lead to further humiliation.

Chapter 11

Over the next few weeks, Kelly kept in touch with Ashleigh. The previous week, Ashleigh had visited the café with her husband in tow. Kelly had been about to take a break, so she spent fifteen minutes with them.

Craig was a good-looking man, and it was clear he only had eyes for Ashleigh.