Trish lifted a cross-stitch of a lady surrounded by cats. “If you’re not careful, you’ll be her.”
Danielle plucked the kit from her friend’s hand and set it down. “Never. I’m allergic to cats. Besides, I’m good with my life the way it is.”
Trish shook her head and moved them along. “You work and sleep.”
“And take field trips with you, which is all the fun I can handle.”
“Your life should be more. Maybe a hobby would be good.” Trish turned around and headed back to the craft table. “Cross-stitch could be fun.”
Had her life turned into TV dinners, cross-stitching, andMurder She Wrote? She’d only started watching that show to determine how to murder Chris and get away with it, but she realized the killer always got caught.
“If I agree to try a new hobby, will you stop setting me up on blind dates?”
Smiling, Trish said, “Yes. I won’t set you up at all.”
Danielle searched the nearby vendors for anything to get Trish off her back. Spotting a box of cookbooks with a five-dollar tag, she hurried over. Trish knew Danielle couldn’t boil an egg, so it was a believable attempt at a hobby.
“I’m getting this.” Feeling victorious, she paid for the books and smirked.
Trish picked up the top one. “The Beginners Guide to Baking.” She let out a laugh that shook her entire body. “I can’t wait. The last time you “baked” a cake, it cost you fifty dollars from Connie’s Confections.”
“There was no way I was showing up empty-handed. And no one needed to know I bought that cake.”
“My mom still thinks you’re the most skilled cake baker in Pitkin County.
Danielle lifted her chin. “What they don’t know won’t hurt me.” She asked the man to hold the books, and they moved down the aisle. She had no intention of using the cookbooks. Chances were, they’d stay in the back of her car until she could donate them to a charity.
“I want to taste the first thing you cook. Rob can be your guinea pig too.”
Danielle stopped to look at her friend. “Do you have a death wish? Besides, I thought you liked your husband.”
“I do, but to keep you honest, I’ll be your taste tester. And you’re not allowed to leave the books in the back of your SUV or give them away. You have to give your new hobby an honest try.” With that, Trish raced to another table and picked up a chinoiserie bowl.
When she caught up with her friend, Danielle said, “You already have one like that.”
“I did.” She shrugged. “But you know … there are so many surfaces.”
“That’s why you needed that lamp.” Danielle’s jaw dropped. “Come to think of it, that entry table is new too. You two are too much.”
“You’re jealous.”
She sucked in a breath and let out a sigh. “You’re right.” She moved through the rows. “Is it that good?”
“The sex?” Trish turned and headed down the next aisle. “Remember that better-than-sex chocolate cake Ms. Ferguson made?”
Danielle gasped. “No. Better than that?” That cake was an orgasm without a man.
“It’s ten times that.”
She shouldered her friend. “I would hate you if I didn’t love you so much.” Trish had become like a sister to her, far more than either of the two she shared DNA with. They first met during their first year of college, and since then, they had been almost inseparable. Trish’s family was similar to Danielle’s, except that Danielle’s father didn’t wear a yarmulke and ate bacon and pork ribs like there was no other option.
“And because you love me, you’ll keep an open mind when I tell you what I did?” Trish led her to the funnel cake booth and ordered two with extra sugar.
“If it needs extra sugar, it must be bad.” She clenched her jaw until her teeth hurt. “What did you do?”
Trish picked up a funnel cake and stepped back. “It’s notthatbad.”
“If you’re buying sweets, it is. You also gave yourself running room, which means it’s worse than bad. Spill it.”
