Page 28 of Stay Here Tonight
“The woman who made a big show of leaving you for an older man? Good.” Lydia was only acting when she stroked Maxine’s cheek with three turned fingers. Acting until something trembled within her – and within Maxine.Oh, good. We’re still attracted to each other. Good to know.“Let her stew in this, then.”
Lydia wasn’t often the type to pull millionaires down for kisses, but if the world was going to believe that the two of them were already in love, well…
To her credit, Maxine did not jerk away. She slid as effortlessly into that kiss as she had on the dancefloor. No tongue. No frisky hands. Enough intention to make the both of them take their time breaking it off a few seconds later.
Penelope did not directly approach them for the next half hour, but she stayed in the area, always watching them from the corner of her eye. Maxine focused on her conversations while Lydia acted as a buffer between her girlfriend of the moment and the ex circling them like the hottest vulture to ever grace a magazine cover.
“You two are such a charming couple,” a professional philanthropist told them later. “I wasn’t sure when you would finally get yourself a new girlfriend, Maxine, but I have to say it’s about time. Good luck to the both of you.” She waved in farewell. “I look forward to seeing you around more, Lydia.”
“You’re going to break some hearts if we ever decide to drop the charade,” Maxine muttered. “I might have to ask you out for real.”
That made Lydia’s butterflies tackle her gut so hard she had to excuse herself to the restroom again.
At least she knew how to get there now.Andthe line out the door was non-existent!
Lydia helped herself into a guest bathroom that happened to be attached to a small lounge, where other female guests congregated to touchup their makeup or whisper about the other attendees. Lydia had barely managed to get her underwear down when she heard the lounge door open and two women say something about Penelope’s arrival. That was all she understood before the door closed again, and she was alone once more.
I knew they had their issues, but…Lydia did her best to not think of what may have happened in that ill-fated marriage. She believed Maxine when she said Penelope’s accusations were disgusting lies, but that didn’t explain the visceral reaction Maxine had every time her ex-wife showed up or was mentioned.
Lydia spent a few extra seconds fixing her skirt before stepping out to wash her hands. The lounge area was empty. Rose-shaped, colored, and scented hand soaps enticed Lydia to pick one up and use it to scrape other people’s germs and perfume off her skin.
The water shut off. She looked up, ready to grab a towel.
Penelope looked back at her in the mirror.
When had she slipped through the door? Was she so willowy that she made no sound whenever she walked – even inthoseheels?
Oh, if only that were the most frightening aspect of Penelope Amarillo!
Furious brown eyes met Lydia’s in the mirror. That bottle-blond hair coiled in silky wisps around a long, sharp face touched up with bold makeup and a gaunt essence that sent shivers of disgust down Lydia’s spine.
Penelope was the kind of model who moved well. She took some of the best body shots on the west coast. Designers commended her long legs and her perfect feet, born to model strappy summer sandals. She showed up in her fair share of hair care related ads. But one thing the public rarely saw Penelope featured in were headshots, particularly makeup ads. Because she had one of the mostI will kill youdefault expressions that even edgy designers didn’t want associated with their products.
After the initial shock, Lydia grabbed the towel and dried off her hands as if she had no idea who Penelope was. Perhaps the ex simply wanted to use the toilet and be left alone. Yet when Penelope continued to stare into the mirror without moving on to the water closet, Lydia’s paranoia grew.
It did not help that Penelope locked the lounge door behind her.
“So you’re the womandatingMaxine, hm?” Penelope approached the marble counter and pulled a compact out of her clutch. She powdered her nose while speaking. “Curious. She hasn’t properly dated someone since I left her. I’ve heard about her whoring around, of course, but when I saw that article I was convinced ithadto be false. Because Maxine would never date so well below her standards.”
Don’t fall for it.Lydia replaced the towel on its rack, careful to spread out any wrinkles she created. “Who are you?”
Penelope dropped the eyeliner she had pulled out of her clutch. “Nice fucking try. You know damn well who I am. I’m who you’re going to be if you keep dating my ex-wife.”
“Taller and with fake blond hair?”
“Hmph. At least my tits ain’t fake.”
Lydia glanced down at the modest bulge representing her breasts. Was that an insult?
“Look.” Penelope clasped her clutch shut and turned toward Lydia. “There’s a reason I left that queer. There’s areasonall the women before you haven’t lasted more than a week with her, and why she’sn e v e rasked someone new to fill my shoes. It’s because she’s a megalomaniac narcissist who isn’t afraid to show you her dark side once you’ve done something that she doesn’t like. See this?” Penelope moved aside her bangs and showed off a scar as wide as her fingertip “From our last big fight. Guess who got pushed against a coat rack and almost hemorrhaged to death?”
“Wow.” Lydia looked closer, something Penelope encouraged. “That’s wild. So did you add extra oomph when you threw yourself against that coat rack, or was it you smacking her first that made her push you in self-defense?”
The aura radiating from the ex changed from a predator luring some meek prey in for a kill… to that same predator ready to lash out.
“How dare you,” Penelope snarled. “Maybe you deserve what she’s about to dish out to you after all. Wouldn’t be surprised if you’re both into that sick shit.” She snatched her clutch. Instead of marching out of the locked lounge, however, she leaned in toward Lydia, her tone dropping to unforgettable and frightening levels. “Don’t count on me to say I told you so. Also don’t count on me to pull you out of the fire she’s about to set ablaze on your lily-white ass.”
Okay, crazy lady.
