Sydney almost missed the look of concern Isabel and Laura exchanged. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“We found the fake erotic diary,” Laura announced.
Sydney leaned back in the booth and sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s great. Thank you so much. Where was it?”
“Well,” Isabel said slowly, “Patsy Ubert had picked it up from the floor of Dawson’s.”
“Sweet old Miss Patsy?” She hissed between her teeth as she imagined the octogenarian reading her erotic diary. “How did she take it?”
“She liked it so much that she passed it around to some of her friends in the reading circle,” Isabel revealed.
Sydney cringed. “Nooo.” She placed her head in her hands. The members of the Seedling Women’s Reading Circle were not only harsh critics, but they also wouldn’t tolerate any sensuality in their reading material.
“Don’t worry.” Laura patted her back. “They didn’t know who wrote it.”
Sydney lifted her head, not sure if she should be relieved or offended. “How could they not recognize my writing style? Don’t they read the local newspaper?”
“I heard they enjoyed it,” Laura said in a whisper. “They liked it better than the heroine-dies-because-she-had-sex literary book they’re reading now.”
“Did you get the diary back?” Sydney asked hopefully.
“Not exactly,” Isabel replied. “But we tracked it down to Doris.”
“Oh, no, no, no.” Sydney took a deep breath. If Miss Doris had gotten her hands on that diary, then the entire town knew about it. “Although, that would explain the ‘scorcher’ comment she made about her latest read the other day. Could it get any worse?”
“Yes,” Isabel said. “Because she gave it to Matthew Stone.”
Sydney’s heart gave an unpleasant jolt. “What?”
“Apparently, she recognized his description in the diary and confronted him about it,” Isabel explained.
Sydney glanced at Laura and then at Isabel. “She...showed him the diary?”
“He has the diary,” Laura corrected. “According to Miss Doris, it’s been in his possession all week.”
Sydney went completely still as the information seeped inside her. She felt strangely numb but she knew it was only a matter of time before the hurt and embarrassment exploded inside her.
He’d had the diary all week... A few days ago they’d made love outdoors just like in her erotic diary. It could be a coincidence, Sydney decided as her heart thumped painfully. What they’d done afterward had nothing to do with her diary, but what they’d done in his office today...
The blood drained from her face. It was no coincidence. He knew exactly what she liked and what she wanted because he had read her notebook.
“That rat,” she said in a growl.
“Now, now,” Laura said as she patted her back again. “We don’t have the whole story.”
“I do,” she said coldly. “The guy who I thought was honorable and loving slept with me hours after he got a hold of my erotic diary.”
“Fake erotic diary,” Laura added. “None of that happened.”
“Oh, it did,” Sydney said. “Not before I wrote it down, though—it happened after he read the diary. We explored some of those fantasies this week.”
Isabel’s eyes widened. “I’m sure there’s a good explanation.”
“Really? Because I can’t think of any innocent reason why Matthew would have my diary and not return it. Read it and not tell me about it. Reenact it and—” She gritted her teeth and jumped up from her seat and marched to the exit.
“Where are you going?” Isabel called after her.
“To Matthew’s office. I’m getting my notebook back.”
* * *
IT WAS TOO QUIET in Matthew’s office. He preferred it when there was a hum of activity in the building, but most of the city employees had left for the day. Matthew was tempted to ignore his work and go visit Sydney, but he knew he had to get a few more hours of work in before he left the office for the day.
As he read through his paperwork, he heard footsteps down the hall. Fast, angry steps getting closer. He lifted his head, wondering why he thought the footsteps belonged to Sydney. That was just wishful thinking on his part.
He rose from his chair just as Sydney appeared. She had changed clothes since he’d last seen her. Her hair was scraped back in a messy ponytail and she wore a black sleeveless shirt and jeans.
“Sydney,” he said with a smile. His pulse quickened at the sight of her. Sydney’s appearance always made his day brighter. He even looked forward to long official meetings if he knew she would be there.