All this time I thought she and I had something special. I thought that we had so many things only the two of us shared. But I was wrong. She’d been keeping a secret from me. A secret she had with him.

I knew then where her loyalty lay.

Not with me.

With him.

22

SATURDAY, 11:30 P.M.
THIRTY AND A HALF HOURS
AFTER DROP-OFF

WHITNEY HAD NEVER given a second thought to sharing Amelia’s plans with Jay. Looking back, there were times when he even asked her what Amelia was up to on a given day. It didn’t seem suspicious, though, because when Amelia was gone that meant they could be alone. And that’s what they both wanted.

At least that’s what she thought.

Now she didn’t know what to think.

In the past, Whitney dated guys she met through work: once she’d dated a dad she’d met at Amelia’s school. They’d talk every afternoon while waiting for their children, and struck up a mutual attraction. But Jay showed up out of the blue.

And, actually, he’d entered her life at almost the same time Lauren had entered Amelia’s.

Were the two of them connected somehow?

Whitney’s mind traveled back to the night she’d left Jay’s apartment early to spend time with Amelia.

Whitney opened the door to the apartment, expecting to see Amelia sitting on the couch in the exact spot she’d left her. It was what usually happened when she went out. As long as she had food, TV and her phone, there was no need for her to move.

But when she stepped inside, the couch was empty. The bowl of popcorn was half-gone, but the TV was still blaring. Whitney heard shuffling down the hallway.

After throwing her keys and purse down by the door, she followed the sound. “Amelia, I’m home!”

“Mom?” Amelia leaped into the hallway, her face flushed and her breathing slightly labored. “You’re home early.”

“Yeah.” Good thing too. “What’s goin’ on?”

Lauren appeared out of nowhere. Whitney’s heart seized. She narrowed in on Amelia. “You didn’t ask if you could have a friend over.”

“I just stopped by for a little bit. My mom was out, too, and I was bored at home alone,” Lauren answered, while Amelia stared at the floor, pushing at the carpet with her big toe.

She nodded and stepped inside Amelia’s room. Her mom radar was way up, her gaze inching over every surface. She sniffed the air, but it smelled like Amelia’s peppermint lotion, faintly of soap and the vanilla candle she’d been burning earlier. Nothing seemed amiss. She stared deeply into both girls’ eyes. Nope. Not red.

Amelia blinked. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Whitney didn’t bother responding. Instead, she said, “Can I talk to you in private for a minute?”