One of Us Is Dead(54)

I furrowed my brow.

“Well, what do you think about increasing our life insurance payouts?”

“I don’t really think about it.” I pulled my hands away from his and grabbed my wineglass.

“I talked to the boys about it, and Dean is upping his and Olivia’s life insurance policy. I think we should too.” He leaned back and took a drink from his wine.

“Well, it makes sense for them. Dean has a shady job—whatever it is he does—and Olivia can’t stop getting plastic surgery,” I said with a small laugh, perching the glass back on my lips.

“But we have Riley. And what if something were to happen to one of us or, worse, both of us? I want to make sure he’d be well taken care of.”

I glanced around the room, thinking it over. What he was saying did make sense. We had never really talked about life insurance policies before, but we were getting older, and we did have Riley. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“Okay.” I nodded.

“Great. I’ll get the paperwork drawn up for us.” He kissed me on the cheek and reached for the remote. Before I could confess to him what I had intended, he pressed Play. It was probably for the best. Mark was a calm man, almost too calm. It was why he was the best plastic surgeon on the East Coast. Steady hands, still nerves. But I always sensed there was another side to him, a side even I wasn’t privy to, a dark side.





44

Shannon


Jenny combed a deep conditioning mask through my hair, carefully spreading it through my ends. Karen was seated beside me, while Keisha worked on trimming her hair and waxing her brow. I really didn’t need anything done today, but I figured some pampering would do me some good. I spent the night thinking of ways I could take down Bryce, but when I awoke this morning, I figured I had better start spending my time on something more positive. A good night’s rest and some Valium can do wonders for the mind. Rather than bringing Bryce down, I would try to refocus my energy on lifting myself up. Try was the key word. I’m sure if I saw Bryce’s smug face again, I’d feel differently.

Karen screamed in pain as Keisha pulled a strip of wax from her brow. “Ouch, what the hell, Keisha?”

“Sorry, you need to relax. You’re holding so much tension in your face.” Keisha waved her hands, fanning air on her, while Karen pressed her hand against the splotchy red skin.

“Beauty is pain, Karen,” I reminded her with a wink in the mirror.

“You would know, Shannon,” she spat back at me.

“Ooooh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the doctor today,” I teased. Karen took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and relaxed her face. It uncrumpled and became smooth again. Another deep breath in and out, then she reopened her eyes. Perhaps she had found out about Mark. It was clear he was cheating—at least to me it was. Bryce had cheated on me for months. I knew from the first time he was unfaithful. Intuition. I knew it. I didn’t believe it. But I knew.

“What’s going on, Karen?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing.”

“Lies. You’re tense and snappy. Now spill. If you can’t spill here, you can’t spill anywhere,” I said, setting my glass down.

“It’s Mark.”

“Ugh. It’s men. It’s always men.” I rolled my eyes.

“He told me last night that he was cutting his hours in Miami in the New Year and that he was planning a surprise vacation for us,” she confessed.

“Wow, Karen. A devoted husband and a surprise vacation. You sure have it tough.” Keisha’s tone was full of sarcasm.

“Oh, stop,” Jenny said.

“I’m just kidding, obviously. Go on,” Keisha said.

Keisha had a point. Why would Karen be upset over that? There was more to this story. There was always more to every story in Buckhead.

“No. Never mind.” Karen shook her head.

“Don’t be coy. Just tell us,” I said.

Karen took a deep breath. “Well, he admitted to being a bad husband because he’s been so overworked, so he was going to start focusing on us. I think I jumped the gun on believing he had done anything wrong. It’s me that’s wrong.”

Keisha gave Karen a confused look, which quickly turned to disapproval when her lips tightened and she cocked her head. She was hurt by Karen’s words. I wasn’t sure why, but she was.

“That’s good news then,” Jenny said. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m not sure I believe him.” Karen took another sip of her coconut water.

“Why?” Jenny asked.

“Because he’s a man.” I laughed.

Jenny patted my shoulder playfully. Karen ignored my comment. Keisha smiled.

“At least someone appreciates my humor,” I added.

“You know I do,” Keisha said.

“Not the time.” Karen huffed.

“Man bashing. There’s always time for that.” I held my hand up for a high five. Keisha did not leave me hanging either. It went from a high five to a fist bump.

“Will you guys stop?” Karen let out another huff.

“Fine. Fine. Fine. When you’re ready to join in on the fun, I’ll be waiting.” I gave her a coy smile.

“Me too,” Keisha added with a wink.