Page 73 of The Best of Friends

Rebecca had called a couple of hours earlier, asking Jayne to come by. Over coffee and bagels—only Jayne had eaten the bagels—Rebecca had told her about her garden encounter with Nigel and how he was willing to sell his wife for a blue diamond. Or buy Rebecca. That part wasn’t clear.

And unlikely to get clear if she kept drinking margaritas. She gulped more water, then let the warmth of the sun soak away her pain.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Rebecca said slowly. “He’s always been a jerk. I know that, so why can’t I get over him? Why was I so happy to see him? It took me all of fifteen seconds to start having sex with him.”

“You missed him, and then he lied to you. He took advantage of you.”

“I’m the strong one,” Rebecca said. “No one takes advantage of me. I should have sensed something was wrong. It was too easy. Nigel’s a lot of things, but easy isn’t one of them.”

“Do you think he’ll go back to Australia?”

“I don’t know how badly he wants the diamond.”

Yet another problem the average person didn’t have to wrestle with. “Do you think he’ll try to steal it?”

“Maybe, but first he has to get into my safe, and then he has to find it. I feel fairly confident that technology will win over greed.” She smiled. “He can’t even accuse me of taking it, because that would mean admitting he had it in the first place. I don’t think Ariel’s father would appreciate knowing his baby’s new husband had found and kept a prize like that for himself.”

“Not to mention his giving it to you.”

“Exactly.”

Jayne glanced at her watch.

“What?” Rebecca asked. “You keep doing that. Do you have to be somewhere?”

“I have a meeting with my real estate agent at one. I’d like to be vaguely on time and sober for it.”

“As if she’d notice.” Rebecca reached for her margarita, then turned her attention back to Jayne. “Wait a minute. Why are you meeting with her?”

Jayne hesitated. Her second call of the morning had been to set up the appointment. “Apparently I have an offer on the condo. She says it’s close to full price. The buyers are a young couple. They’re prequalified, and their parents have given them the down payment.”

Which meant there was no reason to refuse it. “I’m in shock. The condo has barely been on the market a week. But it’s in a great location, and I priced it to sell.” She was still trying to absorb the news. “The timing is slightly off. I’ll close before I’m ready to move, but that’s better than being ready to move and not being able to sell my place.”

Rebecca swung her feet to the floor of the balcony, then shifted so she was facing Jayne.

“Oh, God. You’re really leaving. I mean, I knew it, but I was trying not to think about it. I don’t want you to go.”

Jayne told herself to accept the statement in the spirit it was meant and not to get pissy because Rebecca was thinking only about herself.

“I appreciate that, but you can visit me in Dallas. There’s great shopping there. And cute cowboys.”

Rebecca pressed her lips together. “There’s nothing I can say to change your mind?”

“Not even for money.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“Your mother and I had a moment last night at the party,” Jayne admitted, not sure she wanted to talk about it. Of course the alternative was whining about David, and that didn’t seem thrilling, either.

Rebecca leaned toward her. “Please tell me you called her a bitch and slapped her.”

“Close.”

Rebecca drew in a breath and grinned. “Tell me everything. Start at the beginning and talk slow.”

Jayne picked up her water. “She was upset about you.”

“A side benefit.”