“Alice, I just saw you Saturday.”

“It’s a whole three days!” Alice jokingly said. “Come on, I need my Bette Porter fix.”

Chuckling, Bette knew she was sold. “Fine. We’ll meet at 7?”

The jubilant woman did a happy dance on the sidewalks of LA. “Chinese takeout at your place?”

“Sure, it’s been awhile,” Bette rubbed her forehead. “You’ll have to call Shane, though.”

“I’ll do even better. I’ll pick up the food and those two,” Alice said. “See you at 7.”

Bette hung up after their goodbyes, giving up all pretense of work. She packed up her papers, hoping to tackle them after dinner. Her briefcase in hand, she left the empty building.

She stopped by the grocery store on her way home, picking up fixings for lasagna and tiramisu. Not forgetting her daughter, Bette picked out some fresh fruits for the little girl. By the time she had left the store, she realized she had just about enough time to make it home before Alice and Shane arrived.

True to form, Bette spied Alice’s car pulling up behind her as she locked up her car. “Hey.”

Grabbing a bag from Bette, Shane, Alice and Shay followed the woman in. “You just got home?”

“Had to stop by at the store on my way home when I realized there’s no food at home,” Bette explained.

Almost dropping the takeout bag in her hands, Alice narrowed her eyes at Bette. “You’re cooking dinner tomorrow?”

Bette cringed at the implications behind Alice’s words. “How hard can lasagna be, right? And tiramisu doesn’t even require baking.”

“Who the hell is this woman?” Alice demanded while she sorted out their dinner. “You’re scaring me, Bette.”

“What are you talking about, Alice?” Shane was at a loss.

Alice turned to the lanky brunette. “First she tells me she’s cutting work early, and then she drops the bomb that she’s cooking. I want to know who is worth this much of Bette’s efforts.”

Shane watched Bette with interest as Alice went off on her speech. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Tina was the mystery woman.

“Who said anything about a woman? Why can’t it be a man?” Bette retorted, enjoying the look of horror clouding Alice’s face.