Page 87 of Hunter or Hunted

“I could go for a marshmallow too.” Lizzie held out her hand for Junie. “Is Aidan out there?”

Gabby nodded and spun back around. “Yeah, c’mon, guys.”

Junie took a step forward, hand in hand with Lizzie, but Simone caught her elbow. “Do you wanna wait for me?”

Junie shot Simone a look. The kind that said, I’m not a baby, Mom.

“I can keep an eye on her,” Lizzie said. “And I’ll tell Edwards you’re here.”

“But tell him in, like, five minutes.” Mallory spared Simone a smile. “Let us have a little bit of girl time.”

Lizzie laughed and trailed after Gabby. Junie picked up speed at Lizzie’s side.

Simone did her damnedest to keep her face neutral, but a swallow still bobbed her throat. I ran a hand over her back, a motion I hoped assured her everything was fine.

“She’s a trip. I’m sorry.” Mallory continued into the kitchen. At the butcher-block island, she set down the bottle of wine and laid a few red Solo cups face up. Filling them, she glanced over her shoulder. “The first kid is so chill and sweet, it makes you want another. But the second? She makes you get your tubes tied.”

“Aw, she’s adorable,” I said. “Spirit like that’s hard to find.”

“That’s how I see it too.” She passed us our cups. “We like to say that Aidan is all Chris and Gabby’s all me. They’re everything, though. Best thing that ever happened to me, you know the shtick. Anyway. Enough about me. It’s really so great to meet you, Gwen.”

I noted Simone in my peripheral. Indiscernible voices carried from the yard outside the window above the dining table, covered in crock pots and serving chafers, and that’s where she was headed—to keep another set of eyes on Junie. “Yeah, likewise. Your home is gorgeous, by the way. Like, HGTV level. So custom, but so warm. Did you do it all?”

“Aww!” Mallory pressed a hand over her heart, teary-eyed. “That’s what my degree’s in. Interior design.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.” I tried to exude the same level of enthusiasm she carried through each word, but I still sounded cold in comparison. I tried a little harder to match her pitch and tone when I said, “Do you work for a company, or on your own, or something like that?”

“Just little old me.” She propped both hands beneath her chin, like striking a pose for a magazine cover. “I’m working with a few land developers now. People around here aren’t as apt to hire an interior designer, but I’ve started doing customs for people online and stuff. It’s so nice now that the kids are older and I actually have time to build my career. But seriously, enough about me. What do you do again?”

Oh, I work that barely-over-minimum-wage job at the cafe in town and live in a cabin at the domestic violence shelter down the road.

“Pastry decoration,” I said. “I bake too, but mostly I decorate cakes.”

“That’s right!” She snapped her fingers, nodding. “Sebastian did mention that. You’re what made Maple & Thyme’s food actually start tasting good.”

Posture eased, I laughed and shook my head. “Mostly, I just write Happy Birthday in icing.”

“Don’t let her self-deprecate,” Simone said, still scanning the yard out the window. “You went to Sophia Albertson’s birthday party a couple months ago with Gabby, right? Gwen made that cake. The one that looked like a princess ballgown.”

“No shit. That was amazing.” Mallory waved me off. “That’s why you and Sebastian are so happy together. He doesn’t know how to give himself credit either.”

“Touché,” I said. “You know, that reminds me. You guys were friends growing up, right? He says he was a total dork back then, but I just can’t picture it.”

“Oh yeah, complete dweeb,” she said, laughing. “We weren’t really friends then. I mean, kind of? I was friends with Sarah, and Seabass was always with Sarah. She had Liz around the same time I had Aidan, so after she...” All that whimsy silliness fizzled out. She cleared her throat and forced the smile back on. “Anyway, when he got Liz, we got the kids together for playdates and stuff. We’re closer to friends now than we were then.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I gotcha.”

“He’s told you about Sarah and everything, right?” She sat on one of the leather barstools by the island. “I just—Well, he doesn’t go into it that much, and I don’t wanna step on any toes or anything.”

More than you know. “Yeah, we’ve talked about it. It’s hard on him. But no, you didn’t betray his confidence or anything.”

“Thank god.” On a sigh, she laughed—a quiet, half-hearted one. “I’m so grateful he stepped in, though. Jason would’ve ruined that girl.”

“Jason—is that Lizzie’s dad?” Simone asked.

“More like sperm donor,” Mallory said. “He walked out after Sarah died. Probably because he knew that if he stuck around, Sebastian would’ve killed him.”

Interest clearly piqued, Simone spared me a glance and landed back on Mallory. “What?”