Free 1 Dead Girl's Guide to Style by Rose Pressey Page B

wouldn ’t mind letting them use the house when they needed it. I figured she didn’t want to hear that though.
    “I think you should stay out of this .” She tapped her finger against the desk. “If anything happened we wouldn’t be able to use the house as we were promised.”
    She repeated that last part as if I hadn’t heard her the first time. But I couldn’t believe that she’d actually told me to keep out of this. They must really want that house. Couldn’t they find another place to hold their events? It wasn’t that big of a deal. There were plenty of pretty houses around town that I was sure they could use.
    “I don’t understand why you’re so upset,” I said.
    “That’s no ne of your concern either,” she snapped.
    Obviously this conversation was over.
    After this turn of events, I knew I had to tell Max. If he hadn’t seen the deed, then I wanted him to right away. My skin continued to hurt from the sun. I’d never felt this before and I wondered if something was wrong. I headed back to my shop and retrieved his phone number.
    I sensed that something was off about the room when I stepped in, but I couldn ’t put my finger on what it might be. I punched in his number and he answered on the first ring.
    “I have something to tell you,” I said.
    “Oh yeah?” he asked curiously.
    “Can you meet me at the Red House Cafe in thirty minutes?” I asked.
    He paused, and then said, “Yes, I can be there.”
    “See you soon,” I said , trying to sound calm.
    Max was already sitting at a booth when I entered the cafe. He looked as handsome as ever in his black pants and beige button down linen blend shirt. I really needed to help him find clothing though. With a little help from me, he would be shopping on his own in no time. I waved as I walked across the room. His gaze was fixed on me as if there wasn’t another person in the room. I’d never had anyone do that before. Wooden tables with white table cloths and mismatched chairs sat around every inch of the space. Not another available table was in sight. The walls were decorated with photos of food.
    Max smiled widely as I slipped onto the chair across from him. I took off the hat and sunglasses I’d used for protection from the sun.
    “I ’m glad you could make it,” I said.
    He stared at me with a worried expression for a moment. “I wouldn ’t miss it for anything.”
    After placing our order for drinks only, I pulled out the paper that I ’d gotten from the courthouse.
    “What is that?” he asked as he peered down at the paper.
    “It’s the deed to the house and it shows that Mona is now the owner. It was transferred over from you. Do you know anything about that?” I asked.
    He peered down at the paper in silence and then finally met my stare. “I never gave the home to her. It was done without my consent.”
    Max pushed the paper back toward me. Apparently he didn’t want it. “I figured as much,” I said.
    It ha d been so long ago though I didn’t know how we would ever prove that he owned the house. I wanted to ask why Mona had been at his place, but he would wonder why I had been there. I didn’t want him to think I was weird.
    The waitress slammed the drinks down in front of us and glared. I looked up at her and she scowled and then walked away. It was then that I realized the whole room was watching us. Whispers and stares were mixed with scowls.
    “They don ’t seem to like us,” I said.
    He shook his head. “It ’s not you, it’s me.”
    “Does this have something to do with the house?” I asked.
    He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Mona could have told any number of lies.”
    “What is your connection to her?” I asked.
    “I have no connection other than the house.” He shifted his gaze away from me.
    I knew he wasn ’t being honest with me.
    My arm itched from the heat rash and Max watched as I rubbed the spot. The sun was brutal today.
    “Are you back at the company? I’ve been