Point of Betrayal by Ann Roberts Page A

It was hard to imagine anyone staring at her so blatantly, although she knew Brian endured the flirtations and overt come-ons from dozens of women. He was beefcake with long blond hair and earrings. He’d done some modeling in his teens and hated everything but the money. He preferred to work with his hands, which was why he enjoyed plumbing and would inherit the family business, but he only had eyes for Lynne, his long-time girlfriend.
    The women glanced again but Brian didn’t notice. The extra attention was new to her, although Ari had maintained throughout their relationship that women regularly stared at her. She’d scoffed and assumed that Ari was trying to bolster her self-confidence, which was nonexistent. At least that’s what her new therapist was helping her understand. She had no belief in herself except in her job, and now that was gone.
    She sucked back a sob, something she’d frequently done during the last nine months. The women chatted and absorbed the view, but one caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back. She liked it. As her body morphed into a physique that matched her brother’s, more women flirted with her at the gym, in the grocery store and now on the hiking trail. It was the fuel she needed even though she wasn’t ready to date.
    She was still getting over Ari, but every time a woman looked at her or spoke in a voice filled with laughter, she moved another step away from her pain and inched closer to a new life. She equated it to the childhood game of Chutes and Ladders. There were going to be gains and losses—such as any time she thought of Ari. She hated her and had told her as much in an email, but Ari still seemed to have a stranglehold on her heart. When she was reminded of her, she’d roll the hostility that evoked into a solid sphere as strong as a ball bearing and rechannel it into a mile run or an hour at the gym.
    Lost in the past, she didn’t notice one of the women had sidled up next to her until she cleared her throat.
    “Oh, sorry,” Molly said. Brian had wandered to another spot and she was alone with the cute stranger. “I’m in my own little world today.”
    “I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but that’s so lame, something my grandmother would say.”
    The sun reflected off her white teeth, and Molly resisted the urge to shield her eyes. Now that they were only a few feet apart she guessed the other woman was probably in her early twenties. Molly’s self-confidence took another step forward. Since she was thirty-seven, she must look good if a youngster found her attractive.
    “Just taking in the view,” she said. “I’ve only been up here a few times. I’m Molly.”
    “I’m Willow. It’s nice to meet you, Molly.”
    Willow’s hiking partner motioned that she wanted to head back down and Willow turned to go. “Maybe I’ll see you up here again.”
    She nodded. “Sure.”
    “Maybe we could get a smoothie or something afterward.”
    “Okay,” she said as Willow disappeared down trail. “Bye.”
    She glanced at Brian who was laughing and watching. “What?”
    “A date,” he said playfully.
    “No,” she disagreed. “It would just be a smoothie.”
    “You think you’re ready for that?” he asked seriously. She scowled and started back down. “I mean, it’s only been a few months since you’ve been home,” he said, following behind. “Have you talked with Ari?”
    She whirled around with a fierce expression. “I never want to see her again. I hate her. Biz can have her.”
    He stepped back and held up his hands as some hikers passed them. “Okay, sis. I got it.”
    “Good,” she said and hustled down the trail.
    They returned to the street in half the time it took to ascend the mountain. She gazed up and felt a sense of accomplishment.
    “Thirty minutes,” she whispered. “I can do that.”
    * * *
     
    She found Andre seated poolside with some of her neighbors. He looked completely out of place in a three-piece suit next to