“The stitches are kinda more by my butt,” she whispered loudly. “But you can kiss that later.”
Nico’s shoulders were shaking, and the look he gave her wasn’t something she recognized. Rodney had never looked at her that way.
“Why are you looking at me that way?”
“What way?”
“I don’t know.” She closed her eyes. “I’m tired.”
“Then you should sleep.”
She opened her eyes, and the look was still there.
Wait.
She had seen that look before, but only in movies. And it was always right at the best part. Megan took a finger and traced around Nico’s kissable lips. “You said… you could fall in love with me.”
He kissed the tip of her finger. “Uh-huh.”
“And I told you…” She wiggled her finger, but he’d captured it between his lips. “I told you to slow down. Slow. Down.”
“I am.” He smiled. “I promise.”
“Cross your heart?”
Nico finally leaned over and pressed the softest kiss to her lips, just as her eyes got too heavy to hold open.
“Cross my heart.”
Chapter 28
Toni, Megan, and Katherine sat in the observation room since no one was willing for them to sit in an interrogation room with Angela Calvo, least of all the woman’s high-priced attorney.
“Ms. Calvo,” Drew started. “I’m here to formally interview you about the events of March eighteenth of this year.”
Her attorney spoke. “As I have informed you, my client will be availing herself of her right to remain silent and will not be speaking to the police in this interview or any other.”
Drew didn’t take his eyes off Angela. “We have the gun, and the gunshot-residue tests confirm you shot at Ms. Alston.”
Angela said nothing.
“I’m going to be questioning Rodney Carpenter right after I finish with you,” Drew said. “Do you think he’s going to remain silent too?”
Angela reached for the bottle of mineral water her attorney had set out for her, drank from it, and stared at the mirror that Megan and the girls were sitting behind.
I see you, her expression read.
“She’s not going to give them anything,” Katherine said. “Her sister didn’t when she was questioned. And her partner attacked me in my own home.”
“Silence worked,” Megan said. “The jury found her sister not guilty in that case.”
“But here they have your testimony,” Toni said. “Yours and hopefully Rodney’s. They found the stolen grapevines in her greenhouse. That has to be enough to at least convict her of theft. Not to mention attempted murder.”
“But they can’t prove anything about the actual murder,” Megan said. “They can’t even prove there was a murder. All they have is blood, no body and no person reported missing.”
“I hate to admit they could get away with that part,” Toni said. “But these hills are pretty dense. If you wanted to hide a body out there, you could.”
“I’m going to try to talk to Rodney,” Megan said. “I think he’ll talk to me alone.”
Angela kept her eyes trained on the mirror, seeming to stare at the three of them as Drew and her attorney continued their tense exchange.
“I get nothing from her,” Toni said. “Not anger. Not pride. She’s just like a big empty hole.”
“I told you,” Katherine said. “Sociopath.”
Someone tapped on the door, and they turned. Henry opened the door with a tiny bundle in his arms. “Hey. I think someone is hungry.”
Toni grumbled, but she stood. “Come here, kid. I got you.”
Alida was three weeks old, and she and Toni had definitely figured out the whole breastfeeding thing. Toni complained about her football boobs, but Megan saw her friend’s whole face transform when she was feeding her daughter.
Toni settled Alida into the curve of her arm and tucked her rolled-up leather jacket under her elbow before she pulled up the black T-shirt with Whiskey ’n’ Mama written across the front and started to feed the baby.
“What do you think is going to happen to Fairfield Family Wines?” Katherine asked. “Or the Dolphin Cove Resort? Angela Calvo sank a lot of money into Moonstone Cove.”
“That may be something she’s counting on,” Megan said. “Are people going to be willing to convict her and lose all her money when she’s invested so much in the city?”
“Drew said they may look at a change of venue for the trial,” Toni said. “I don’t know if that would help or hurt.”
Katherine didn’t take her eyes off Angela through the window. “Well, at least we know the university is not going to change its stance on Alice Kraft’s record. They finally ruled on that. Apparently there were two professors on the ethics board who’d received anonymous threats regarding the case.”
“In her favor, or against?”
“In favor of lifting her censure,” Megan said. “They’d spoken to the police about it, but they hadn’t told the rest of the ethics committee out of fear that might influence their decision improperly.”
Megan shook her head. “Academics are weird.”
Katherine nodded. “We can be.”
“Megan, how are your kids doing?” Toni asked.
“They’re convinced their father had something to do with all this, so they’re pretty horrified, all in all. But they’ll be okay. Rodney keeps calling, and none of the kids will talk to him. Not even Cami.”
“His new girlfriend did try to kill their mom.” Toni ran her fingers through Alida’s curls. “I don’t think he should ever get to see them again.”
“I don’t think that’ll be up to him,” Megan said. “And I don’t know what’s the best thing for the kids.”
“How are they liking life at the winery?” Katherine asked.
Since they had no idea if Angela had other conspirators—or whether she might hire someone to go after Megan, Toni, and Katherine—all three of them had been taking extra precautions.
Toni and Henry had been staying with Toni’s brother for a few weeks at his place south of town. Katherine and Baxter had a police officer assigned to their house in town. And Megan, Trina, Adam, and Cami had taken over the guest rooms and the cottage at Nico’s place.
Was it convenient not having to travel for work? Yes. Did she feel pampered while all her stitches healed? Also yes.
Was it awkward to be in the same house as her possible new boyfriend, his kids, her kids, and a partridge in a pear tree?
Very much yes.
“I think we’re all pretty ready to get back to normal life,” Megan said. “It’s been nice having extra hands while I recuperated, and Nico kind of took over Cami’s driving lessons, which was a load off my mind.”
“Nico’s a really good driving teacher,” Toni piped up. “He taught me and most of the younger cousins.”
“He doesn’t seem to have that gut-wrenching fear that I have when Cami drives, so that’s definitely a plus. Still, I’m very ready to get back to normal life.”