“It means that love can come when you least expect it and you shouldn’t close the door on it.” Jamie shoved a big mouthful of mint chocolate chip in her mouth and sighed, taste buds bursting into an alleluia chorus.

“So your aunt didn’t close the door of the double-wide on love?” Allison grinned.

“Nope. And she’s been happy ever since. Why can’t the same be true for Mandy?”

“Because something is weird about Damien.” Caroline set her spoon down, ice cream uneaten.

The willpower was admirable. Jamie bent back for another scoopful. She wasn’t the one who needed to wear a wedding gown in six weeks. Though she did have to put on a bridesmaid dress and walk down the aisle in front of a hundred people. She set her own spoon down with a sigh.

Caroline looked at both of them. “I think we should run an Internet search on him.”

“Google him?” Allison asked thoughtfully. “I like it. That’s a good idea.”

Jamie was horrified. “You can’t do that! It’s unethical.” She glanced toward the front door, even though she knew Mandy was out at dinner with Damien and probably wouldn’t be home for another hour. Prying into Mandy’s business didn’t sit right with her. “And there’s nothing wrong with Damien, he’s just a little reserved. I’ve met lots of weirdos doing social work, believe me, I know the signs.”

She could also spot a cockroach at twenty paces, but that was another story.

“You want weirdos? Try working retail.” Allison shuddered. “God, I hate my job.”

Caroline was heading into the living room, still dressed in a pale gray suit from work. She picked up her computer case and whipped the machine out.

Jamie abandoned her spoon and rushed to Caroline’s side, tripping over her ankle-length skirt in the process. “I don’t think this is such a good idea. Mandy won’t like it.”

“Mandy will never know we did a search unless something is wrong; then she’ll thank us for warning her before the baby is born.”

“I think you’re smart to do it.” Allison perched on the corner of the couch, ice cream carton in hand. “He could be a deadbeat dad for all you know.”

Caroline was biting her lip, clicking away. Jamie tried to follow on the screen, but computers weren’t her thing, and Caroline was opening windows too fast for her to catch but a glimpse.

Suddenly a big newspaper article popped up and Caroline paused.

“Holy shit,” Allison said, her words mumbled behind a mouthful of ice cream.

“What?” More than a little nervous, Jamie read the headline. “Husband arrested in Southloop slaying…What is this all about?” But somehow she knew what it meant, and her heart started to pound. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t.