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“You’re right.” Allison moved to the table by the window and sat down. “I hate my life. I can’t sleep, I’m uncomfortable all the time. Jackson’s a sweetie and I have you and Summer and Mara, so I’m not alone, but it’s hard.”
“I know.”
Erica set their drinks on the table and brought over the takeout bag. While she got flatware, plates and spoons, Allison opened packages.
When Erica was seated, Allison looked at her. “Why did you marry him?” She held up her hand. “I know what you said before about other guys avoiding you because you were too ambitious and not willing to cater to them, but why Peter? Was he just convenient, or did you really love him?”
“I loved him.”
“Why?”
The blunt question. Erica took a chicken thigh and some potato salad. After the day she’d had, she refused to eat kale.
“He was funny and sweet,” she said, peeling off the skin. “Smart but not scary smart. He seemed interested in what I did. Some of the other people on my accounting team wanted to talk more than they listened. He wanted to understand my process. He was impressed by me.”
She thought about how lonely she’d been and how much she’d wanted to fall in love. She’d wanted a family in addition to her business and had been worried it would never happen.
“I was ready to fall in love with someone and Peter was ready to be loved,” she added. “He was a little goofy, which I liked. A couple of years younger, but that was okay, too. We could talk about things. We were comfortable together.”
Until he’d decided he was done with her.
“I’m not saying it was a great love, but it was enough.”
“Did you know he was a criminal?”
Erica was as surprised by Allison’s bitter tone as by the question itself. “He’s not a criminal,” she said automatically, then held in a wince. “I mean he wasn’t. Circumstances and—”
“Do you believe that?” Allison asked, cutting her off. “Do you really think that out of nowhere Peter came up with this plan to launder money and commit wire fraud?” She paused. “I don’t even know what that is, but it’s bad, right? A felony. He’s in jail right now and he’s not getting out.”
Erica’s heart sank. “You saw him today.”
“I went after work, so I owe you for the extra childcare.”
Erica waved that comment away. “What happened?”
Allison wiped her fingers. “He said the lawyer is negotiating to get some money released and some charges dropped. Peter said he’d be cooperating and that would reduce his sentence. I didn’t get it at first, but he’s not getting out. There’s no bail. He’ll plead guilty to a lesser sentence and serve his time.”
She swallowed. “My husband is a criminal. There’s no other way to describe it. I trusted him with my heart, my life. I wanted him to father my children and he’s a con man. I was fooled. I admit that. I never had a clue, so I’m a moron, but you’re really smart and if I’m right, how come you didn’t see it? Because there’s no way this is new behavior. He didn’t just wake up and decide, ‘Hey, let’s defraud some people.’ It had to start somewhere. So what do you know that I don’t?”
Erica didn’t know what to say. She wanted to protest Peter wasn’t a criminal, but the evidence was hard to dispute.
“He loves you.”
“So it’s my fault?”
“Of course not. His feelings for you drove him to do things he shouldn’t have. You didn’t marry a criminal. It just happened.”
“Things like that don’t just happen. Did he ever do anything to you or the business?”
Erica had a bad feeling her expression gave her away.
“What?” Allison demanded.
“After he said he wanted a divorce, I moved the business to a different accounting firm. They audited the books. They found out Peter had taken over a hundred thousand dollars from me in small amounts, over time. I told myself it was because he was angry at me.”
Allison face went white. “He stole money from you? While you were married?”
Erica wanted to excuse the actions by saying a case could be made that the money was community property. Only Peter had signed a prenup so he had nothing to do with the salon.
