Page 50 of The Lost Heiress

“Where were you just now?” Jacqueline asked. “You looked a million miles away.”

“Just tired, I guess,” Ana said.

“We were asking if you’d want to go seeSweeney Todd,” Jacqueline said. “It’s playing at the Pantages tonight.”

“The one where a mad barber slits men’s throats with his razor blade?” Ana asked.

Jacqueline nodded enthusiastically. “And bakes their remains into meat pies,” she said. “It’s supposed to be terribly fun.”

“Sorry,” Ana said. “I think I’ll sit this one out.”

“Spoilsport,” Jacqueline said. “Ransom, what about you?”

“I have some reading to catch up on,” Ransom said. “But you ladies go and have a good time.”

“Just us, then,” Jacqueline said to Saoirse, raising her water glass. “To a proper girls’ night out.”

They emphatically clinked glasses.

“So, Ana, tell us,” Jacqueline said, taking a sip of her water. “Do you have a special fella in your life?”

“Or girlfriend,” Saoirse interjected.

“Mm, yes, of course,” Jacqueline said. “All types welcome. We’re not puritans here.”

“Oh, um, no,” Ana said. “I’m not really looking for anything like that at the moment.”

“What about Mr. Santos?” Saoirse asked.

“Oh, yes,” Jacqueline said. “He’s a very nice-looking man.”

“I guess,” Ana said, wanting desperately for this line of questioning to end. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Objectively speaking.”

“The two of you are always sitting next to each other at the breakfast table, whispering together,” Saoirse said. “You’re not sweet on him?”

Ana could feel Ransom’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

“I don’t think wewhisper,” Ana said, perturbed. “We converse at a normal volume.”

“Well, I can never hear what you’re saying to each other.”

“Well, maybe that’s because we’re not talking to you,” Ana quipped.

She recoiled a bit at her own words. She hadn’t meant to lose her cool.

Jacqueline laughed. “Zing, darling!” she said.

Saoirse rolled her eyes. “Jesus,” she said. “It was just an observation.”

Luckily, the tuna tartare arrived then, and the table was distracted by the distribution of appetizer plates and placing more drink orders.

After dinner, they went upstairs to their shared suite on the top floor. Ana had never stayed in a suite with multiple rooms before. This one was like a large, expensive apartment. There was a formal living room and a separate dining room with a long table and twelve high-backed chairs. They had a balcony with a view all the way to the ocean and three bedrooms all with their own bathrooms.

As Saoirse and Jacqueline got ready to go out, Ana took a hot bath and then put on her pajamas. She lay down, but sleep evaded her, so after an hour or so, she got up and padded out to the living room to watch some TV. She was surprised to see Ransom there. She figured hewould have retired to his own room by now, but he was sitting on the sofa, writing in a notebook. He closed it quickly and set it aside when he saw her.

“Sorry,” Ana said. “I didn’t realize you were out here.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ransom said. “Come in.”