Page 88 of Happily Never After

“Stupid LA with your stupidkaleand your stupidavocados. There’s more to life than vegetables and TikTok!” Claire shouted out the window at a group of AirPod-wearing hooligans with beanies and slumped shoulders.

Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it. Five texts and two missed calls from Luke.

“Oh, shit.” She bit her lip and lifted the phone to her ear. It rang.

“What?” Mindy glanced over at her as they pulled out of the gym parking lot.

“I forgot Luke was making dinner. And now he’s not answering.” Claire typed out a hasty apology text and tucked the device back in her purse. It was almost seven, and Luke had specifically told her dinner was at six. He was not going to be happy.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

To Do:

- Don’t panic

- Breathe

- Craft the world’s most moving apology

Dim candlelight wasvisible through the front door when they arrived at Luke’s house. Claire slid her key in the lock and turned the knob. At least he hadn’t locked her out. Almost all the lights were off on the first floor. Mindy rushed upstairs, leaving Claire to confront Luke alone. Traitor.

Stress swirled around her like a toxic tornado. If Brad fired her, she would have wasted months. Months that she could have spent taking on clients in West Haven. The West Coast branch would be dead. She wouldn’t be able to join Luke in LA when he traveled and see her sisters. She would be tethered to West Haven, slamming in as many clients as she could to make up for the revenue lost from Brad’s proposal.

Her hands shook as she unloaded her purse and removed her shoes. Rosie catapulted herself out of the family room and skittered to a stop in front of her. Winston attempted to follow and crashed into the closet door.

Claire kissed both dogs on the head and tiptoed down the hallway toward the kitchen. Only the light above the sink was on. Luke stood at the sink. He was wearing her favorite button-down, a surprising change from his usual black T-shirt. On the kitchen table, candles had burned down almost to the studs. Empty plates and glasses gleamed on the table. Gray and white striped placemats she didn’t recognize nestled under the dinnerware.

“Hey, I’m really sorry.” She put a hand on Luke’s shoulder, but he didn’t turn around. “Luke?” Was he catatonic?

“Brad called me.” His answer was short, clipped, like the act of speaking out loud was personally inconveniencing him.

“Ah,” she said lamely. “Did he mention the thing?”

“You mean the thing where you stalked an innocent man and accused him of having an affair?”

She drew herself up, indignant. “All I said was we were checking to make sure hewasn’thaving an affair. Or murdering someone. Why would he take that personally if he didn’t have something to hide?”

“And was he? Hiding something?” Luke spun around. His dreamy green eyes were harder, darker, more moss than sea.

“Well, no. Not that we know of.”

“Exactly. He called me, wondering why I recommended someone who actively stalks their clients.”

Claire crossed her arms over her chest. “Can you blame me?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Yes.”

“Excuse me?” This conversation was not going how she thought it would.

Luke pulled steaks out of the fridge and ripped the plastic off like it had stolen his dog. “Do you want me to sugarcoat it, or do you want me to tell you the truth?”

She took a deep breath. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to spew a giant volcano of crazy all over him. “Truth.”

He sat the steaks on a cutting board and pulled out a meat mallet. “You disrespected him. And in turn, you disrespected me.”

Her mouth dropped open. What did Brad have anything to do with Luke? It’s not like she had asked Luke to drive the getaway car.

“I’m not sure if you remember this,” she said slowly, “but I recently helped a hotel tycoon serial killer propose to his innocent teacher girlfriend. Brad is a high-profile, middle-aged Hollywood executive dating a hospital administrator. I have a moral responsibility to my clients to make sure that I’m not repeating history. I ruined Victoria’s life by not seeing the signs.” Everything spilled out without her realizing it. Was that why she didn’t trust Brad? In so many ways, he was like Barney. More money than sense. Powerful, intimidating, opinionated.

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