Chapter 17

“Thea, darling, sweet, adorable, ridiculous friend of mine. Unless you tell me what’s wrong, I’m going to torture you until you fess up,” said Mittens.

Thea tried not to smile but failed miserably. “Should I find that comforting?” she joked.

After much persuasion, whining, blackmailing and coaxing, Mittens convinced Thea to come out for drinks that Friday night. They’d gotten coffee a few times since she’d returned from her trip, but she’d avoided him because she didn’t know how to answer his questions about Anthony.

It was hard not to be happy around Mittens. Currently, he had orange hair with red tips, along with purple nails with pink rhinestones glued to the tips. In regard to his hair, he’d claimed he’d done it because he was already “flaming gay” and liked to ruffle the feathers of the local soccer moms at various coffee shops. Fair Haven was progressive, but it was still a small town with small-town values. Mittens also enjoyed trying out different lip colors and had a bigger