Page 20

“And I was filthy loaded when we met. Come on. Admit it. You loved your new life too.”

“Ah, well, I was attracted to the sex we had first and foremost. My addiction toyourmoney came a few weeks later. I had priorities as a youth.”

Jane grinned. “What about your priorities now?”

The server appeared with their entrees. “Food,” Caitlyn said.

“Just my luck,” Jane muttered as their hands unclasped and they sat away from each other to make room for their plates. “That’s how a man loses his tip,” she said in Cantonese.

Caitlyn knew how to make up for that.

Chapter 7

Rebecca

She awoke alone, which wasn’t the strange thing. Becca had gone to bed early after two nights in a row of bad dreams that kept her up half the night. This time, she wasn’t awakened because of a strange, convoluted dream that gave her anxiety. Instead, it was her bladder punishing her for drinking boba tea right before bed.

It wasn’t until she saw that it was well after one in the morning that she found it strange to be alone. Weren’t Jane and Caitlyn supposed to be back by eleven at the latest?

They’re around here somewhere.Either that or Becca’s life had taken a dark turn she didn’t want to think about until she had exhausted every other edge of Occam’s razor.

And Occam told her to wander out into the flat, bathrobe tied tight around her as she rubbed her eyes and pushed her frizzy hair out of her face. Everything but the nightlights and the tiny power lights on the appliances in the kitchen were off.Yet Becca’s astutely awakened eyesight saw Caitlyn’s purse that she had carried that day hanging up in the foyer, right next to Cecelia’s Betsy Johnson backpack.If there’s one consistent thing about that girl, it’s that she likes a certain type of designer.

So, Caitlyn had returned, at least. So where was Jane, the woman whose bed Becca had been relegated to until they found a place to move?

Well, Caitlyn’s bedroom door was closed, and everyone had taken to keeping their doors locked at night ever since Cecelia moved in. Becca tried the handle anyway, pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked.

I should have known.

Caitlyn was curled up beneath her covers, hugging her pillow as she lightly snored to the beat of her white noise machine on the nightstand. Next to her, still dressed in her shirt and trousers, was Jane.

They looked like they had been deep in conversation when they drifted off to sleep. How Jane stayed asleep in her day clothes, Becca had no idea.

She could have woken Jane up and brought her properly to bed, but this was above Becca’s pay grade. If Jane wanted to sleep in her wife’s bed that night, so be it, but Becca was going back to theotherbed now that the mystery was solved.

As soon as she closed the door, she saw a shadow moving in the living room.

“Ah!” Cecelia squeaked, a spoon in one hand and instant oatmeal in the other. “Sorry. You startled me.”

“You got me too.” Becca held her arms close to her torso as she got over the surprise of seeing Cecelia up and out of bed. “You okay? You’ve got school in the morning.” God, she sounded like someone’s mother. When did that happen?

“I woke up hungry.”

Something seemed off about that. “You’re not even in your pajamas.”

Sighing, Cecelia moved across the room. “Fine. I haven’t gone to bed yet.’

“Why not? Homework?”

“I’m chatting with friends back home.”

Becca quickly did the math. Sure enough, it was well into tomorrow evening back in Hong Kong. “I’m not the one in charge around here, so we’ll pretend we never had this conversation. Carry on.”

Cecelia grinned widely enough that her teeth reflected the nightlight emanating from the hallway. “Thanks!”

We’ll also ignore that it was my oatmeal you’re eating.Becca made a mental note to buy extra if Cecelia was helping herself to it too.

When she returned to the bedroom, she expected to be alone, but Jane was right behind her. Hopefully, she had missed her niece being up in the middle of the night.