Page 26 of The Secrets We Treasure

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“How are plans for Disneyland?”

“Good. Tray’s excited.” Treasure kept her voice neutral. “What about you? What are you doing this weekend?”

“Duh. You know what I’m doing.”

“I do?”

“Yeah, I’m throwing Greer a surprise birthday party.”

“This is the first you’ve mentioned it.”

“I thought I told you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I could’ve sworn I mentioned it to you,” Laci countered.

“You didn’t, but that’s okay.”

“My bad. It’s been nonstop with all the planning.”

“Planning? What type of party are you throwing?”

“You know, the usual … a live band, catering, a massive birthday cake with a cocktail waitress bursting out of it like a Jack in the Box.”

“W-what?” Treasure squeaked.

Laci’s deviant laughter trilled out. “Just kidding. I’m throwing a perfectly respectable party.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Laci was the queen of parties.

“I’m sorry you won’t be able to come.”

“Me too,” Treasure sighed. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be living it up with Mickey Mouse,” she teased.

“You did a great job on your interview with Alyssa McKenzie, by the way. That bit about men getting the short end of the stick was genius.”

Treasure grinned. “Thanks.”

“I was surprised that Alyssa brought up the break-in. I thought that topic was off-limits.”

“Yeah, you and me both,” Treasure muttered. “The last thing I wanna do is to egg Leo Clark or whomever the stalker is into starting something up again.”

“I don’t blame you. That was terrifying.”

Treasure felt more than heard the shudder in Laci’s voice. It sent a shiver down her spine. “Yes, it was.”

“Hopefully, it’s over, and you’ll never have to worry about that again.”

“I sure hope so,” Treasure said with conviction. She glanced at Ethan and noticed that he’d wrapped up his conversation with Mark and Jill. Mark smiled and waved at Treasure. Jill did the same before they got into their truck. Ethan walked over to where she was. “I’ve gotta let you go.”

“Shoot. I was hoping we could talk longer,” Laci pouted.

“I can call you back later,” Treasure offered.

“If you have time, that would be great, but no pressure.” She paused. “If I don’t get a chance to talk to you before you leave, have fun at Disneyland.”

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