“You don’t know what he’s like,” Angela insisted. She was so urgent, so sincere.
And she was right about that. Zona had only known Alec for a few weeks. This woman had known him for a lifetime.
“Oh, believe me, he’ll be nice to you for a while, then, once he’s got you all tied up emotionally, he’ll turn on you. Like an adder. He’s divorced, you know. That should tell you all you need to know about him.”
As if that made him a bad person. As if that made anyone a bad person. Zona’s doubt melted into irritation.
“So am I,” she said.
Angela was temporarily at a loss for words. But she recovered quickly. “Whatever happened with your husband is nothing like what will happen if you stay with Alec. He’s not stable.”
Which was what he’d said about Angela. “If he’s so dangerous, why do you keep driving down our street? Why are you following me?”
“I’m trying to warn you!” Angela shrieked.
A woman with a small child who was standing nearby picking out lettuce quickly moved away.
Zona was ready to move away, too. “Thanks for the warning,” she said, and backed her cart up.
Angela pulled up alongside Zona, her sorrowful expression gone. “I mean it. Stay away from Alec or you’ll be sorry.”
Zona refused to be intimidated. “Whatever is going on between you and Alec is between you two. Leave me out of it and quit following me.”
Angela’s eyes narrowed to slits. She stood her ground, glaring at Zona. The mask had slipped.
Okay, enough of this woman. “Move out of my way or I’ll call the manager,” Zona ordered her.
Angela moved, but her glare remained fixed on Zona, and Zona could feel the heat of it on her back as she walked away.
She threw the rest of her groceries into her cart and stomped to the checkout line. The last thing she’d needed after a long day of work was to get drawn into Alec’s drama. Bree was right. She didn’t need to be hanging out with this man.
This man who made her skin tingle just thinking about him, who’d rescued her when her car broke down and she was stranded, who Darling was coming to love more than either her mother or her.
Who came with baggage way too heavy for Zona to lift.
They had to stop seeing each other.
Once in the parking lot, she discovered that she had a flat front tire. Slashed. It wasn’t hard to figure out who’d done it. Of course, there was no sign of the PT Cruiser in the parking lot. Lucky for Angela because after this act of war Zona was ready to rumble.
“Better hope I don’t see your car on my street again,” she muttered. She stowed her groceries, then got out her spare tire and got to work. By the time she had it on, she was grimy and sweaty and in need of chocolate. She marched back into the store, where she washed up in the restroom and then bought two packages of Dove dark chocolates.
Gilda was gone when she returned home and Martin had taken her place, bringing pizza. He was camped in the living room with Louise, the TV tuned to an episode of a new detective series they’d discovered.
“Join us and have some pizza,” Louise called as Zona made her way to the kitchen.
“No, thanks, I’ve got stuff to do,” Zona called back. Likedevour half a bag of chocolates while she baked for her mother’s party and wished horrible fates on the evil Angela.May all her hair fall out. May she get an incurable case of adult acne.Too mild.May she get to star in her own reality show. Prison Babes.That thought brought a bitter smile to Zona’s lips. Yes, let Angela learn how to make license plates or whatever it was women did in prison. Alec should have pressed charges.
Bree was right. Men weren’t worth the trouble, even ones that seemed to be good.
She’d finished making tea sandwiches for Louise’s party and had pulled out a batch of black bean brownies when a text came in from Alec.Dog training?
No, she texted back.We need to talk.
K. Come on over.
“Is everything okay?” Louise called as Zona headed for the door.
“Everything’s fine,” Zona answered. It wasn’t her happiest tone of voice and her mother probably saw right through it. They’d be having a mother-daughter shrink session at some point, but for the moment Zona kept moving. It was time to end the madness she’d started with Alec.
