The blonde stared at her, as though she were inspecting a head of cabbage at the supermarket. Dorie felt herself blushing again. What the hell was she doing? Inviting a total stranger to move in with them? The girls would think she’d gone nuts.

“I could use the kitchen?” the blonde asked.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, of course,” Dorie stuttered. “You can have access to the whole house. We’re pretty casual, it’s just the three of us. I’m a schoolteacher, and my friend Julia is a model. And Ellis works at a bank. Or, actually, she used to work at a bank.”

“How much?” Maryn asked.

Now it was Dorie’s turn to stare back. The blonde’s clothes looked expensive. And her jewelry looked even more expensive. She wore a huge diamond solitaire on her right ring finger and a diamond tennis bracelet on her left wrist. The handbag she balanced on her lap was white ostrich skin, the size of a small dog. The zipper pull bore a Prada nameplate. And the gold letters on the sleek tortoiseshell sunglasses perched on her head spelled out DIOR. Dorie was no expert, but the pocketbook and the sunglasses looked like the real thing to her.

She did the math in her head, adding an extra five hundred-dollar cushion, and named the price.

“Hmm,” the blonde said. “I wasn’t thinking anywhere near that much.”

“It’s the nicest bedroom in the house,” Dorie pointed out. “With beach access. And off-street parking.”

“Is there a garage?” Maryn asked eagerly.

“Yeees,” Dorie said, though she had no idea if the garage guy would be willing to let somebody else park in it. Maybe if they offered to throw some of this woman’s cash his way, he’d agree to share.

“Does it have a private entrance?”

Dorie bit her lip. There was an outside spiral staircase leading up to the third floor, but it was narrow and scary-looking, and none of the girls had even thought to try going up it. Still, it was technically a private entrance. And this woman was anxious to have a room with a garage and a private entrance. And she obviously had the money to pay for both.

“It has a private entrance,” Dorie said, nodding for emphasis. “But if you want to park in the garage, that’ll be an extra hundred bucks a week.”

The blonde took a sip of her iced tea. She put her glass down on the counter, and twisted the diamond solitaire ring for a moment. Dorie found herself holding her breath.

“Fine,” she said finally. “I’ll take it.”

Dorie grinned. “Great. But we’ll want the rent in cash. In advance.”

Maryn shook her head. “I’d prefer to pay half now, half at the end of the month. In case I have a change of plans.”

“Deal,” Dorie said, putting out her hand. “By the way, my name is Dorie Dunaway.”

The blonde hesitated, and then took Dorie’s hand. “I’m Madison. Madison Venable. When can I move in?”

Dorie looked down at her watch. “How’s four o’clock? I’ll want to let my friends know you’re coming and make sure your space in the garage is empty.”

“That’ll work,” Madison said. “I’ve got some things to take care of this afternoon, then I’ll be over.”

“The house is called Ebbtide,” Dorie said, putting her money on the counter beside her empty glass. “It’s three blocks north of here, on the beach road, which is Virginia Dare. There’s a sign at the entrance to the driveway, and you’ll see my red van.”

12

Julia and Ellis were sitting on the front porch, painting each other’s toenails a ridiculous shade of neon green. “There you are!” Ellis cried, as Dorie flopped down onto a rocking chair beside her. “Where’d you disappear to?”

“I woke up and you guys were gone,” Dorie said accusingly.

“We went for ice cream,” Julia said. “We didn’t think you’d care.”

Dorie laughed. “That’s what I did too, only it was a milk shake.” She licked her lips. “Yummy. I don’t know when the last time was that I had a real milk shake made with real chocolate syrup and ice cream and the works. Not to mention whipped cream and a cherry.”

“Sounds divine,” Julia said. She held the bottle of nail polish aloft. “It’s called Lime-a-Lishus. Want to be next?”

“No thanks,” Dorie said. “I did my toes right before I left home.”

“We were just talking about what to do about dinner,” Ellis said. “It’s your turn tonight. Got any thoughts?”

“Not yet,” Dorie said, sitting on the edge of the rocking chair so that it leaned into the girls. “Listen, you guys, I just did something kinda crazy.”

“What? You picked up a guy along with your milk shake?” Julia laughed. “Now that’s our old Dorie!”

“Lord no!” Dorie said. “Here’s the thing. I kinda rented out the top floor of this house to a woman I just met.”

“Sure you did,” Ellis said lazily, flexing her toes and admiring her daring new look.

“For reals,” Dorie said, sitting up straight. “I totally did. Her name’s Madison, she dresses like she’s got plenty of bucks, and I overheard her asking the waitress about renting a motel room with a kitchenette. She was sitting next to me at the restaurant, and we kind of struck up a conversation. So I offered her the room that was going to be mine and Stephen’s. And she took it. She’s going to pay us six hundred dollars more than Willa would have. So what do you guys think?”

Julia put the bottle of nail polish on the floor. “I think,” she said slowly, “that you have lost your freaking mind. You can’t be serious, Dorie. Do you mean to tell me you just invited a total stranger to live with us for the next month? Don’t you think that’s something you might have run by Ellis and me?”

Dorie bit her lip. “Yeah, I guess. But the money will more than make up for what Willa would have paid. I just thought, I mean, it’s sort of my fault Willa let us all down. She’s my sister, and I’m the one who talked you guys into letting her come. I should have known she would pull a stunt like that. I just figured it was my responsibility to fix things. So I did.”

Ellis took Dorie’s hand. “You’re really worried about the money part, I know. But honey, you’re not responsible for what Willa did. And Julia and I aren’t mad at you about it. That’s just Willa.”

“I am worried about the money,” Dorie cried. “I mean, Ellis, you’re out of work, and Julia’s not working as much as she used to, so I think money’s tight for all of us.…”

“Who says I’m not working?” Julia said, bristling. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Dorie said, backpedaling.

“Julia!” Ellis said sharply. “Cut the crap. You just told me yourself that you’re not working as much. And anyway, you know Dorie didn’t mean it like that. The truth is, money is kinda tight for all of us. But Dorie, you really should have talked to us about this before you offered to rent out your room.”

“I know,” Dorie said, sniffling. “God, I’m such a screwup. But, it all happened so fast. And it just seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“What do you even know about this girl?” Julia asked.

Dorie hesitated. “She’s from New Jersey, and on vacation, sort of a spur-of-the-moment beach trip … and, oh yeah, she hates it when they put too much mayo on a sandwich.”

“Oh, she’s a mayo hater, is she? Say no more! That seals the deal for me.” Julia rolled her eyes.

Dorie bit her lip. “I guess I could tell Madison we’ve changed our minds.…” Her voice trailed off. “She’s coming over at four. I’ll tell her then.”

“Well.…” Ellis cleared her throat. “It is a lot of money.”

“And the room’s just sitting there, empty,” Dorie reminded them. “It’s not like she’d be rooming with us. Not even on the same floor as the rest of us.”

“But she’s a stranger, Dorie,” Julia said. “You don’t really know anything about her. Maybe she’s a pathological liar. Maybe she’s really from Arkansas. And maybe she actually adores mayo and can’t stand ketchup. Who knows? She could walk down those stairs one night and murder us all in our beds, as we’re sleeping.”