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off, the other woman was wearing a gorgeous pair of hot pink Steve Weitzman platforms which made her legs look even longer and her stature even taller.
    “What are you doing here?” Was it her imagination, or did she hear guilt edge into Jack’s voice?
    Lexy slid her eyes over to meet Jack’s, her heart clenching when she saw how nervous he looked.
    “Sprinkles ran over from my house … I thought you were working?” She glanced from Jack to the woman.
    “Oh, I am. I just came home to pick up these leftovers for supper.” Jack held up a Styrofoam container. Lexy remembered he had said he was going to stop in to pick up his dinner … apparently he had just forgotten to mention it would be with another woman.
    Jack cleared his throat. “Lexy, this is an old friend … Simone.” He gestured to the other woman. “Simone, this is my fiancee, Lexy Baker.”
    The two women narrowed their eyes at each other as they shook hands. Lexy got the distinct impression that Simone was sizing her up much the same way a snake sizes up its prey, right before it attacks.
    “Oh, I didn’t know you were engaged.” Simone snuck a look at Lexy’s ring finger. Lexy wondered if Jack had conveniently forgotten to mention that he had a fiancee or if it simply hadn’t come up in conversation.
    Jack stood off to the side, fidgeting and running his fingers through his hair.
    “Are you working together?” Lexy asked innocently.
    “What? Oh, no. Simone just happened to stop by unexpectedly.”
    “Oh, that was good timing. I mean since you just stopped by the house to pick up your supper.”
    “Actually, I was waiting for Jack,” Simone said. “I’m only in town for a few days and I really wanted to spend some time catching up. I didn’t realize he would be working tonight.”
    You didn’t have enough time the other day? Lexy raised an eyebrow at the other woman but was smart enough not to voice her thoughts.
    Jack came over beside Lexy. He tried to put his arm around her, but she shrugged him off, bending down to pick up Sprinkles instead.
    “Well, I’ll let you two catch up then.” She turned toward the door without even a look at Jack.
    Jack sprinted after her. “Lexy, wait.”
    Her stomach flipped as he grabbed her by her arm and turned her to face him. Looking up into his eyes, she saw a pleading look pass through them. Lexy wrinkled her brow. This was all very confusing … on the one hand, it seemed like Jack was trying to reassure her that everything was fine. But on the other, he had an ex-girlfriend in his kitchen.
    Lexy didn’t know what to think and decided the best course of action was to polish off the bottle of wine she’d left on her kitchen counter before making any rash decisions.
    Jack tried to lean in to kiss her, but she was still holding Sprinkles so he couldn’t get close enough. Which was just fine with Lexy … she wasn’t sure she wanted a kiss from Jack right now.
    “I’ll call you tomorrow,” He said managing to brush his lips against her forehead. “We’re still on for tomorrow night, right?”
    “Sure,” Lexy said, her stomach plummeting as she walked out the door. She wasn’t sure what was going on. She couldn’t say for sure that Jack was cheating on her … it could be all innocent on his part.
    But judging by the looks she was getting from Simone, everything wasn’t all innocent on her part. She could sense a hint of purpose and shrewdness behind those baby blue eyes. Jack might not be doing anything wrong, but Lexy knew one thing for sure … Simone was up to something.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    It was ten minutes till two the next day when Lexy finally managed to get the food for the memorial to the retirement center.
    “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it,” Nans said looking at her watch pointedly.
    “Sorry. I planned on getting here earlier, but I got a late start today.” Mostly due to the bottle of wine I drank last night, Lexy thought.
    Balancing two trays of pastry