Page 29 of The Honest Affair

“Oh!” She perked up. “I can be a troll!” She slithered off the bed and scampered out of the room singing some terrible song at the top of her lungs.

Frankie caught my mystified expression and giggled. “It’s from a movie,” she clarified. “The trolls are cute.”

“Then I rest my case,” I said with a shrug. “And if you know more about a kids’ movie than going out with people your own age, you definitely need to get out more, Fran.”

“You both do,” Kate clarified as she finished the final touches on Frankie’s dress. “Whose party is this anyway?”

“Some friends of mine uptown,” I replied, glad they weren’t looking at me when I answered. I didn’t want to say who else might be there. Or the fact that she was going to be surrounded by friends and family that made me want to bring my own security.

That was me. Big, bad Matthew Zola bringing his little sister to a party as a bodyguard.

“Rich friends,” Frankie said pointedly. “They own a house on the Upper West Side. They’re going to think I’m a hobo.” She eyed herself nervously in the mirror again and sighed. “At least Derek never expected me to wear anything other than jeans and a t-shirt.”

I didn’t reply, feeling a bit uncomfortable. I had encouraged Frankie to go out with my friend and former investigative partner last spring. It hadn’t lasted long, but I had never pried into what happened. I didn’t want to get in between two good people.

“That’s because Derek’s idea of a good date was Chinese takeout and watching the Mets game on the couch,” said Kate, who didn’t have any such compunction.

Frankie turned. “He wasn’t that bad.”

“He was nice,” Kate admitted. “But he wasn’t for you. You said so yourself. There was no…zing. No za-za-zoo.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked. “It sounds like one of those spells Sofia makes up when she’s pretending to be my fairy godmother.”

“It’s the thing,” Kate clarified, and to my surprise, Frankie nodded in agreement.

“Electricity,” she chimed in. “That spark. You know, Mattie. Like how you and blondie couldn’t stop setting off fireworks all over the city this year.”

“Yeah, well,” I said. “Look how that ended.”

Both of my sisters quieted down, sensing the jokes were over.

“Here we go again,” Frankie muttered.

“You know, maybe I should take your place, you grump,” Kate said to me. “I could talk up my shop to all your rich friends. Or at least make some good contacts to pick up product. I bet a lot of these guys toss out their Armani like it’s day-old chicken.”

“No!” Frankie and I both chimed in unison.

I stood up, suddenly ready to leave. Frankie grinned at me, and for the first time in weeks, I managed to smile back. Yeah, a night out was definitely what the doctor ordered.

* * *

That feeling,however, had completely disappeared by the time we were walking up the steps of Jane and Eric’s brownstone after an hour and a half on the subway.

“Frances. Francesca,” I said.

Frankie rolled her eyes as we approached the double doors to the big townhouse off Central Park West. “I know you’re nervous when you use my full name. What is it?”

“Nothing,” I lied, then nudged her on the shoulder. “You just look pretty tonight.”

And she did, too. I forgot sometimes that my sisters were all lookers in their own right. Especially Frankie. She was the shortest of all of us, taking most after Nonna with her slight build that barely even reached my shoulder at five-three in heels. Usually she lived in a uniform of child-friendly jeans and t-shirts, maybe a nice sweater if she had a staff meeting that day. Tonight she’d actually taken the time to let down her dark hair over her shoulders in soft curls, put on a black satin dress, and looked like a lady for a change.

I wasn’t sure what I thought about that, but Frankie’s cheeks pinked as she patted her dress. “Nonna let me borrow it. She said it reminded her of Audrey Hepburn when she bought it.”

I nodded in approval. “Yeah, you could be on the set of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Frankie beamed. “Thanks, big brother.”

I knocked on the double doors, which were opened by one of Jane and Eric’s security guards.

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