Page 132 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

Kelli coughed, and Brie glanced over. When Jules whirled on her friend, Kelli was making a slashing gesture with her bent fingers in front of her throat, clearly warning Brie not to mention Dante’s name.

Jules rolled her eyes. “All right, might as well get this over with. As I mentioned, the date was terrible. I’m sure Dante’s match is out there somewhere, but it definitely isn’t me. So, let’s move on, shall we?”

Her friends exchanged a look before Brie sighed. “Whatever you say, Jules. I’m sorry we set you up with someone so awful. We truly thought he could be the one for you.”

“It’s fine. You tried. I think I’ll handle my own love life from now on, though, if you don’t mind.”

Kelli coughed again, words this time that sounded an awful lot likewhat love life?

Brie laughed, but Jules could only manage a grim smile. For some reason, she rebelled against the idea of her friends thinking Dante was awful. Although Frat Boyhadbeen awful atthe pub, Officer de Marco hadn’t been. Not at all. Which was incredibly confusing.

Still, no need to muddy the waters by defending him to her friends when she wasn’t sure herself which version of Dante was real. Besides, she’d closed the door pretty firmly on any future interactions with the man, so it no longer mattered.

Brie turnedoff the burner on the stove before removing the pot from the heat and brushing a little cocoa powder from the front of her pink sweater. “I’ll pop this into a pan and stick it in the fridge to cool while we start the movie.”

For the next hour, they lost themselves in the light, romantic silliness that wasYou’ve Got Mail. Exactly the kind of mind-sugar Jules needed after the past few days. Just as Tom Hanks was bringing soup to a sick Meg Ryan, Brie paused the movie. “Fudge should be ready.” She hopped off the couch and trotted toward the kitchen. Kelli excused herself to head to the bathroom while Brie was gone. In less than a minute, Brie was back, clutching the pan she’d poured the fudge into along with three spoons. “No sense dirtying a bunch of dishes.”

Jules really liked the way her friends thought. Not about men, obviously, since their attempt to fix her up had failed spectacularly. Which, thankfully, they weren’t talking about tonight. Or thinking about. Kelli strolled back into the room, and Jules grabbed a spoon and shifted closer to Brie on the couch so she could reach the pan.

As Kelli dropped down on the other side of Brie, her phone vibrated. Kelli snatched it up from the end table next to her and scanned the screen. When she lifted her head, her brow was furrowed. She leaned forward, peering around Brie to look at Jules. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Text me. I thought you didn’t have your phone.”

Her friend’s words curdled the bite of chocolate fudge Jules had just swallowed. She set the spoon on the coffee table. “I don’t. So, I didn’t send you a text.”

“You did. It’s right here.” Kelli turned the screen toward her.

Jules read the message. The three words that had clearly come from her phone sent icy chills rippling across her arms.

I see you.

She straightened and Kelli pulled back the phone. “Creepy message too. Is this some kind of payback for fixing you up with that cop? Did you send it while I was gone from the room?”

Jules shook her head. “I didn’t, Kels. I promise.” The question was, who had? Her phone was at… The apprehension that had been rising morphed into anger. “Dante.”

“What? How would he have your phone? And why would he send me a message like that?”

No use trying to keep it from her friends any longer. As briefly as possible, Jules filled them in on what had happened when she’d slipped out into the alley during their date. She did leave out the little detail about that psychopath showing up at her home, looking at her through the window. They didn’t need to know that part, right?

By the time she’d finished, Brie’s green eyes were impossibly wide. “Do you think that murderer grabbed your phone? Couldhehave messaged Kels?” Her voice rose, approaching hysteria.

Jules grasped her friend’s forearm. “Of course not, Brie. Dante told me he found my phone and submitted it to the lab for testing. There’s no way that monster has it, so this has to be Dante, messing with my head. I told you he was an awful person.”

Kelli frowned. “This is beyond awful. It’s completely unprofessional for a cop to be freaking out a witness. Why would he do something like that?”

Good question. The officer Jules had met at the police station and, later, at her home, wouldn’t have. Clearly, she had been right to assume that the jerk she’d been on a date with was the real Dante.

A light, tinkling sound broke the silence that had fallen between them, and all three women jumped. Kelli let out a nervous laugh as she pressed a hand to her chest. “My nerves.”

“That’s mine.” Brie pushed to her feet and clambered over Jules’ knees. “My mom said she’d text tonight to let me know how her doctor’s appointment went today. I sincerely hope that’s her and not your psycho boyfriend.”

Jules scowled. “He’s definitely not my boyfriend.” Even if she had been harboring some tiny inkling that the man she’d had coffee with and who had been concerned enough about her to offer to sleep on her couch for protection had an outside chance of becoming her boyfriend, that was over now. She’d been right not to trust him.

Brie grabbed her bag from the chair inside the front door and rummaged around in it.

Jules slid closer to Kelli. “Kels, can I borrow your phone? I need to text that guy and tell him to knock it off.”