Payback and a Bottle of Merlot: Like Sisters Series Book One Read Online Free PDF Page B

wedding. He told her Karen wouldn’t allow it anyway. It would be too confusing for Claire at her young age, and she needed to be protected. Mia never understood what that meant. Protected from what?
    She stared at the hands of her beloved grandfather’s clock as they moved closer and closer to ten o’clock. “I should forget this whole idea,” she said, trying to convince herself not to call. She knew in her heart Karen might have answers to some of her questions, though. Mia entered the numbers on her cell phone and hit save, in case she may have to call her again sometime. She stared at Karen’s name on the screen. With her fingertip on the call button, she took a deep breath, and pressed the phone icon. It rang three times. She was relieved, and ready to hang up when a female voice answered.
    Mia stammered out a “Hello, is this Karen?”
    “Yes.”
    “Um… this is Mia James… or Mia Barnes, I guess. I’m Jack’s wife… current wife, ugh… sorry. It’s so weird to be calling you, but please give me one minute. This is a strange request, but I’d like to talk to you, face to face, if that’s possible.”
    “Why?”
    “Okay, this isn’t easy for me, but I have some important questions to ask you about Jack. I just need clarification on a few things, so can we meet for an hour? I won’t take any more of your time than that, I promise. You can say when and where. It’s important, please say yes.”
    “Fine, tomorrow at two o’clock at my house.”
    “I have no idea where you live,” Mia said, now exasperated.
    “I live at 4217 Bayfield Boulevard in Greenwich.”
    “Greenwich… Greenwich, Connecticut?”
    “Do you know of any other?”
    “No, but… never mind. I’ll see you then. Thank you, Karen, goodbye.” What the hell? She doesn’t even live in Manhattan. I can’t believe all the lies Jack’s told me. My God, am I that blind? Mia sobbed into her hands feeling more foolish than ever.
    Mia was blessed to have Vic and Tina in her life. She would be leaning on them, a lot now. Today was a good day to talk to them both, since the salon was closed on Tuesdays anyway. Mia put together a large salad, a cheese plate and some sandwiches.
    Vic’s car pulled into the driveway at eleven-fifty. The girls bounced in, making their typical grand entrance. Hugs, air kisses, laughter and jokes were tossed around as Vic pulled the wine glasses out of the liquor cabinet, and Tina set the table. They sat, stared at Mia, and waited for her to begin.
    “You guys won’t believe what I’m about to tell you, but you’ll be happy to hear what I have to say. I’m sorry for not calling both of you right away, but I had to think things through on my own.”
    Vic and Tina looked at her, puzzled as they set their wine glasses down.
    “What’s going on?” Tina asked, leaning in.
    “Jack is cheating on me. I saw him with some mystery woman at the train station Saturday when I had to do a shoot in the city. He had no idea I was there and saw them together.”
    “You’ve got to be shitting me,” Vic piped in, totally pissed off. “What a dick!”
    “I’m not shitting you, and I’m not sad, either. I’m floored at myself for not realizing it sooner. Our relationship was never about love, at least not on his part. Jack needed a wife to make him look more like a family man for his career, and I guess I was the pasty. The weird part is, I ran into that very woman in the restroom after I saw them together. She was concerned because I was crying, and believe it or not, she wanted to help. She told me her name was Sasha. How crazy is that? The jackass I’m crying about, is having an affair with the woman trying to console me. It’s ridiculous. What surprises me, is what I want to do about it.”
    “So what’s that?” Tina asked.
    “I want to ruin him, not financially, because I don’t care about his money. I want to ruin his reputation and take his over-sized ego down to ground level. I want to see him