Page 67 of Laced With Secrets

I shook my head, my hand drifting to rest on the curve of my belly. “We decided to be surprised.”

“You will send me an invitation to the baby shower?” Her eyes lit up with hopeful anticipation.

“Of course,” I nodded, my lips curving into a warm smile.

Mrs. Henderson glanced up from the register as she tallied Paula’s items, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I must say, there’s a glow about you since retirement,” she remarked as the cash register pinged softly.

Paula’s voice was quiet but firm. “That building was a burden I never wanted. My father expected me to take over, to continue his legacy. But I never wanted to be a pharmacist.”

She glanced around, checking that no other customers were close enough to overhear, then continued. “I wanted to be a teacher. But my father’s expectations were everything, and when he died…” She shook her head. “Every day in that pharmacy felt like wearing someone else’s life. Now, with the sale money, I have time to be a substitute teacher or maybe volunteer full-time at the elementary school. Actually do what I always wanted.”

“I’m glad,” I said sincerely. “You deserve to do what makes you happy.”

“Thank you, dear.” Paula squeezed my hand.

Then her expression shifted, becoming more guarded. “I’ve heard the talk around town, though. About my father… and Thomas.”

An uncomfortable silence fell.

“People always need someone to blame, honey.” Mrs. Henderson’s lips pursed sympathetically as her weathered fingers tapped the counter. “It’s just ugly gossip.”

Paula’s hands tightened on her purse. “I know how it looks. But my father wasn’t involved. He couldn’t have been.”

“Paula—” I started.

“I knew him,” she said firmly. “Better than anyone. And I know he wasn’t capable of… that.” Her voice caught slightly. “Myfather never remarried after my mother died. Never even dated. He talked about her constantly—her favorite flowers, the songs she liked, how she laughed. Some people only love once. He was one of them.”

The conviction in her voice was absolute.

“The construction site was chaotic,” Paula continued, more controlled now. “Multiple contractors, workers coming and going, materials everywhere. My father managed the pharmacy business, but Vicente Antonelli’s crew did the actual renovation work. Anyone could have…” She stopped herself, clearly not wanting to make accusations without proof.

“You’re right,” I said gently.

“I just hope,” Paula said, her eyes meeting mine, “when you speak at the memorial service—and I know you will, Adelaide mentioned you’d agreed—that people remember Thomas Wong deserves justice. But so does my father’s memory. He spent thirty years serving this community. He wasn’t a killer.”

My mouth opened, then closed, words caught somewhere in my throat.

“I—I’ll keep that in mind,” I finally said.What else could I say?

“That’s all I can ask.” Paula gathered her centerpieces, her composure fully returned. “Thank you, Leo. For listening.”

After she left, Mrs. Henderson began straightening up her countertop, sweeping off plant debris and ribbon pieces into a small trash bin.

“Paula’s had a hard time these past few weeks,” she said quietly. “The rumors haven’t been kind. People forget that Robert was a good man who worked hard his whole life.”

She shook her head. “I knew Robert. He wasn’t capable of murder.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The apartment smelled like strong coffee and printer ink when we walked in. Papers were spread everywhere—construction permits, photographs, blueprints covering every inch of our new dining table’s surface.

Dominic’s dark henley stretched across his chest and shoulders in a way that made my mouth go dry, sleeves shoved to his elbows exposing the muscled forearms that had pinned me to our new mattress just last night. The top two buttons at his collar hung open, revealing the hollow of his throat. Those steel-gray eyes locked onto me with an intensity that sent heat pooling low in my belly.

Pregnancy hormones were a hell of a thing.

Blake had abandoned his usual suit jacket, working in just his dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up in a way that told me they’d been holed up together for hours, plotting something. He wore the faintest hint of that “I’m totally innocent” smugness that immediately made me suspicious.