Want to Know a Secret? (24)

I feel my face flush. “You watched my show?”

He pops the rest of the turnover in his mouth. “Yeah. Maria put it on the computer. You’re pretty good in front of the camera.”

“Well, thanks.” I smile. “Would you like another one?”

He laughs. “I would, but are you sure you’ll have enough for the book club?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I made way too many. Take two!”

He looks hesitant, so I remove the two extra turnovers myself and hold them out to him. (My hands are clean—I have excellent hygiene when it comes to handwashing. The secret to good food is good sanitary practices.) After a couple of beats, he takes the turnovers from me, and I feel his thumb graze my palm. At his touch, a tingle goes through my body.

All of a sudden, I’m feeling a little breathless. Sean’s eyes are on me, and I expect him to start eating the turnovers, but he doesn’t. He’s just looking at me.

“I’ll put these inside,” he says. “Don’t want to ruin dinner.”

“Sure,” I breathe.

His blue eyes are still on my face. “Thanks, April.”

“You’re welcome,” I manage.

I tear my eyes away from him. I can’t let him know what I’m thinking. Maria is becoming one of my best friends. I can’t be having these thoughts about her husband. And after that whole mess with Mark, I don’t want there to be even a hint of a scandal around me. It’s stupid to even think about it a little bit.

That kiss with Mark was a one-time thing. I learned my lesson.

Sean heads back inside the house, and I hurry the rest of the way to Julie’s place. She’ll kill me if I’m late, and I’m already in dangerous territory. Julie cannot be charmed with delicious apple turnovers.

I’m the last one to arrive, but everyone is still standing around, so we haven’t officially begun yet. I place the tray of apple turnovers on the dining table with the other food and go around to greet my neighbors.

“April!” It’s Chelsea Buerger, who lives at the end of the block. I haven’t seen her since the start of the school year because her nanny has been getting the kids, and she looks great. Her forehead is so smooth. I wonder if she got Botox. I can’t ask though. Her husband works for the Yankees, and they’re loaded.

“Hi, Chelsea.” I give her a hug. We hug a lot in the club for some reason. Hug hello and hug goodbye. “What’s up?”

“You’re doing the silent auction again this year, right?” she asks.

I nod. “That’s right.”

“Are you still taking donations?”

“Absolutely. What do you have to donate?”

Chelsea’s face is shining. “How about four box seats for a Yankees game?”

Wow. We could get thousands for that. “Chelsea, that’s amazing!”

A few of the other women are listening in, and this announcement has gotten everyone’s attention. “I’ll definitely bid on that,” Leah Morgan says. “My husband would be over the moon.”

“And I’ll outbid you,” Jean Rothenburg pipes up.

“I’ll put it up on the website as soon as I get home,” I promise.

Julie rolls her eyes, but she’s got to be secretly pleased. Parents at the school can bid on items in the auction similar to eBay. They know what other people are bidding, and they all try to outbid each other to get what they want. Sports tickets are always a big item. That’s why the silent auction earns so much money for the PTA.

“All right.” Julie claps her hands together. “Let’s take a seat and start our discussion.”

We all take our seats around the dining table, and I make a point to sit down next to Maria. It will be fun to exchange meaningful expressions with her during the book club. She winks at me. “I see you went with the turnovers.”

“Yes, they came out really delicious.”

She licks her lips. “I can’t wait to try them.”

“I gave a couple to Sean on the way over, and he thought they were really good.”

Maria frowns. “You gave a couple to Sean?”

Why did I say that? It seemed innocent enough, but now that I’m hearing the words on my lips, I wish I could take them back. “He was raking leaves in the yard, so…”

“Oh.”

“I mean, just to thank him for helping Bobby with soccer. You know?”

Kathy Tanner is sitting across from us at the table, and she seems to have overheard our exchange. “April is just so generous,” she says. “She’s always got a treat for anyone who wants it.”

I cringe at the edge in her voice. She suspects something happened between me and Mark. But she doesn’t know. Not for sure.

Or maybe she does know. Maybe she’s the one who texted me that photo. To torment me.

But no. If Kathy knew for sure, she would skip the barbs and go straight to scratching my eyes out. And anyway, nothing happened between me and Mark. It was just one kiss, for God’s sake! And nobody needs to know about it. Not if that picture doesn’t get out.

Maria gives me another strange look, but she doesn’t say anything else. She can’t possibly be jealous. All I did was pass her husband on the street and offer him some pastries. And his hand brushed briefly against mine, but she doesn’t even know that part. I mean, I’m married. So…