LITMIR.BIZ

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a guest scheduled who would talk about the sexual significance of hardware items like bolts, screws and nuts, which would give her an opening for more anticonstruction comments. She really wanted to do that show.

      “As Edgecomb put it, you can rag on this project all you want—on your own time.” Ava’s grin was framed by purple lip gloss. “I have to give you credit, though. I never would have dreamed you’d find a way to connect sex with construction.”

      “Google is a girl’s best friend.” But the leap had been an easy one. Jess Harkins and sex were forever linked in her mind, although she’d take splinters under her fingernails before admitting to anyone at the station that she had a personal grudge against the general contractor for the project.

      “I would love to be a fly on the wall when somebody tells that builder about tonight’s show. Can you imagine some manly construction dude being called a wimpy-dick on the air? Good thing your phone number’s unlisted.”

      “I didn’t call him a wimpy-dick.” Katie smiled her secret smile. “That was Dr. Astorbrooke’s theory, not mine.” She hoped the word would get back to Jess, though. Served him right.

      “Yeah, I noticed that you protected yourself nicely.” Ava’s dimples flashed. “So are you gonna ease up on the smear campaign?”

      Not on your life. “I’ll talk to Edgecomb.” Katie checked the clock on the wall. “What were the other messages?”

      “One was from Cheryl, who said—” Ava paused to read from the message “—‘Give ’em hell, Katie. Let’s go for margaritas at six tomorrow. Usual place.’” Ava looked up. “She said a bunch more stuff, but that was the gist.”

      “Got it. Thanks.”

      “Can I come?”

      “Sure, why not?” Katie suspected that Ava was outgrowing her regular crowd of slackers and wanted to find a different group to hang with. Katie and her best friend Cheryl, a trial lawyer, might look pretty good to Ava right now.

      “Great! Thanks.”

      “It’ll be fun. Any more messages?”

      “Uh, yeah. Your mother wants to know why you’re picking on that nice Harkins boy.”

      “Oh.” She heard the sound of a second shoe dropping. Obviously Ava had saved that message for last. She was like a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out juicy gossip. Doggone Mom anyway.

      Cheryl knew better than to leave any incriminating messages with Ava, but Mom…well, she’d always liked having Jess around. She’d been upset when Katie had broken up with him. She might even want people at the station to know he was an ex-boyfriend.

      Ava eyed Katie with interest. “I’m assuming she means the guy who runs Harkins Construction.”

      “Um, yeah.”

      “Your mom knows him?”

      Katie thought quickly. She hadn’t wanted anybody at the station to figure out her connection with Jess, but thanks to dear old Mom, Ava already had an idea there was one. If Katie didn’t come clean, Ava might start to speculate, which could be worse.

      Moving closer to Ava’s desk, Katie lowered her voice. “Listen, this can’t become common knowledge.”

      “You can trust me.” Ava’s dark eyes gleamed.

      “I’m serious. If this information gets out, it could be really bad for me.”

      “It won’t get out.”

      “Good.” She had to hope that Ava was highly motivated to continue the friendship and be invited to future happy hours with her and Cheryl. “Back in high school I dated Jess Harkins my senior year.”

      Ava blinked. “No shit. Wow. I guess it didn’t work out, huh?”

      “No, it didn’t.”

      “Um, are you into revenge or something?”

      “No.” She kept telling herself it wasn’t revenge. Justice was more like it. Protecting what was rightfully hers. “It’s one of those crazy coincidences.”

      “But you said he was sexually compensating by putting up that high-rise. That sounds like you have an ax to grind.”

      “Remember, I didn’t say he was. Dr. Astorbrooke—”

      “I know, I know. But you’re the one who invited her to be on the show. Was he that bad in bed?”

      “Ava, I’m not going to answer that.” Katie realized that in trying to prevent gossip, she might have made things worse.

      Ava slumped back in her chair. “Which means you’re not gonna tell me why you guys broke up.”

      “Nope. Sorry.”

      “Damn. I suppose your mom doesn’t know either, or she wouldn’t be saying he’s a nice boy.”

      Katie wasn’t so sure about that. A high percentage of mothers, including hers, would have been deliriously happy with Jess’s prom-night decision. But Katie had been wounded beyond belief.

      She’d thought she was over it, but then the Harkins Construction sign had popped up next door. The developer’s long-range plan to demolish this entire block that included her grandmother’s house was bad enough, but having Jess be a part of it added insult to injury. She wondered if he even remembered that her grandparents had owned this house.

      She might not have told him. They’d been too busy making out in his old Ford Galaxie to talk about family history. She remembered feeling in control of her life again, recovered from the blows of losing her grandmother and the house she’d loved. She’d been sure she could make it all happen—become a disc jockey just like her grandfather, stay in Tucson where her friends were and lose her virginity to Jess on prom night.

      But Jess, her first love, the boy she’d counted on to be crazy about her in the same way her grandfather had been crazy about her grandmother, had declined to cooperate with that last part. Once again she’d experienced that horrible loss of control over something important to her. She never wanted to feel that vulnerable again.

      “I can see why you don’t want anybody knowing he used to be your boyfriend,” Ava said. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep quiet.”

      “I appreciate that more than I can say.”

      “No problemo.”

      “Thanks.” Katie had no choice but to trust Ava with the volatile information. At least they hadn’t gotten into the nitty-gritty of her sexual history with Jess—or rather, her lack of a sexual history. “Well, I’m outta here. See you at six tomorrow at Jose’s. You know where it is, right?”

      “Of course.”

      “Maybe we can sit outside on the patio.”

      “If I get there first, I’ll snag a table for us.” Ava sounded overjoyed to be included, so maybe she would resist the urge to gossip.

      “Sounds good.” Katie headed for the door, an antique that had been hand-carved in Mexico. Her grandfather had hauled it back from Nogales in the back of his pickup, along with several carved interior doors, as a special present for her grandmother. He was always doing things like that to show how much he loved her. And she’d been the same—baking his favorite desserts and haunting garage sales to find the old LPs he collected. They’d had something special going on.

      Before Katie could reach for the knob, it turned with a soft click. A thrill of premonition ran down her spine as the door opened. A second later she was looking into a pair of angry brown eyes that brought a jolt of recognition. Her heart raced exactly as it used to back in high school.

      Jess Harkins had caught tonight’s show.

      2

      JESS HADN’T SEEN

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