Marianne nodded slowly, before giving her daughter another pointed look. "Are you sure he's real? You're not pulling a fast one on me, right?"
Melody hesitated for just a beat, her lips tightening as she muttered something under her breath before quickly nodding. "Of course I'm not lying, Mother. Come on. Do you seriously think I'd go through the trouble of making up some random name just to get you off my back?"
Marianne Thomas raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Uh-huh. I'm not saying the name is made up. I'm asking if the boyfriend is." She gestured vaguely with her hand, trailing off mid-sentence. Her eyes had drifted past Melody's shoulder, locking onto something—or rather, someone—outside the coffee shop window. Her expression changed in an instant.
Because standing just outside, perfectly framed in the glass, was the woman she had been hearing so much about and yet knew nothing about. Melanie.
