Read Midnight Shimmer: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries Book 3) for Free Online

David is dumb?”
    “Please. He had you and instead played hide-the-weenie with thirty-two-year-old Sondra with an
O
? All he had to do was genuinely try and make things work with you and you would have forgiven him.” In a way, she wasn’t talking about Alicia anymore. She was remembering how she’d hoped and prayed that Dwayne Diamond would return, after he’d walked out on her and Tiffany. It shamed her to admit it, but she was fairly certain that she’d have taken him back.
    She’d recently become reacquainted with Dwayne when he’d got involved in a foolish moneymaking scheme that led to him being arrested for murder. She was pretty sure he’d have been better off if he’d stayed with her. She wasn’t big on revenge, but it was reassuring to know that she’d built a good life for herself and Tiffany, enjoyed her own home and a thriving business she loved, while Dwayne was still working as a two-bit country and western singer off the strip in Vegas, still trading on his fading good looks.
    She felt a kinship with Alicia. “And what is it about smart women like us that we fall for the dumb, unethical ones?”
    “I don’t think I am smart. I never learn from my mistakes. Do you?”
    Toni sipped green tea. “You know, I think I have.” She thought about Luke, who was so honest she sometimes wished he’d tell a little white lie just to save her feelings. But he never did. Luke was not the kind of guy who, if you asked, “Do these jeans make my butt look fat?” would tell you that you were the most beautiful woman in the world. He was more likely to tell you to spend more time at the gym and lay off the Twinkies. But he was also one of the most ethical people she knew. In balance, she was willing to accept the brutal honesty that came with the rock-solid morals of the man.
    She leaned forward and patted Alicia’s hand one more time. “And you will too. Next time.”
    “I wish I was better at being alone.”
    “Being alone isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a woman.”
    “Isn’t that the truth?”
    “But good for you—you came on the cruise anyway.”
    “I did. And I think that even if my grandson hadn’t come with me, I’d have come on my own. I’m fifty-eight years old. It’s time I got used to my own company.”
    Alicia glanced up and her eyes widened even as her face drained of color. She looked sick, and scared. “What are
you
doing here?” She sounded like she’d seen a ghost.
    “What?”
    “Oh my God, speak of the devil.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    But Alicia wasn’t paying any attention to Toni. Her gaze was fixed on something, or someone, on the other side of the deck. “I’ve got to go. Excuse me.” Alicia jumped up so fast her chair lurched back and then she stumbled out of the lounge area toward the stairs and elevators.
    She looked as though she were running away.
    But why? Who or what had panicked her?

Chapter Four
    A divorce is like an amputation; you survive, but there’s less of you.
    –  Margaret Atwood
     
    Toni looked back to where Alicia had been gazing when she acted as though she’d seen the first wave of the zombie apocalypse, but a large crowd had emerged onto the deck. Men and women, young, old, black, white. She caught a glimpse of a man with white hair disappearing into the fitness center. Had the unlamented David decided to join the cruise after all?
    Was he hoping to surprise his wife and lure her back?
    From the horrified expression on Alicia’s face, Toni didn’t think the ship’s chapel would be called upon for a renewal-of-vows service anytime soon.
    She gazed after Alicia. The woman had been so upset. Toni didn’t like to see anyone suffer, but she had a special soft spot for a woman duped and lied to by a charmer. She rose and decided to follow Alicia. She didn’t want to be pushy and if the woman didn’t want company and a sympathetic ear, then she’d leave her alone. But Alicia had already told Toni that she didn’t love being