Page 47 of The Summer that Changed Everything
“I don’t really have a choice,” she admitted. “It’s too damn hot.”
“That makes me a little nervous.”
She lifted her eyebrows. There was no reason for it to make him nervous. Why would he care one way or the other?
“I’m trying to help you,” he said, responding to the look she’d given him.
“And I’m grateful. I think,” she added uncertainly.
“I realize I have zero credibility with you, but I’d appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt.” He held up his phone to show her Darren’s contact record. “After all, I got Darren’s number. I’m going to give him a call tomorrow.”
“To see if he’ll speak with Mr. Friedman?”
“Yeah. I thought if I prepped him a little, we might have a better chance.”
“Makes sense.” She leaned against the door as she held it partially open. “I hope he’ll be receptive.”
“Maybe I’ll talk to Reggie, too.”
“You must have a lot of confidence in your powers of persuasion if you think you can convinceReggieto speak to Friedman. That guy is selfish and angry and... just plain scary.”
“If he was telling the truth on the stand, he has no reason to refuse.”
“Except that he was lying, which means he has a very good reason to refuse.”
“You never know.” He handed her the plate he’d been holding. “I thought you might like this.”
She pushed her long hair out of her face. Although she’d worn it up all day, she’d removed the tie before bed. “What is it?”
“The best damn pineapple cake on the planet. I didn’t even know pineapple cake could taste so good.”
“You mean like... pineapple upside-down cake? I haven’t had one of those in years.”
“It’s more like a carrot cake—moist with nuts and a thick, cream cheese frosting.”
A homemade cake was something Lucy would never bother to make, not just for herself. The scarcity of home-baked goods in her life made his offering even more appealing. “Where’d you get it?”
“My friend Chet and his wife, Kira, had me over for dinner tonight and sent that home with me.”
She tried to hand it back to him. “Then they wanted you to have it.”
He gave her a coaxing smile. “Why don’t you let me in, so we can share it with a glass of milk?”
He was far more appealing than the cake, and shelovedcake. Because of that, she was casting about for an excuse to refuse when he said, “Come on. Don’t be like that.”
“Fine.” Reluctantly, she opened the door wide enough for him to get past her and the cake she was now holding.
“Chet’s in town, huh?” she said as he made himself at home in her kitchen by getting out a second plate as well as a knife.
“You remember him?”
“Of course. He hung around you all the time.”
“He still comes back every summer and stays in his family’s vacation home on the Potomac.”
She remembered the house, too. Like Coastal Comfort, she’d never been inside it, but she’d seen it. It wasn’t far from the party Aurora had attended before she was murdered. “Is it as nice as your place?”
“Depends on what you like. It’s... cozy.”
