You've Been Warned

They both nod, getting the point. I need to be distracted, not prodded. So they dig deep into their daily lives and share the best stories they can think of.

Connie kicks things off by telling us about the guy from her office who got caught making photocopies of his penis. I don’t believe her, but she swears it’s true.

“I bet he was using the enlarge button,” quips Beth.

We laugh and order, and by the time our food arrives, the conversation has made its way around to my job and the wonderful Penley.

“Let me guess,” says Beth. “While we’re stuffing our faces, the Pencil’s at the gym, burning off her last remaining calorie.”

“She definitely is a gym rat,” I say. “Though right now she’s out in Greenwich for some charity lunch.”

“You know, we really should meet her,” says Connie.

Beth raises a brow. “Why on earth would we want to do that?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. What do you think, Kris?”

“I think she’s better left to your imagination,” I say with a chuckle. God, that feels good.

Connie smiles and digs back into her chef’s salad. I’m reaching for my iced tea when Beth starts to giggle. She’s looking out the window.

“Check out that serious PDA going on across the street,” she says, pointing.

Connie and I follow her finger to see a man and woman engaged in a serious lip-lock right under a “Don’t Walk” sign. There’s not an inch of daylight between them as their “public display of affection” seems to last forever. Eventually, the woman pulls back, playfully pushing the man while glancing about as though to see if anyone’s watching.

“Omigod!” I sputter.

Connie and Beth turn to me in unison. “What is it?” asks Connie.

“That’s Penley!”

“Are you serious, Kris? You’re joking, right? Tell me you’re joking.”

“I thought you said she was out in Greenwich,” says Beth.

“I know. That’s what she told me.”

The three of us look back out the window. The man is whispering something in Penley’s ear. Sweet nothings, it appears.

“Wow,” says Beth. “You never mentioned how good-looking her husband is.”

“You’re right,” I say. “Only that’s not her husband.”

Chapter 76

I JUMP UP FROM MY CHAIR, jolting the table and nearly knocking over my iced tea. I sprint for the door with a hurried “good-bye” to my friends.

“Kris, wait!” I hear Connie call.

But I don’t. I can’t. This could be important, a key to unraveling everything.

Spilling out of the restaurant, I immediately look across the street. The “Don’t Walk” sign now reads “Walk.” And Penley’s gone.

So is Stephen. Tall, dark, and handsome Stephen. Her lover, from the look of it.

Quickly glancing around, I spot the couple farther down the sidewalk. Before I know it, I’m following them.

I can’t believe this. The plot, as they say, is thickening.

Not only is Penley having an affair, the guy is someone she set me up with as a blind date!

But for all my disbelief, there’s something else.

Relief.

I’ve been dragging a full measure of guilt like a heavy suitcase since the first day Michael—“a married man”—and I got together.

But now, seeing Penley cheating on him, suddenly I don’t feel so bad.

Yeah, I know, two wrongs don’t exactly make a right. It simply makes it a little easier.

I continue to follow Stephen and Penley. They’re not arm in arm or holding hands, and to the passerby they could just as easily be friends as lovers.

That is, until they reach another “Don’t Walk” sign. It’s as if something comes over them, or, more specifically, over Stephen. As they stand waiting at the corner, he can’t take his hands—or lips—off her.

Penley doesn’t stop him, but I can tell she’s aware they’re out in public. She has a lot of friends in the city, and though they’re mixed in with about eight million strangers, one can’t be too careful. There’s no telling when someone she knows might see her.

Like me.

The “Walk” sign flashes, and the make-out session gives way to their continuing stroll. I fall right in step while confronting my next emotion. Fear.

There’s no way Penley and Stephen only started seeing each other in the past couple of days, and that can mean only one thing.

She knows.

Something, at least. If Penley doesn’t know for sure about Michael and me, she at least suspects. What else could explain Stephen’s dinner talk about being involved with someone married? Was he trying to help her get a confession from me or was it all about screwing with my mind?

Either way, Penley’s “setting me up” with Stephen was truly a setup! And I didn’t see it.

This changes everything.

The two of them come to a stop at the next corner, and Stephen picks up where he left off with more tonsil hockey and some pretty serious groping. Penley’s going at it now too. They really ought to get a room.