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together?”
    â€œI did.” Bailey buffed her nails on her bodice. “With my mother’s help.”
    â€œWhere is your mom?”
    â€œOver there.”
    Lola stood with my father near the plate-glass windows.He was dressed casually in a white linen shirt and beige trousers; she was dressed similarly to Bailey in a shimmery shift and heels. They were staring at the view and chatting out of the sides of their mouths. Or were they arguing? About Bailey marrying Tito? When Bailey first announced they were engaged, Lola worried that they were rushing things. They had only known each other a short time, and at first, they had been antagonists. Well, Bailey mostly, not Tito. In fact, the scrappy journalist had tried to win her over by playing secret admirer. He sent her all sorts of tokens. Neither she nor I realized they were for her. Soon after we put two and two together, and, following his stand-in performance as a magician during one of our events, she fell for him.
    â€œNo!” Dad spun toward Lola and stabbed a finger into his palm. Something snagged in my gut. They weren’t discussing Bailey and Tito, that was for sure. “It’ll be her undoing.”
    She
who
? Why?
    â€œI swear, that Sylvia—”
    â€œDarling.” Lola put a hand on Dad’s arm.
    â€œShe’s a nuisance to everyone in the neighborhood.”
    Uh-oh.
    â€œPlease.” Lola rubbed a hand along his back.
    My father blew out a long stream of air and seemed to calm down. He was not a hothead by nature. Allowing one’s emotions to rule one’s actions had been drummed out of him during his stint with the FBI. Sure, there were others who had served with him who weren’t in control of their actions, but Dad was cool and calculating. He could see all sides of an argument. That was what he had tried to impart to my siblings and me; I wasn’t as good a learner as the other two.
    Blowup defused, I said to Bailey, “Where is the groom-to-be?”
    â€œLate. Big story over at The Pier. Lover’s quarrel at Boardwalk Hot Dogs.” She winked. “I hear it’s steamy.”
    I groaned at the pun.
    â€œI think he also got sidetracked by the stunt show.”
    â€œWhere is that being held?” I asked.
    â€œMidway down The Pier,” Rhett said. His sporting goods store was near the street side of the boardwalk. “They’ve set up a mock Old West street in front of the playhouse.”
    â€œTwice a day, a troupe of players puts on a show,” Bailey said. “I hear it’s great. Real shoot-’em-up cowboy stuff like you’d see in the movies. The Wild West Extravaganza group hired some guys from Hollywood. You and I”—she motioned between the two of us—“should go see it this week.”
    â€œYou’re on.”
    A waitress passed near us carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres.
    A delighted smile spread across Rhett’s face. “Mmm, Bailey, what smells so good?”
    She hooked her thumb toward the kitchen. “Katie has worked up an incredible menu, keeping to this week’s Wild West theme.”
    â€œCowboy food for your engagement party?” I said, amazed. “Not French?” Bailey had been telling me for weeks that she’d wanted something upscale with lots of tasty appetizers and elegant cheese platters. My mouth had been watering for days at the thought of onion soup, warm Brie, and
pommes frites
.
    â€œNope. Barbecue. Tito suggested the idea. Katie is making her famous dry-rub ribs.”
    â€œTonight? Yes!” I cheered. Who needed hard-to-pronounce French food anyway?
    â€œWith baked beans, cornbread, and biscuits.” Bailey laughed. “I know. It’s not your typical engagement party fare, but who cares? If my man wants it, he gets it.”
    Rhett elbowed me. “I like the way she thinks.”
    Teasingly I gave him the evil eye. “Don’t expect that kind of royal