Chasing Happiness by Raine English Page B

was gone.
    Numb with rage and shock, Ariana had to grip the chair and push herself up in order to stand. She slugged over to her phone and started to dial Zoe’s number but quickly hung up. What if she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now? Ariana sure didn’t want to cause her more pain, so she called Katie instead. She answered on the second ring, and Ariana didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “Have you heard from Zoe tonight?”
    Katie hesitated slightly before answering. “She sent me a text. Why?”
    “I know what happened. Maggie told me.”
    Katie let out a long sigh. “I had a feeling Dan was a dirty dog. But Maggie?”
    The blood began to pound in her temples. “I know. I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked.”
    Katie’s tone softened. “How are you? Are you doing okay?”
    She swallowed the despair in her throat. “I lost a friend, but Zoe lost her would-be husband. How’s she coping?”
    “I’m not sure. She doesn’t want to talk. Said she was going to bed. I don’t think it’s really hit her yet, but come tomorrow, she’s going to need all the support we can give.”
    A dull ache settled in Ariana’s chest. “I feel partly to blame. Maggie and Dan met at my house.”
    Katie’s voice rose sharply. “Ari, nothing about their affair is your fault. Please know that.”
    “I’m feeling so many emotions right now that my head is spinning. I need to go to bed. I’ll see you at the shop in the morning.”
    “Don’t worry,” Katie reassured her. “Zoe’s tough. She’ll get through this. It might take a while, but we’ll be there to help.”
    “You’re right. Good night.” As Ariana hung up the phone, she remembered all the times Katie and Zoe had been there for her, and she was so thankful that they were such a big part of her life.
    Before getting into bed, she checked on Tabby and the kittens. They were all fast asleep. It would be nice if she could sleep that soundly. Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t the case. She wound up tossing and turning all night. At one point, she even shot up in bed after dreaming that Phil was standing over her. That nightmare had seemed so real that it was nearly dawn before she was able to fall back to sleep. If this kept up, she might have to ask Dr. Michaels to prescribe something, even though she was hesitant to do that after her terrible experience with diet pills.
    As she got ready for work, her thoughts shifted to Zoe. She had a pretty good idea how she must be feeling. Not that she’d ever walked in on Phil with another woman, but she didn’t need to. The writing had been on the wall. She was suddenly assailed by such bitterness that if she didn’t shift her thoughts away from the past, she could sink into another round of depression.
    Ariana went into the front hall, grabbed her handbag that was hanging from the back of a chair, and slipped it over her shoulder, then she grabbed her keys from the hall table.
    She was about to unlock the dead bolt on the front door when her fingers froze on the knob. The door wasn’t locked. She checked the bottom lock. That wasn’t locked either. How could that be? She never left her door unlocked. Could she have been so shaken up by last night’s events that it slipped her mind?
    The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she recalled the horrible dream she’d had. Could it have been real? Could Dan have really been watching her sleep? Was it possible that he’d gotten into her house?
    She raced around, checking for anything that might be out of place, but everything looked as it should, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, last night had been nothing more than a dream. Exhaustion must be clouding her judgment. She would make sure she called Dr. Michaels today. No more putting it off.

Chapter Seven
     
     
    Zoe looked up from the newspaper she’d been trying to read, when her mom walked into the kitchen. She hadn’t gotten past the headline because a picture of Dan and