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"It’s real nice you’re taking such good care of your mama, Bianca," said Trace

I froze "What?"

"Since she’s been so sick," he explained "You knoith the flu?"

My ed in relief The last person on the planet I wanted to know about Mama’s illness was Trace Obviously she’d fed hih I doubted anyone had ever heard of any flu that ht The flu It’s been going around" I stood, holding onto Maht?"

Trace crossed his arht jeans and his perfect face and his biceps popping out from under the sleeves of his painted-on T-shirt, he looked like he should be on the cover of a romance novel I wanted to take off my shoe and smack a dent in the middle of his forehead

He said, "Actually I was just telling your mama about the new business I started"

I looked at the ceiling, praying to God for restraint

In the three years Trace and I had spent together, he’d started--and abandoned--a dozen businesses or more A mobile car wash A vitay drink, because God knew the h of those Inevitably his new pursuits required an influx of cash, and guess who the lucky "investor" was?

Yes Me Gullible, stupid-in-love, working-three-jobs-to-save-for-a-restaurantfor you"

Trace’s sreider He said, "It is, actually It’s the one ays talked about starting together You remember, bumble bee?"

My whole body went cold "No," I said, but my voice sounded dead

He nodded, pleased as punch with himself "Sure you do! A restaurant Got a few investors with soned the lease on the space We’ll be opening up next ht down the street frohbors!"

Shocked into silence, I stared at him

Mama said, "Why that’s wonderful, Trace!" She squeezed et me to look at her, but all I could do was stare in disbelief at the Benedict Arnold who used to beto be h her paces by saying my ass was on fire, I didn’t want to make a stink in front of her about this awful piece of news So I put a smile on and said pleasantly to Trace, "Isn’t that nice Would you mind if I talked to you outside for alook to his eyes, like he kneas only a matter of ti if he kneas picturing severing his genitals fro shears, but Trace never was very good at reading people He always assuh opinion of hi I wanted to get hi to be part of his new endeavor

"Of course," he said with a twinkle in his eye He turned to Mama and said, "Always a pleasure to see you, Mrs Hardwick"

"And you, Trace," she said, shooting ht not knoas in store for him, but Mama obviously did

Trace held the door open for me on the way out He walked behind me down the porch steps When I stopped at the sidewalk, he stopped, too Then he looked down at me and smiled his heartbreaker smile and proved exactly how dumb he was

"I was just about to ask your mama for some of her recipes when you came in"

If the top of my head were a volcano, it would’ve exploded with a fountain of flae the entire southern United States would be wiped fro with fury, I said, "If you ever coain, I’ll break into your house when you’re not home and replace all your shampoo with hair reether