“We’ll have to die more often,” he said. Then his phone rang. He stared at it and made a face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Chloe. About the apartment debacle, I’d guess.”
“I thought she was in France.”
“Must have just flown in. She can sort out the problem-I just hate to deal with that now.”
His phone stopped, then rang again.
“I should get this. Do you mind? Chloe can get hysterical.”
“Of course,” Beth said. “I’ll try the hot tub.”
When she emerged a half hour later, Alex was beaming.
“I can go home! Not that this hasn’t been a wonderful adventure. Let’s do it again.”
“When?”
“When another patient dies and forgets his wallet,” he winked.
Beth had forgotten they were enjoying this luxury suite on a dead man’s dime and the reminder left her chilled. Alex began gathering papers into his briefcase.
“Do you have a job?” she asked.
“In my family’s business, as a matter of fact. My uncle-the one Chloe just saw overseas-he’s well off and wants me to manage his investments one day. Right now I’m managing other people’s money.”
“Do you have family in England?”
“Some there, some in France. We’re a bit spread over the map.” He motioned for Beth to sit next to him and put his arm around her. “I do legitimate business. I just thought we’d have some fun on Mitchell because even if his widow catches on, she won’t have to pay for it. You can’t object to nipping a bit out of the credit card companies, can you?”
Beth shook her head. “They’re kind of douchebags.”
Alex squeezed her tighter. “You’re not just a pretty face. You’re a potty mouth.”
When Leah called her that night, Beth recounted her activities of the last twenty-four hours, minus the stolen credit card, in a torrent of enthusiasm.
“What about Todd?” Leah asked.
“He’s too boring for me.”
That night she should have been exhausted but felt too energized to sleep. She couldn’t stop making plans. She wanted to prove to Alex that she could contribute her share to the relationship. He’d shown her a magical night. The least she could do was take him to dinner. With someone else’s money.
The next day she went to work with a target in mind: Valerie. Her cranky coworker frequently left her purse under her desk. It wasn’t the best spot-if Valerie came back, she’d be caught-but Beth had issued herself a dare and had to go through with it. She found it surprisingly easy to rifle through the bag, fish out a Visa card, and put everything else back in its place so the theft would remain unnoticed.
Contacting Alex proved more difficult. She called and left a message, saying she had a surprise, but didn’t hear back that evening or the next day or night. The waiting stoked her restlessness. She paced inside her apartment for an hour the third night before putting on sweatpants and going for a run. She took her usual route up 18th Street from Pine, around the square, then west on Locust Street until she reached the Schuylkill River path. She ran for miles. It was nine o’clock when she got home and showered, but she felt stir-crazy again, her mind brimming with ideas. Her phone rang around nine forty-five. It was Todd. She didn’t answer. Then it rang again at ten.
“Hello, my long lost,” Alex said, as if he were the one who’d been trying to reach her.
They picked up where they’d left off, meeting in the square and heading to Parc, a French brasserie, where they enjoyed a bottle of champagne and some food.
“Surprise,” Beth announced when the check arrived.
Alex’s eyes went wide with admiration. “Tsk, tsk.” He took the credit card and examined it. “You’re a naughty girl,
He leaned against the high-backed banquette and studied her. “Is this something you enjoy?”
She spent the rest of the month snagging credit cards-often the numbers alone. Alex used some for online transactions, while Beth got her nails manicured, enjoyed massages at Body Restoration, hired a personal trainer, had a makeover at MAC, and bought more dresses and shoes than her closets could hold, even after she discarded old, cheap stuff. She went to Knit Wit, Cole Haan, Anthropologie, and Barneys, and she still had plenty of income to pay down her own credit card debts.
Her new look attracted attention.
“Are you getting in over your head again with debt?” Leah asked. She was sitting across from Alex and Beth at a table at Twenty Manning, where they’d invited her for dinner.
Alex answered, “With me, she has nothing to worry about.”
Beth smiled and cut another piece of steak. Leah stared at them as if studying exotic zoo animals, then took a sip of wine and turned away.
Some time before Thanksgiving, Alex started talking about Christmas plans. He was expected at his uncle’s place outside Paris and might stay as long as three weeks.
“It’s part business,” he said when Beth looked sad. “I have to show him what I’m doing for my clients so he’ll want me to help him some day.”
The thought of three weeks without Alex was unbearable. As it was, she had to attend her sister’s wedding alone right after Thanksgiving because Alex had a meeting in New York. But Beth made it through. Her relatives typically asked her questions with caution, always afraid things might be going badly, but her new appearance emboldened them. She exuded energy. She looked beautiful. She felt electric. And she told everyone she’d be going with her boyfriend to Paris.
Though her mother seemed stunned, her grandmother was thrilled. “It’s wonderful how things have turned around for you.”
Alex was less enthusiastic.
“I want nothing more than to have a romantic vacation with you, but this is a family thing-”
Beth put her finger on his lips. She hadn’t felt this certain about anything in her life. If they loved each other, they could work it out. Especially if they didn’t have to pay for it.
She told Leah about her plans one Saturday at Miel, a quaint patisserie with bumblebee-shaped door handles. Beth bought two hot chocolates and Napoleons in honor of her announcement: “Alex and I are going to Paris!”
Leah reacted as if Beth were talking about the moon.
“How can you object to Paris?” Beth asked. “And how can you be so unsupportive when I finally find a great guy?”
“Is he great?” Leah asked. She studied her plate. “I don’t know how to say this, and I don’t want to provoke a bad reaction. I mean, you’re handling life really well now. But the thing is, I saw Alex with another woman.”
“I don’t think so.” Beth tapped her manicured nails on the wrought-iron table.
“I’m sure of it. He was with a blond woman coming out of the Bellevue.”
“It’s probably his sister.”
Leah shook her head. “They were kissing. On the lips.”
Beth tightened her grip around her empty china cup, stood up from the table, and smashed it on the floor. A girl in an apron rushed out from behind the counter, but Beth dug into her purse and thrust a twenty-dollar bill into her hand.
She turned to Leah, who appeared stricken, and hissed, “You’re so jealous, you can’t stand to see me happy. You’re
Beth didn’t mention the ridiculous accusation to Alex. They’d spent the evening in bed in her cramped apartment, and now she straddled him, teasing him, bringing him closer and closer to climax and suddenly stopping. She pushed his hands down with her hands.
“I want to go to Paris.”
“Let’s talk later,” he said, breathless.
“I. Want. To. Go.” With each syllable she pushed his hands down harder.
Alex shook his head no, shutting his eyes tight and scrunching his face, but finally opened them.
