92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [36]
It wasn’t like Troy to make that kind of mistake, and she started back toward the deli. Then it dawned on her that Troy had purposely sent her on a wild-goose chase because he wanted time alone with Olivia. Assuming that was the case, she’d accommodate him.
Grace slid inside the car and circled the block twice, then located another slot close by. She figured that would give Troy ample opportunity to divulge whatever he had on his mind. Naturally she intended to drill Olivia the instant they were alone.
When she returned to the deli, their soup and tea had been served, together with a basket of sourdough bread. When Troy saw her, he stood and made his farewells.
The moment the door closed behind him, Grace said, “I wasn’t parked in a disabled space.”
“I know.”
“Troy just wanted to get rid of me.”
Olivia’s spoon hovered over her soup. “I know that, too. He asked me to apologize.”
Grace waited for an explanation that didn’t seem to be forthcoming. She couldn’t understand why her friend was suddenly so tight-lipped. “Aren’t you going to tell me why he found it necessary to speak to you alone?”
“I haven’t decided,” Olivia answered with an exaggerated sigh.
“Olivia! Don’t hold out on me now.”
“All right, all right,” Olivia said, doing her best to hide a smile. “He wanted some advice.”
“About what?” Grace narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t realize you and Troy were such bosom buddies.”
“We aren’t. He just knows me better because of my years on the bench.”
“He knows me, too! Good grief, we all went through twelve years of school together. What could he possibly say to you that he couldn’t say to me?” She felt a bit hurt that Troy had sought out Olivia and not her.
“Okay, if you must know,” Olivia said, “he wanted to ask me about Faith Beckwith.”
Grace shook her head. “Faith’s our tenant, remember? If he needed to find anything out, he could’ve asked me.”
“Well, he told me the two of them had a thing going, and—”
“That’s not news! Although they don’t seem to be dating now. I wonder what happened…” She let the rest fade, hoping Olivia would fill in the blanks.
“Unfortunately Troy didn’t have time to go into detail,” Olivia said. She looked at Grace with mock disdain. “It might have taken you a bit longer to find a parking spot, you know.”
Grace had no intention of responding. She wanted facts—now. “Okay, so they had a ‘thing’ going and then what?”
“He didn’t really say other than that he broke it off, regretted it and, when he wanted to get back together, Faith wasn’t interested.”
“That’s understandable.”
“Maybe, but we both know Troy isn’t fickle. Faith should give him a bit of leeway, don’t you think?”
Grace considered that. “Depends.” She didn’t want to get caught up in a debate about the right or wrong of his decision, not when there was obviously more to the story. “So what else?” she pressed.
“Like I said, he didn’t have time to give me any details.” She raised her eyebrows, which Grace ignored.
“And now Troy’s upset because he loves Faith and wants her back.” How like a man!
Olivia took Troy’s side. “She broke his heart.”
Grace pretended to be sympathetic, but in her opinion he got what he deserved. “Poor Troy,” she said in a perfunctory tone.
“That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to talk me about, though.”
Oh! This was getting interesting. “He didn’t want advice about Faith?”
“Well, sort of. Something else happened that’s got him in a real state.”
When Olivia didn’t immediately continue, Grace snapped, “For heaven’s sake, don’t stop there! What happened?”
“Last night, on his way home, Troy saw Faith having dinner with another man.”
Grace picked up her spoon, then put it down again. This was far more intriguing than cream of broccoli soup. “What do you mean, he saw her with someone else? What did he do, drive his patrol car through a restaurant door?”
“Of course not. He was hungry and felt like some Chinese food, so he ordered takeout from Wok ‘n’ Roll. He walked inside to pick up his order—and who should he see?”
“Faith,” Grace answered.