I frowned. Of all the negative traits I was realizing about my lover, I sure hoped cheating wasn’t one I had to add to the list.

Stacy protested the logic in that. “He asked me to meet him, though. Hudson Pierce doesn’t seem like the type to mix up his dates. If anyone could successfully pull off an affair, that man could.”

That’s exactly why Norma scared me. But, like Stacy was saying, if Hudson were really with Norma—or back then, with Celia—wouldn’t he be better at covering his tracks? That was the part that didn’t make sense.

Maybe Stacy had misread his intentions. “How did he make you feel like he liked you? I thought you only accompanied him to that charity event last year.” Taking a stab in the dark, I added, “I didn’t realize you were together.”

Stacy lowered her eyes. “We weren’t. Not really.” She ran her hands along the counter behind her. “After that charity event he never asked me out again. But we talked a lot—by email. He flirted. Sent me flowers a couple of times. That’s why I thought there was a possibility. That night on the video was the first time he’d offered to see me in person again.”

“Maybe they were dicking with you together.” Liesl wiped her freshly “manicured” hand on her jeans. “You know. Like maybe the emails weren’t from him.”

“You mean Celia sent them?” I considered it. I’d certainly learned Celia wasn’t to be trusted, that she’d manipulate information for her benefit. “Yeah, she could have.” And I liked that scenario better than some of the others.

Stacy, on the other hand, didn’t like the idea at all. She straightened up to her full height and narrowed her eyes in my direction. “Are you saying that you think Hudson couldn’t possibly like me? That’s pretty nervy to assume. What, you don’t think I’m good enough for him?”

Man, that woman had claws. It wasn’t even me who’d suggested the idea.

I put my hands up in an attempt to calm her. “No. That’s not it at all. There’s just details that don’t add up. Like you said he seemed surprised to see you there. And when I mentioned you being there to meet him, he had no idea what I was talking about. Total deer in the headlights. Maybe he was faking his reaction—I’m not denying that’s a possibility. But that’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you. I’m trying to figure it out for myself.”

Liesl poked me with her elbow. “And tell her about Celia WerWhore.”

I ignored her jab though it inwardly made me smile. “That’s the other thing, Stacy. Celia tried to pull a scam on me recently. And now she’s messing with me in other ways. I may not be the first of Hudson’s interests to get that treatment.”

Stacy’s posture didn’t change, but her expression said she was pondering the new information. “So when he took me to the charity event, I showed up on her radar?”

“Possibly.” I hoped that was it. Otherwise Hudson was lying to me about his relationship with Stacy. “And possibly not.” That was the problem with secrets—anything was potentially the truth.

Stacy’s eyes grew dim, as if the idea that all of it had been a hoax disappointed her more than catching the guy she liked with another woman. I got that. She’d wanted Hudson Pierce to be interested in her. Simply by being a woman, I could relate to crushing on a guy. Being me, I could relate to crushing on Hudson. If I’d discovered he’d faked being into me…well, that would have been more devastating than the current situation I was in.

I decided to give her some compassion. “But even if it wasn’t Hudson who wrote those emails, Celia obviously thought you were a threat. That has to mean he showed some interest in you in front of her.”

Stacy blew out a stream of air. “It’s actually an interesting theory. It fits in some ways.”

“Do tell.” Liesl was as eager now for the information as I was.

“Like I said, he did act strange when I came up to him. And whenever he came in the shop, he ignored me. As if he hadn’t said all the beautiful things he’d said to me online. He was very poetic. His emails were like long letters.”

“I’m not claiming to know who the actual author was,” I started tentatively, afraid of hurting Stacy’s feelings more, “but from what I know of Hudson, he’s not much of a letter writer. And Celia does seem to be comfortable around the literary world.” The quotes she’d picked to highlight in my books indicated as such, anyway.

“What was the email address he sent from?” Occasionally Liesl came up with things I should have asked.

Stacy wrinkled her brow. “[email protected], I think.”

I was already shaking my head when Liesl asked, “Is that his email?”

“I only know of his Pierce Industries account. He uses it for both business and personal, but he rarely sends personal emails.” Or if he did, I wasn’t aware.

The bell rang, announcing Stacy’s next client. She looked to the door then back to us, as if she was torn.

I felt the same way. There was more to potentially uncover, but I’d promised we’d be in and out. Besides, there probably wasn’t anything else I could know without reading the actual emails and that seemed like too much to ask from Stacy unless she offered. “Thanks again, for your time and your answers. I know you’re busy now.”

She nodded as she crossed in front of us to open the door. With her hand on the knob, she paused. “I should be thanking you too, I suppose. You’ve enlightened the situation.” She opened the door before I could respond. “Vanessa? Welcome to Mirabelle’s. Come on in.”

Stacy’s client walked in and we headed out.

“If I think of anything else,” Stacy called after me. “I’ll contact you.”

It was a hopeful ending to the conversation. If she was anything like me—and very few people were, but it was possible—she’d go home and reread all the emails “Hudson” sent with the new scenario in mind. Maybe she’d find something there and send me a note.

I texted Jordan and discovered he’d found a meter down the block. He waved, letting us know his location.

Liesl linked her arm in mine as we walked toward the Maybach. “Do you think you learned anything?”

I shrugged. “I’d like to believe it was all a scam on Celia’s part. But that doesn’t answer why Hudson was kissing her or why he won’t tell me the truth about it.”