“I’m texting Drake and telling him not to let Noah come over here or Cat will gut him like a fish in front of all these witnesses and we’re going to have to drive really far in the dead of the night to hide the body.”

Drake held up his phone. Message received.

Cat turned her attention back to the table. “So, anyway, he’s there yelling at me on the sidewalk. And I lost it. It was a long day of filming, and then we walk through a house that barely two years ago we renovated to perfection. And now it’s moldy and muddy and completely unlivable. I wanted to cry with April.”

Angela reached out and squeezed her hand. “Honey. You’re my daughter, and if you want me to go over there and slap the glasses off that incredibly handsome man I will do it.”

Cat considered it briefly. But as entertaining as it would be to see, she preferred to fight her own battles. And do her own slapping.

“Thanks, Mom. If you don’t mind, I’ll keep that offer on the table for now.”

Angela nodded. “You just tell me where and when, and I will be there to slap the crap out of anyone you want.”

“Ah, family,” Paige sighed. “So, what else went down outside? We all heard the yelling.”

“Oh!” Cat gave the table a resounding slap hard enough to rattle the drinks. “Get this! He compares me to one of those sleazebag ambulance chasers and accuses me of kidnapping his daughter and exposing her to ‘sordid drama’!”

“Well, that’s ridiculous. Sara’s mother handed her over and obviously let him know since he knew where to find you and Sara,” Paige pointed out.

“Thank you,” Cat said, gesturing wildly enough that her mother picked up her drink and cradled it to her chest. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

“Do you think he has something going on up here that would prevent him from recognizing your generosity and brilliance?” Angela asked twirling a finger around her ear.

“You mean like a brain tumor?” Paige asked loyally.

“That’s got to be it. No other explanation,” Angela announced. She drained her drink and held the empty glass aloft as their server walked by.

Like magic, the server arrived with three fresh drinks a moment later. “This round is on Noah, our very sexy, very single city manager.”

Cat pushed the drink away. Why in the hell would the man who accused her of being the antichrist to human decency buy her a drink. Was it a liquid middle finger?

“What is wrong with you? Catalina King does not turn down free drinks,” Paige said, pushing the drink back at her.

“It’s probably poisoned.”

“I hate to point this out and make you think that I’m being disloyal, and I hope you know if you need help hiding his body you can count on me, but…”