Raisin the Dead by Karoline Barrett

spend some time with me. Doesn’t make any sense. The only person Felicia ever worries about is Felicia.”
    I tried to keep upbeat, but this wasn’t exactly good news. How would he deal with having Felicia around? How long was she going to be around? Would it be a painful reminder of Jordan, or would it be like having Jordan again? The possibilities in my imagination were endless. “She’s gorgeous.” I didn’t know what else to say, and it wasn’t a lie. I didn’t want to cling to him and act all needy and childish. That wasn’t me. Usually, at least.
    He shrugged. “Not really. I mean, yeah, physically, maybe. Personality wise, she’s nothing like Jordan was. Jordan was the sweet girl next door. She didn’t primp and fawn over her appearance the way her twin did. She didn’t care about spackling on makeup. Felicia is cold, like marble. She’s a barracuda. Blaine was her third husband. Not surprised about the divorce.”
    â€œDo you think you have dealt with Jordan’s death?”
    He took my hand. “You know I have, babe. I’ve talked about Jordan with you more than I’ve ever talked about her, and her death, with anyone. I accept that she’s gone.” He caressed the side of my face. “My feelings for you aren’t casual, you know. Our relationship means everything to me. I love being with you.”
    I reached over and hugged him. “Me, too.” Neither of us had said the “L” word with an “I” before it and a “you” after it, but we were both okay with that.
    â€œWhere does she live?” I asked.
    â€œLast I heard she was living in France or Greece. That was a long time ago. I didn’t ask her. She barely kept in touch with her own family. I certainly had no reason to keep in touch.”
    â€œCouldn’t she have called you to ask you if you were dealing with Jordan’s death?”
    He grimaced. “She doesn’t have my number. I don’t want her to have it. I don’t know why she decided to come up. She must have contacted my parents. It’s bizarre. We’ve never been close. She was never close to Jordan.”
    â€œWhere is she now?”
    â€œShe’s staying at Castle Shore. I told her you and I had dinner plans, and that I’d talk to her tomorrow. I didn’t bother to tell her it was to convince her to leave.”
    â€œShe’s welcome to join us for dinner.” I wasn’t my mother’s daughter for nothing. Rudeness is never okay, no matter who it is. Well, almost never okay. As with everything, exceptions sometimes must be made.
    â€œShe’ll be fine. She said she wanted to order room service and get to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll convince her that she’s wasted her time, that she has nothing to worry about, and she can go home.”
    A quiver went through me. I trusted Sean with my life and my heart. However, something in me didn’t think that Felicia Adams was going to leave town because Sean told her to. Side note: I didn’t think her being in town was going to be good for Sean. Or for us.
    ***
    â€œThat must be super weird for him,” said Olivia on Monday morning when I arrived at Bread and Batter and told her about Felicia’s arrival. “What did he say about it?”
    â€œHe isn’t happy. He was supposed to convince her yesterday that he’s fine and she can leave. She’s at Castle Shore.”
    She stopped pulling bagels out of the oven and looked at me. “Did he?”
    â€œI’m not sure. He was busy all day. The police department got a shipment of horses. We texted and he said he’d tell me everything the next time we saw each other.”
    â€œHorses?”
    I nodded. “They want to have a few men doing mounted patrol.”
    Olivia smiled as her eyes got all dreamy. “Nothing sexier than a man in uniform on a horse.”
    I had no argument for that and