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“Speaking of when we get back.” Cole turned to me. “Would you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” I cooed.
He picked up my phone and handed it to me. “Would you call Elena and quit? I want to make it official.”
I winked at him. “I’ll call her, don’t worry. And then we’ll be officially official.”
“I like the way that sounds, Jenny.” He took my hand, sat back and relaxed. “I really like the way that sounds.”
“Elena,don’t get mad at me, okay?” I clutched the phone.
“Mad at you for what? Don’t tell me you ran out on our billionaire client!” she wailed.
“Nah, it’s nothing like that.” I took a deep breath. “The thing is, Cole wants tobuyme. He’s getting me a South End Condo and a Range Rover. He wants to be exclusive, Elena. No more Fat Vinnie or Loopsy!”
“Wow, Jenny…” The silence stretched out as Elena processed the news. “I’m really happy to hear that.”
“You are?” I scratched my head. “I thought you’d be pissed!”
“Absolutely not. I’m a CEO, so for me it’s always business first,” the Madam explained. “But every once in a while I get to see a happy ending for one of my girls, and it’s satisfying. You deserve the best, Jenny. I’m glad that Mr. Bryson can see that.”
My eyes filled with tears. I hadn’t expected this kind of response from her. “That’s real nice, Elena.” I reached for a tissue and blow-honked my nose. “It means a lot.”
“Tell Mr. Bryson to send me his friends,” she said, switching back to CEO-mode. “You know I’m always looking for referrals!”
We didn’t hearanything from James or Audrey for the next two days. Worrying about them made the rest of our vacation less fun, but it made packing up and getting on the return flight easier.
When it was time to go, I kissed Iggy the iguana goodbye, which Cole thought was totally gross. “He’s like my adoptedbaby,” I argued, giving the giant iguana one final beet green. “I’m going to miss him.”
What Iwasn’tgoing to miss was Celia Preston. Since Audrey had left, she’d been busy focusing her evil eye on me. In response, I wore only thong bikinis all day, every day, including to meals. Old Celia’s evil eye was getting an eyeful, all right!
The flight home was quick, but my nerves were jumpy. What would it be like being back in Boston with Cole as my plus-one? What would it be like to live in a fancy apartment and not have to “date” Johns to make rent? To not have to struggle? What the heck was I going todo? I had zero idea.
Still, I was excited as we landed at Logan and entered the terminal. Boston wasn’t as gorgeous and sunny as the Caribbean, but the gray skyline and puffy white clouds were still home.
Todd and Evie were the first ones off the plane, followed by us. I couldn’t believe it—James and Audrey were waiting in the terminal.
“Yay!” I said to Cole, squeezing his hand. “Look who’s here!”
Todd reached them first. James grabbed his shoulders and appeared to be talking to him about something real important, judging by the look on his face. Audrey stood beside them, listening intently, her face drawn.
James motioned to an older couple standing behind them, and then Todd shook their hands.
“What the heck’s going on?” I asked Cole. “Who’re those people?’
“I don’t know—let’s go see.” He hustled me closer, and we just caught the end of James and Todd’s conversation.
“Mother has been implicated in Danielle’s death,” James was saying. “She threatened Audrey, and we started putting the pieces together. The police are here to bring her in for questioning, and maybe Dad, too. And Danielle’s parents arehere to see them face-to-face.” He motioned to the older couple standing behind them.
Cole and I looked at each other, gobsmacked.
“Holy shit,” Cole said under his breath. “Thepolice?”
Todd went white. “Are you kidding?” he asked James.
“No. I’m sorry, I’m not,” James said. “It happened so long ago, but Mother needs to be held responsible for what she did.”
“I’m so sorry,” Todd said. “I had no idea.”