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“I don’t want a dumb suit,” Stelli said, pouting.
“Come on, you’ll look so sharp. And Yiayia and Papou will come and stay with you when we go on our honeymoon.”
“Where are you going?” Evie asked in a quiet voice.
“Paris,” Leo told her.
“We’ll bring you back lots of presents,” Piper said.
“Why can’t we go with you?” Stelli asked.
Leo looked at Piper and smiled. “Next time, Stel.”
Stelli jumped up from the table and ran up on deck. Leo started to follow, but Piper put a hand up to stop him. “No, let me,” she said, and went up after Stelli.
He sat huddled on one of the cushioned benches, his head in his hands. Piper sat down next to him, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Leo standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry you’re upset, Stelli. I know that your mom hasn’t been gone for very long and that you miss her. I’m not going to try to be your mother, but do you think we could be friends?”
There was no answer.
“Please? Could we try? I love your daddy very much, and I want all of us to be happy.”
He lifted his head slowly and looked at her with sad eyes. “Do you know there are tiger sharks in the Sound?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“I wish one ate you.”
Piper didn’t say anything for a minute, just looked at the small figure next to her, with his head down again, huddled as if he wanted to disappear into himself.
“It’s okay, Stelli. I understand you’re upset.” She spoke so Leo could hear her, but then she leaned in and whispered to the boy. “But be careful what you wish for. Often, when we wish others harm, it comes back onto us.”
22
Joanna
I needed to prove that Piper was the mysterious Pamela, but I still hadn’t heard from Ava Dunn. When I’d called Brent this morning, he told me he’d found out from a mutual friend that Ava was traveling over the Labor Day weekend but would be returning in four days, on Monday. I impressed my urgency upon him, and he relented and gave me her cell phone number. There was no way I could verify that the woman in those photos was Piper until I could ask Ava for some clearer pictures.
My Google search had revealed that Ava Dunn was very rich—her maiden name was Forrester, which was one of San Diego’s oldest families and worth a few hundreds of millions. Their name was all over California—hospital wings, university libraries and classroom buildings, concert halls, art museums, charitable foundations. They had the kind of money most of us only dream about. She was educated, too. She’d gone to the best private schools in California and then to Wellesley, spending her junior year abroad at Oxford. When she married Matthew Dunn, her fortunes increased even more. From what I could find, she’d never worked at a real job, but, judging by the articles and pictures, she seemed to be involved in every charity that existed in Southern California.
My phone rang, and I saw that someone was calling me from the house.
I picked up immediately, concerned. “Hello?”
“Daddy’s getting married!”
It was Stelli. I broke out in a cold sweat. Married?
“Stelli, sweetheart. Calm down. When is it happening?”
Sobs came over the line. “Saturday. I hate her!”
They were getting married in two days? Leo hadn’t told me that they’d set a date, and now it was obvious that he wanted to hurry and get it done without my knowledge. I was so furious, I couldn’t move. How had she managed to oust me so fast? I needed to stall him until I spoke with Ava, but she wouldn’t be back until Monday. I couldn’t let Piper become his wife and Evie and Stelli’s stepmother.
“Calm down, sweetie. I’m going to think of something. Where’s Evie?”
“She’s out shopping with Piper.”
“Okay, have her call me when she gets home, but don’t let Piper know she’s doing it. Don’t worry. I’m going to find a way to fix this.”