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“Good,” Monique said, “then I’ll tell you.” She squared her shoulders as if transitioning into “work” mode. “He showed up in my office all sad faced. I don't know what you did to him, but the guy seems to be hopelessly in love with you.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. Even if she stupidly did have feelings for him, which she didn’t, the idea that he had any for her was ludicrous. “He just wanted to destroy my house.”

“That’s what I thought too, but the house is long gone, his giant real estate deal is settled, and yet he’s still shown up or called me a half-dozen times. And this last time he said the craziest stuff.”

Sadie startled. “What crazy stuff? You didn’t tell me about any crazy stuff!”

“It’s probably best not to—” Monique said.

Despite the voice in her head telling her Monique was probably right, Ginny interrupted. “What crazy stuff?”

Monique sighed. “Something about meeting his mother and a crunchy pickle game? Honestly, I’m worried for the man’s sanity, but that’s his brother’s problem, not mine.

Then he said you’d given him the greatest gift anyone could ever give someone…

” She cleared her throat in an accusatory way.

“…and he wants to repay you.” She sent Ginny a pointed a look. “What did he mean by that?”

“The greatest gift anyone could ever give someone?” Sadie said, tapping her lips with her pink-tipped finger. She aimed big blue eyes at Ginny. “What did he mean by that?”

Ginny pushed her empty plate away so that she’d have somewhere else to direct her gaze as she lied to her sisters. “I have no idea.”

“Well, he thinks you do,” Monique said, “and he said he knows you won’t take any money, so instead he’s deeded a property over to you.

He handed me the documents and left. I thought they’d be written in crayon or something, he was acting so unstable, but it looks legit.

It’s legal and done. You own a plot in Malibu. ”

Sadie looked first at Grant and then back to Monique. “Malibu? You definitely didn’t tell me that bit!”

“Like I said, I thought it was best to give Ginny a little more time to recover before throwing this into the mix.”

“But you could have told me!” Sadie said.

Monique rolled her eyes. “That would be the same as telling Ginny.”

Sadie giggled. “Yeah.”

Ginny sat there reeling. He’d given her the lot? Why? What was in it for him? What trick was up his sleeve this time?

Monique interrupted Ginny’s thoughts. “Now that you know, I was thinking with this property and the million-dollar inheritance you’ll be getting in three years, you can build yourself a really nice house there.”

“ I don't want a really nice house ,” Ginny practically shouted. Mick and Jack raised their heads, and Annie sat up. Sadie sent her a questioning look.

Even Ginny was surprised by the vehemence of her words.

She was wary of her sisters’ inquisition—all the poking and innuendo about a thing she’d decided not to tell them.

Sadie, in particular, seemed to know something was up.

But the mention of the Malibu lot had knocked Ginny completely off balance.

She tried hard never to think of the day she’d spent there with Nico, and now she owned the place?

Even if she sold it or donated it immediately, she’d still have to deal with it, still have to think about it.

The universe was working in evil cahoots with her psyche.

Or maybe Nico enjoyed torturing her from a distance. He said that lot was useless to him.

Monique raised her hands in an exasperated gesture. “Fine. You can build a crappy house out of scrounged two-by-fours and freebie paint.”

“Maybe I will,” Ginny said, “but not on that lot.”

Not where I let someone toy with my heart just so he could flatten it with a bulldozer.

“Why not?” Sadie said. “Did something happen there? What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s got to be gorgeous,” Monique said. She waved a hand across Sadie and Grant’s Hollywood Hills view. “The vista’s got to be even better than this.”

“Really?” Sadie said, “I wanna see it.”

“No,” Ginny said, unable to hide her anger. Her sisters’ enthusiasm was making her feel exactly like that snail with no shell to retreat to.

“C’mon,” Sadie pleaded. “We haven’t had an outing in ages. We’ll just take a look and then you can sell it or whatever. The dogs would love to get out of the city!”

“As your real estate attorney—” Monique began.

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. “Who made you my real estate lawyer?”

Monique ignored the remark. “As your real estate attorney , I should see the place.”

Sadie tugged at the sleeve of Ginny’s bathrobe. “It’s perfect weather. Let’s go right now!”

“I can’t today,” Monique said, glancing at her watch, “but I could go Thursday.”

Sadie picked up her phone and checked her calendar. “No filming for us that day,” she said, elbowing Grant.

Grant gave Ginny a hopeful smile. “How about I make us a picnic?”

“That’s sweet of you, Grant,” Ginny said, “but we’ll have to do a rain check. I have a house to clean Thursday, and it’s going to take me all day.”

Monique pushed her chair back a few inches and crossed her long legs.

“I’m in charge of your schedule and I just gave you the day off.

So, unless there’s some important personal reason for not going there that you haven’t told us, we should go.

Once we’ve seen it, you can decide what to do with it, and I’ll help you. ”

Great. Monique was clearly suspicious of her too. If she continued to refuse, they’d never stop haranguing her till she fessed up about how humiliatingly she’d been used by Nico! Why hadn’t she just stayed curled up in a ball on her bed?

Something wet and furry nuzzled her hand.

Annie had come to check on her. She squeezed herself between Ginny and Sadie and rested her head on Ginny’s lap.

The solid weight of it on her bare legs, the feel of Annie’s warm breath in and out in a steady rhythm, the softness of her velvety ears as Ginny gave them a scratch—calmed Ginny.

She wasn’t a snail with no shell. Her shell was right here around this table – these people, these dogs—who loved her unconditionally.

Revisiting the Malibu lot might trigger even more unwelcome dreams about Nico, but facing the very thing that had hurt her in the past could also be good medicine, especially if she could replace those memories with new, healthier ones.

A picnic with her family might be just the thing to snuff out those maddening dreams…