Page 26 of The Summer Request
Chloe sat back and crossed her arms. “No, I think I do. Let me help. Please.”
Lisa felt like she was watching a game of high-stakes poker. She was terrible at poker. Neil never let her play when he had his friends over.
“All right,” Val said. “We’re looking for information. Do you have access to Lou’s house in Santa Monica? The one he shared with Justine?”
She nodded. “Of course. I have access to all of his homes. There are cameras there, too, though.”
“Val,” Michelle said, dropping her voice, “We are not doing this again.”
“I’ll invite you,” Chloe said. “As my guests. I can disable the cameras when I’m there, too. When did you want to go?”
A smile spread across Val’s face. “How’s tomorrow?”
Ten
They were supposed to spend their last night in Miami relaxing, but Michelle wouldn’t allow it. She tried to cut dinner short so they could get back to the hotel and pack their bags to be ready for the morning.
“Our flight isn’t until ten-thirty,” Val complained. “I’m pretty sure we’re not going to miss it.”
Michelle wasn’t having it. “With that attitude, we might.”
Val tried to let it go, she really did. She made no comments at dinner, ignoring Michelle’s heavy sighs and glances at her watch as they waited for the check. When Michelle offered to drive them home “to make it easier,” she held her tongue and handed over the keys.
Val still managed to have a good time with Lisa, and when they got back to the hotel, she dutifully packed her bags just as Michelle told her to. She also agreed to get to the airport three hours early, despite the fact that there was no need for it, and it caused them to miss brunch at the hotel.
She told herself it was all fine. They returned the car and got through security in a record-breaking twenty-six minutes. Val thought she had been more than tolerant of Michelle’s rules and, hoping to savor Miami for a few last hours, suggested they pop into a restaurant for brunch and a drink.
Michelle looked at her like she’d just suggested stripping naked and running through the terminal. “What? Absolutely not. We need to be at the gate.”
Now she’d gone too far. “At thegate?We have almost two hours before the flight and – ”
“There could be changes, it could come early, it – ”
“Right,” Val scoffed, “because lots of planes come early and then leave without telling any of the passengers.”
“Ladies,” Lisa said slowly, “there’s no need to argue. I’ll go to the gate and call you if there are changes, okay? I don’t mind.”
“I never said I wanted brunch,” Michelle snapped. “We have a long flight. I don’t need to load up on greasy food beforehand and feel sick the whole time.”
Val turned so Michelle couldn’t see her rolling her eyes. “Okay!” she called out. “I’ll be getting brunch if anyone wants to join me.”
She eyed the menu of a place nearby called The Blue Wave Flame. It was horribly overpriced, but she didn’t care. They had a credit card from Zora for all of their expenses. It didn’t seem like anywhere else was open, and the place had Cuban sliders. That was fun.
“Enjoy.” Michelle walked off, clutching her rolling bag tightly.
Val turned to Lisa. “Are you hungry?”
A look of panic crossed her face. “No, I’m okay. I think I’ll just go sit with her. I know she’s nervous about the flight.”
“All right.”
“Unless you’re upset? I can join you for a little while.”
Oh, sweet Lisa. Still trying to make everyone happy. Val thought she’d grow out of that, but it seemed she’d only grown into it.
Val smiled and shook her head. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. I can bring you something?”
“Nah, I’m okay. See you soon!” Lisa rushed off, chasing after Michelle.
