Page 113 of Married to the Devil

“Calm down!”

“I’m so happy to see you.” Beth’s laughing and crying and hugging me. “Come on, come inside before Mrs. Taylor calls the cops for an excessive display of emotion.”

Beth’s apartment is small, tidy, and immaculately decorated. I always loved this place. She lives alone in a decent South Philly neighborhood. Rent’s high, but she makes it work.

She peppers me with questions as she makes tea. Nothing’s changed in the weeks since I married Rafe. She’s still running the business though she says it’s a lot harder without me.

“Come on, you were always the brains of the operation.”

She dismisses that with a waved hand. “Bullshit. I did decor. You did the important stuff.” She sets down the hot beverages and sits across from me at the table. “Talk now. Tell me everything. How are you doing?!”

I thought a lot about this on the way over. What would I tell her? How much could I reveal? But now that I’m sitting here, it’s like all those careful plans evaporate into the air.

“I married a mobster and fell in love with him.”

Beth laughs awkwardly but the smile dies the second she realizes I’m not kidding. “Hattie’s father?”

“The one and only.”

“Holy crap. The mystery man.”

I give her the full story. I leave out some details, but she gets the less sanitized version. When I’m done, she looks utterly stunned.

“I can’t believe you’ve been through all that in the last few weeks. This is crazy.”

“I know, right? But it’s good too. You should see Rafe with Hattie. The two of them are like the same person.”

“I pray for the world if there’s a second Hattie.”

I tell her about how Rafe makes Hattie breakfast every day, how he’s infinitely patient with her stories and questions, and he goes out of his way to make sure she’s safe and happy.

“He really is a fantastic dad. I never would’ve guessed.”

“You’re here now though. Does that mean you’re back in the city for good?”

“I think so. Rafe has a town house in Old City⁠—“

“Oh my god, of course he does.”

“Right off Two Street.”

“My god. That’s got to be millions of dollars.”

“Oh, easily, and it’s gorgeous too.”

She groans and gestures around her. “My landlord told me the other day that the walls might leak this winter because he doesn’t feel like resealing the roof.”

“I might have good news on that front too.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You know a roofer?”

“No, but Rafe is going to hire us for a job, and he’s really generous.”

She holds up her hands. “No, no way, I’m not doing charity gigs. I appreciate it, but⁠—“

“It’s not charity. It’s a real job. Me and you back at it again.”

She looks skeptical. “But you’re married to a rich guy now.”