Page 46 of Secrets at Seaside
They settled into the chairs on Bella’s deck and watched Theresa carry her groceries inside. Anticipation had them all leaning forward in their chairs like they were watching an action flick.
“What did you do?” Amy whispered.
“How about we just focus on you and Tony,” Bella suggested. “Then if anything goes down, you won’t get in trouble.”
“Oh no.Anything goes down?” Jenna sucked down her drink. “Bella Abbascia, what did you do?”
Bella rolled her eyes.
Theresa waved when she came back outside to retrieve more groceries from the car. Jenna and Amy waved back.
“Maybe we should go help her,” Amy suggested.
“I don’t think so.” Bella took a sip of her drink and eyed Jenna.
“Anywho…” Amy took the opportunity to continue their conversation. “As I was saying, we also never realized how differently we saw things back then.”
Bella shrugged. “We all did. We were kids. But that was then and this is now, and it’s time to put it behind you and move forward.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Jenna took a sip of her drink. “Although I don’t think it would be that easy to move on after what you went through. I’m just not sure taking it apart this many years later is going to help.”
“See? That’s why I need you guys around. I could drive myself crazy wanting to know exactly why I acted the way I did.” Amy breathed a little easier. Maybe they were right. She should focus on the future, not the past.
“Let’s think about happier things, shall we?” Bella waved a hand in the air. “Like, are we going to have a quadruple wedding?”
“I think you are jumping the gun—don’t you? We still have a few things to sort out.” Amy could barely say it with a straight face when she really wanted to jump up and down like a fool and say,I hope so!
“Like…moving to Australia?” Bella leaned back in her chair. “I told you not to take the job with Duke. Now what’s your plan?”
“I don’t have one, beyond knowing that I can’t very well move to Australia if I hope to have a relationship with Tony.”
“Hope to? You have one already, chicky. But, yeah, he travels all the time,” Jenna reminded her. “At least with your consulting business, you can travel with Tony and coordinate your schedule around his.”
“Yeah, but I’d give anything to work with Duke. I love my freedom, but Duke’s got so many great properties. And he’s got huge ideas and the budget to match. I could do so much more than I can do for my current clients. Not to mention that he’s a great guy to work with.”
“And hot,” Jenna added.
Amy rolled her eyes. “Hello? I have Tony, remember?”Wow, it felt good to say that.
“Hey, just pointing out the obvious.” Jenna set down her drink.
“It really is an honor to have been offered the job. I mean, Duke doesn’t hire just anyone, and if I renege on my commitment, what will he think of me? He’s a friend, not just an employer I’ll never see again. Besides, I’m not sure I want to turn it down.” Amy closed her eyes and groaned. “But I definitely want a relationship with Tony.” She set down her drink as a police car pulled into the development. “Um, is that one of Caden’s friends?”
The side of Bella’s mouth quirked up. “Let the fun begin.”
The policeman parked in Theresa’s driveway, then stepped from his car as Theresa came outside.
“Come on.” Bella hurried across the street with the girls on her heels.
“Ma’am?” The officer looked to be in his late twenties with dirty-blond hair, ice-blue eyes, and a forced smile.
Theresa furrowed her brow. Her wide mouth was clenched in a tight line, and her eyes were narrow and serious. Theresa exuded practicality, from her closely cropped and layered brown hair to her polo shirt and long shorts. She dressed for efficiency rather than fashion, and the way she assessed the policeman was equally as efficient. Amy could see her mind working over the possibilities of why he was standing in her driveway.
“Good afternoon, Officer. What can I do for you?” She settled her hands on her hips and glanced at Bella and the girls with a pensive look.
“We’ve had a complaint about the cyber stalking of Bradley Cooper, and the e-mails have been linked to your IP address.” He pointed to her house. “Would you mind if I take a look inside?”
“Cyber stalking? I haven’t even been here for the past few days.” Theresa looked back at her house, then turned worried eyes to Bella. “Have you seen anyone hanging around my house?”
