Bad Guys Don't Win (Janet Maple Series Book 4) by Marie Astor Page A

about
it? Why didn’t he tell me he was meeting her? And why did he have to ditch our
wedding cake tasting to meet her?”
    “Maybe it was urgent. And maybe he
didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to upset you or maybe it’s something
very dangerous and he wanted to protect you.”
    “That doesn’t make me feel any
better—that he’d put himself in danger for that bimbo and blow off our wedding
cake tasting.”
    Mrs. Chapman patted Janet’s shoulder.
“Sometimes men do irrational things. As women, it’s our job to forgive them.”
    “Why?” Janet bristled at Mrs. Chapman’s
old-fashioned statement.
    “Because when you love a man you have to
be willing to cut him some slack. Trust me, I know—I was married for a long
time and now that my husband is no longer with us, all the arguments we had
seem mere trifles. It’s important to remember what the important things are,”
Mrs. Chapman added sagely.
    Janet nodded—it was hard to argue
against the old lady’s sobering statement. “I guess you’re right.”
    “I know I’m right. I’ve lived a long
life, even if I don’t like admitting to it.”
    “So what should I do? Pretend I don’t
know anything about it? Keep up the charade?”
    Mrs. Chapman squeezed Janet’s arm. “Just
talk to him, Janet. Sometimes, life causes us to drift apart from our loved
ones, but if you listen to your inner compass, you’ll always find the way back.
If I ever saw two people in love, it’s you and Dennis. It shouldn’t be too hard
for you two to find a common ground.”
    “I’ll try.”
    “Trying isn’t good enough. You have to
genuinely want to make it work.” Mrs. Chapman patted Janet’s arm and got up to
her feet. “Time for this old bird to call it a night. You’ve got a lot of
thinking to do, young lady.”
    Suddenly, Janet didn’t want to be alone.
“Couldn’t you stay for another cup of tea?”
    “Some other night, dear. I think you
could use some quiet time right now.” Mrs. Chapman petted Baxter behind the
ear. “See you soon, Baxter. Be a good boy now, your mommy needs time to think.
Good night, Janet. Everything is going to work out—you’ll see.”
    At the sound of the front door shutting
behind Mrs. Chapman, Janet sighed and rubbed her temples. Up until a few
minutes ago, she had been basking in her own righteousness, looking forward to
reading Dennis the riot act, but now she wasn’t so sure. Could it be that Mrs.
Chapman had a point? Maybe. It was impossible to deny that Janet had been a
little antsy with the wedding planning and the apartment search. Could it be
that she was overreacting? But the thought that Dennis had ditched their
wedding cake appointment to see Mila made her blood boil. And to think she’d
actually felt sorry for Mila at some point! So much for being charitable to
people—the minute you gave them the benefit of the doubt, they stabbed you in
the back and lured your fiancé into a questionable rendezvous. “Argh,” Janet
groaned, wondering where on earth Dennis was now. Was he still with Mila,
listening to her sultry voice while she batted her eyelashes at him? Janet
thought of calling him, but decided against it. Let him call her—after all, he
was the one who had all the explaining to do.
    Just then she heard her doorbell ring.
Baxter barked excitedly and darted for the door.
    “Hang on, Baxter.” Janet rushed after
him. “Let’s see who it is first.” She hurried to the foyer, but was too
late—Baxter had already announced his presence with a loud bark. “Who is it?”
Janet asked cautiously.
    “It’s me.”
    At the sound of Dennis’s voice Janet
exhaled with relief and Baxter barked exuberantly. Dennis had his own key, so
he rarely rang the bell when he was coming over. However, it made sense that he
did so tonight—he must’ve figured out that Janet would be mad at him. Dennis
Walker was many things, but unobservant wasn’t one of them.
    As irked as she was, Janet couldn’t deny
she was