Drape Expectations Read Free Page B

Ace and his ex-wife said Trista could have one of her pups. Trista and I’ve talked a lot about the dogs and training them, and Ace has been around for that, too.”
    â€œI care about him deeply,” Alanna said firmly, as if that was in doubt.
    Caprice wasn’t exactly sure what to say to that. If Ace was in love and had found a soul mate, she was all for it. But had Ace dated Alanna long enough to really know her?
    â€œI wish you two all the best,” Caprice responded sincerely.
    But after Caprice left, after she climbed into her Camaro and headed for home, she wasn’t sure what that “best” would be.

Chapter Two
    Caprice pulled inside her garage and parked beside her van. But she didn’t press the remote to put the garage door down. After she climbed out of the car, she ignored the door, which led to her back porch and the yard, where Lady liked to run and play. Instead, she studied the van with its psychedelic colors on the side, the flowers, and the name of her business in turquoise letters— CAPRICE DE LUCA–REDESIGN AND HOME STAGING .
    She knew she should go into the house and write up Alanna’s proposal. But she was antsy. She could easily call her sister Nikki, who catered her open houses. They’d have to put their heads together for Alanna’s. Or she could round up Lady and go visit her sister Bella and her husband and three kids. Bella’s two older children, Megan and Timmy, loved playing with the pup. She could drop in on her parents, or on Nana, who lived with them. Fran and Nick De Luca were the kind of parents who were always glad to see their children and had an open door policy for family and friends. Besides visiting with her family, Caprice loved spending time with Nana’s new kitten, who was growing bigger each day.
    As she walked up the path to her front door, the charm bracelet on her wrist jingled. Seth Randolph, the doctor she’d dated before he’d taken a fellowship in Baltimore to further his training in trauma medicine, had given it to her on Valentine’s Day. He’d said he didn’t want her to forget him. She wore the bracelet often because she never forgot about Seth. When they’d dated, when he was around, he made her heart flutter, and made her feel special.
    Still, more recent in her mind, was a conversation she’d had at Bella’s new baby’s christening two weeks ago. She had been chatting with Grant Weatherford, her brother’s law partner.
    She and Grant had an odd friendship. It was more than a friendship really, though neither of them wanted to admit it. When she’d solved murder cases, Grant had helped her. He’d even saved her life once. That was hard to forget. They hadn’t yet put to rest what had happened at the Valentine’s Day dance. She could recall that night so vividly. When Grant hadn’t asked her to dance, she’d been disappointed until Seth had arrived unexpectedly and swept her off her feet. Afterward, Grant had left without a word.
    Maybe it was time they cleared the air, though the air was never clear when she was around Grant.
    She inserted her key in the lock of her front door. As soon as Caprice stepped inside, Lady was right there, gave a bark, and danced around her.
    â€œHi, girl, I missed you, too.”
    Still, she didn’t want Lady to become overexcited every time she came home, so she walked by her, inspecting everything as she went.
    Lady followed, of course. No accidents were evident. A throw rug was curled up, as if Lady and Sophia had had a chase. Other than that, all was normal.
    Caprice’s house was a haven for her and her animals. Sophia, named for Sophia Loren, her nana’s favorite actress, sat atop the turquoise carpeted cat tree in the living room. She blinked awake as Caprice went over to her and spread her fingers through the pristine white ruff around the neck of the strikingly colored, long-haired