Page 67 of Hard Evidence
“If she’s anything like my best friend, she’ll take great pleasure in telling Ridge to jump off a cliff, but you can definitely ask Alexa to avoid South Korea.Do you know how to make macarons?”
“I’ve made them a couple of times before.Why?”
“Dawson says Alexa’s obsessed with food in general and European baked goods in particular.How about making macarons for your cooking show?Or we could film this cake?”
“I need to get a tripod.”
“Give me the phone.I can play camerawoman.”
“Really?”
“Most of my experience comes from the other side of the lens, but I’ve picked up a few tips from watching the pros at work.”
It was an amazing offer, but still I hesitated.
“What’s up?”Violet asked.
“I… It’ll sound silly.”
“Well, it’s just the two of us, and I’ve said plenty of dumb stuff in my life.Half of it on camera.”
Same, but Ridge had mostly edited it out, thank goodness.
“I used to love cooking, and when I started my blog, it was an escape, you know?Me teaching my friend Saylor how to make dinner.But Ridge sucked all the fun out of it.And I want to feel that joy again, I really do, but now when I imagine myself cooking on camera, I’m just…paralysed.”
“It’s become a chore.”
“Exactly.Those early videos were chaotic and messy and totally unprofessional, but I enjoyed them.And I don’t know if I can go back to that.What will people think?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes?I mean, there’s even more pressure than before because I need this to be a success so I can rent my own place.I don’t want to outstay my welcome here.”
“Justin isn’t going to kick you out.But we both need a distraction from what’s going on in there.”She jerked her thumb toward the living room.“So let’s make a messy, chaotic video, and if you feel like sharing it later, you can.Okay?”
“Okay.”
“If Amie’s disappearance truly is connected to Blackstone House, then we’ll need more cakes because everyone’s going to be stress-eating.”
I’d been there when Sophy began dredging up the past, and she hadn’t been lying.
“Then I guess I’d better buy more ingredients.”
No, cake wasn’t normally a breakfast food, but this wasn’t a normal Monday morning.Justin was gone.Only temporarily, but that didn’t stop the knot of tension in my belly from growing tighter every time I thought of him sitting on an airplane.
His destination?
Florida.
Brax was travelling with him, which should have offered some comfort, but Alexa telling them to hurry to the airport while Justin was still allowed to leave the state hadn’t helped matters.
Nor had the fact that they were planning to confront the father of a convicted killer.
I reached for another piece of cake.
So did Violet, but then she pushed the plate away and dropped her fork with a clatter.
“No.No, I can’t.I’m supposed to be filming a romantic thriller in six weeks, and there’s a catsuit involved.”
