Page 9 of Rest In Pink

His enthusiasm did not overwhelm me with confidence, but I had other places to be.

“Go home and get some sleep, George,” I said, and watched him nod, turn the car around again, and head up the hill, probably to Anemone. I didn’t think he was going there for rest.

Some men are just born to walk into trouble, I thought.

Then I headed down the hill to find Liz.

Chapter Five

When I got to the Red Box at five, Molly was waiting for me, full of gossip and, given the emptiness of the basket in front of her, calories. “You’re late,” she said, shoving the basket to one side. “I ate without you. What the hell are you wearing?”

I looked down at my yellow sundress and white cardigan. “Clothes.”

Okay, I was stonewalling her because I never wore dresses. But Vince and I had been swapping fantasies one night and he mentioned dresses with ties on the shoulders, which I took to mean sundresses, and he’d been dealing with my button jeans and t-shirts for over a month, so I stopped by Goodwill and got a sundress. Yellow with tiny white flowers. It’s no big deal.

“That’s a dress,” Molly said.

“Yes,” I said.

“Youare wearing a dress,” Molly said.

“Are you going somewhere with this?”

“Why would you . . .” Her eyebrows went up. “Vince asked you to wear a dress?”

“Change the subject, Moll.”

“Oh, my God.” She grinned at me. “You’re dressing for a guy.”

“You know who would be good for you? Mac. Let’s talk about why you won’t go out with him—”

“Okay, fine, change of subject.” She sucked up the last of her Coke. “Let’s see. Oh, I know. Your mother would like you to call to discuss her teddy bear problem.”

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the booth. Dealing with my mother right now . . . there should be a law that nobody has to deal with MaryBeth Danger and Anemone Patterson in the same day.

“Lizzie?” a deep voice said and I opened my eyes and saw Cash Porter, smiling down at me. He was dressed all in black, which he’d started doing since his wife of four hours, Lavender, died a month ago. “You okay?”

“Of course, I’m okay,” I said, annoyed. “I’m with Molly.”

He smiled at Molly and she looked back at him, impassive.

He transferred the smile back to me. “We should get together for lunch some time. How about tomorrow?”

I shook my head. “Anemone and I are working straight through lunch these days.”

“Dinner?”

“I have a date,” I said. “Good to see you, Cash. I think your mom is waving at you.”

Kitty wasn’t waving, but she was staring at us sadly.

Yeah, well, it’s his fault we’re not together anymore, I thought. And then I realized I was glad we weren’t together anymore, not just because all the pain had stopped, but because I’d found somebody better. Somebody to wear a dress for.

“Another time then,” he said and moved away, handsome and graceful as ever.

“Do you miss him?” Molly said into my silence.

“Not even a little,” I said.

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