Want to Know a Secret? (73)

April finds him attractive though. It’s painfully obvious. Now that she’s done with Mark, she’s set her sights on Sean. She’s always giving him that coy smile and forcing her various fattening treats onto him. It’s sickening, considering the man is her neighbor’s husband and she’s married herself.

Anyway, I don’t catch Sean and April in a liplock. Thank God. He’s standing on a stool in her living room, changing a lightbulb while she watches him. But then he sees me walk in, and he gets this sheepish, guilty look on his face. He knows this doesn’t look good for him.

And April, of course, winks at me. Every time that woman winks at me, I want to strangle her.

“Sean is helping me with the lightbulb,” she explains to me. “He’s so much taller than me. It’s much easier for him… I don’t want to break my neck.”

“Of course,” I mutter. Even though I am only an inch taller than April, and I’ve changed every single lightbulb in our house dozens of times.

Sean finishes screwing in the bulb, and the living room lights up. April reaches out to touch his shoulder. “Thank you so much. You’re my hero.”

Sean glances at me and rubs the back of his neck. “It’s just a light bulb.”

“Let me get you those brownies I promised you before you go.”

April hurries off to the kitchen, leaving me and Sean alone in the living room. He shoots me a look. “I was just changing her lightbulb.”

“Sure,” I say.

He grits his teeth. “Don’t look at me that way, Julie. You know I love Maria. I would never—”

“Right,” I say. “Except I’m not the person you need to convince.”

He heaves a sigh. Part of me is hoping he’ll refuse April’s brownies, but he takes them from her before he leaves. I’m disappointed in him. One day it’s brownies, the next they’ll be in April’s bedroom. It’s a slippery slope. He just doesn’t know it yet.





Chapter 46


Maria notices something going on between Sean and April too.

At first, she laughs it off. But about a week after the blown lightbulb, I come over to Maria’s house in the morning and find her fuming mad. “Sean is over there again. At April’s house.”

Even I’m angry at Sean now. Why can’t he just say no to her? “Why?”

“She thought she saw a mouse.” Maria lifts her brown eyes. “Am I being paranoid? I feel like she’s just making things up to get him over there.”

She is absolutely not being paranoid. I don’t want to fan the flame though. “April’s husband doesn’t help her much.”

“Yeah…” She squeezes her hands together. Maria is attractive, but not as attractive as April. April is beautiful. And several years younger than Maria too. “But she could hire an exterminator. Sean doesn’t have to come running over there every single time. I mean, do you think she would… Do you think it’s possible…”

“Well,” I say slowly, “you trust Sean, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she says firmly.

“So there you go.”

But it’s clear Maria still feels anxious about the whole thing. I can see it on her face. She trusts Sean, but maybe not more than she mistrusts April.

“Why don’t we go over there?” I suggest. “We can make up some excuse.”

She must be truly suspicious, because she agrees to go over to April’s house. As we walk next-door, my stomach turns to butterflies. I’m not even sure what I’m hoping we’ll find. Part of me wants her to discover Sean and April going at it, so she’ll see what April is really like. But mostly, I don’t want Maria’s marriage destroyed. She’s had a hard life, and she doesn’t deserve that. And I also want to believe Sean is a good guy.

As we approach the front door, I can hear the voices coming from the backyard. Sean and April talking. Even from far away, I can hear the flirtatious tone in April’s voice.

Maria looks pale, and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. This doesn’t sound good.

We don’t end up knocking on the front door. I motion to Maria, and we walk along the side of the house so we can hear directly into the backyard. We can make out every word perfectly.

“I don’t know how to thank you, Sean.” April’s voice is dripping with suggestion. “You have been so kind. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Uh, well, no problem.”

A long pause follows. I imagine April running her hand along his biceps. I look at Maria and know she’s imagining the same. “If there’s anything I can do for you. Anything at all…”

“It’s fine.”

“I have an idea. Why don’t we go inside and have a beer together? I got this amazing beer from Amsterdam. You would love it.”

“April…”

“Oh, come on. Maria won’t mind. One beer.”

Maria’s eyes are wide as her husband contemplates following his sexy neighbor into the house. I want to reach out and hug her.

“I better go,” Sean says. “It’s getting late.”

“Don’t be silly. It’s still early. And I made cupcakes too. Come on.”