Page 126 of The Fine Art of Faking It
Lily Ann and Tilly glared at each other for so long Eden wondered if they’d frozen in place.
“What’s going on here?” Ferguson Gates jogged up with his handsome husband Bryson on his heels. “Tilly, don’t waste your time talking to these people. They’re incapable of a rational discussion.”
“Ferguson!” Bryson laid a leather gloved hand on his husband’s sleeve. “That’s inappropriate.”
“Your mother’s incapable of a rational discussion,” Eden’s father puffed out indignantly.
“See?” Ferguson shot back.
“Frankly, sweetheart. It’s true. Your mom can’t discuss anything rationally,” Bryson offered.
“I’m still insulted,” Ferguson insisted.
“I don’t care what that joke of a newspaper said, I know your daughter is responsible for our front yard and Davis’s fire!” Tilly shouted at Eden’s parents.
Anthony Berkowicz, who had been busy capturing the drama on his phone, gasped. “How could you say that, Mrs. Gates? It’s in a newspaper. Ithasto be true.”
“There is no reason to attack a well-respected institution such asThe Monthly Moon,” Rainbow Berkowicz said coldly. Eden thanked her lucky stars that, given the weather, the woman’s breasts were buried under a heavy wool coat and several layers of peace sign scarf.
“Is there a problem here?” Sheriff Cardona, bundled up against the cold, pushed his way through the crowd.
Eden had had enough. “Everyone just stop it!Noneof this matters anyway. Davis and I are already broken up, so you can all just shut up and go on with your nasty little feud.”
“Oh? Well, good. Why didn’t you say so?” her mother demanded.
“Then our work here is done,” Tilly announced, looking down her nose at Eden.
“I’m afraid it’s true,” Bruce Oakleigh said, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. “Eden and Davis are a failed match. We made a terrible mistake trying to pair them.”
The crowd gasped.
“Bruce, it wasn’t a terrible mistake. I made a terrible mistake,” Eden insisted. “I love him!”
“If you really loved him, why would you have fought the match?” Bruce asked in theatrical disbelief.
“Because maybe I wanted to make my own decisions. And I was wrong.” She covered her face with her hands. “When the Beautification Committee set the fire, I thought I could use Davis to get revenge—”
“The Beautification Committee set the fire?” Sheriff Cardona wasn’t so easy-going right now. “Eva!”
His wife, bundled in a navy wool coat, flinched. “Yes, my love?”
Donovan hung his head and took several slow deep breaths.
“To be fair, you know Eva couldn’t have been involved since the fire happened during your wedding,” Ellery pointed out, joining them with a smug smile on her navy blue lips. “In fact, I happen to have iron-clad alibis for every single committee member for the time of the fire.”
Eva ran a hand over her flat stomach. “I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it. But I know for a fact that it was an accident.”
“I am going to lock every last one of you in a cell,” Donovan growled, pointing his finger at the committee members.
“Technically you don’t have cells,” Eva reminded him. “Just cubicles.”
“I will drive your asses to Cleary just to use their cells.”
“What’s that sound?” Sammy asked from the inner circle of the crowd.
“Sounds like the marching band,” Ellery said.
“Ellery!” Eden grabbed her arm. “I need your help. I screwed up with Davis. I want to be with him.”
