Sweet Revenge

down.” Celeste reached out for her, but Phoebe shook her head and went back to the decanter.
    “No, I’m all right. I needed to get drunk. The coward’s way.”
    “No one who’s done what you’ve done could ever be called a coward, Phoebe.” Celeste took the glass from her hand, then drew Phoebe to the bed to sit. “I know it’s rough. Divorce makes you feel as though you’ve put your foot down, knowing just where you’re going only to find out there’s nothing there. Sooner or later you come to solid ground again, believe me.”
    “There’s no one else for me.”
    “That’s foolish. You’re young, you’re beautiful. This divorce is a beginning for you, not an ending.”
    “He took something from me, Celeste. I can’t seem to get it back.” She covered her face with her hands. “It doesn’t matter. Only Addy matters now.”
    “Addy’s fine.”
    “She needs things, she deserves things.” Phoebe fumbled for a tissue. “I need to know she’s well taken care of.”
    “She will be.”
    Phoebe wiped her eyes and drew a deep breath. “There’s not going to be a settlement.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean he’s not going to make any financial arrangements for Addy. Nothing. No trust fund, no child support, nothing. All she has is a worthless title that even he can’t strip her of. He’s keeping it all, what I had when we married, what he gave me. Even The Sun and the Moon, the necklace he bought me with.”
    “He can’t. Phoebe, you have a good lawyer. It might take some time and effort, but Abdu has a responsibility to you and to Adrianne.”
    “No, his terms were very clear. If I try to fight him on this, he’ll take Adrianne.” The whiskey had thickened her tongue. She drank more to loosen it. “He can do it, Celeste, believe me. He doesn’t want her, and God knows what he would put her through if he got her, but he would take her away from me. Nothing’s worth that, not The Sun and the Moon, not anything.”
    For the second time Celeste took Phoebe’s glass and set it aside. “All right, I agree with you that Addy’s welfare comes first. What are you going to do?”
    “I’ve already done it.” She was up, pacing, her longwhite robe billowing. “I got drunk, then I got sick, then I called Larry Curtis.”
    “Your agent?”
    “That’s right.” She swung around. Her face was alive again, still pale, but gorgeous. “He’s flying right out.”
    Gorgeous, Celeste thought—the way a fire was when it burned too brightly. “Darling, are you sure you’re ready?”
    “I’ve got to be ready.”
    “Okay.” Celeste held up a hand. “But Larry Curtis? There’s talk about him, not very nice talk.”
    “There’s always talk in Hollywood.”
    “I know, but … listen, he’s a good-looking bastard and very slick, but I remember you were toying with dropping him before you retired.”
    “That’s behind me.” Phoebe picked up her glass again. She felt on top of the world. And sick to the bone. “Larry was good for me once; he’s going to be good for me again. I’m making a comeback, Celeste. I’m going to be somebody again.”
    Adrianne couldn’t say why her first glimpse of Larry Curtis made her uneasy any more than she could say why he reminded her of her father. There was certainly no physical resemblance. Curtis was stocky and a fraction shorter than Phoebe’s five ten. He had a mass of curling blond hair that reached his collar and framed a smooth, boxy, tanned face. And he had smiled constantly, showing big white teeth, uniformly straight.
    Adrianne had liked his costume. She still thought of Western clothing as costumes. He’d worn a lavender shirt with big sleeves, the collar opened low to show off a thick gold chain. His pants with a tiny checked pattern flared at the ankle and were cinched at the waist with a wide black belt.
    Her mother had been glad to see him, embracing him openly when he walked in. Adrianne squirmed and looked away when Larry casually patted Phoebe’s bottom.
    “Welcome back, sweetheart.”
    “Oh, Larry, I’m so glad to see you.” She laughed and kept her tone light, but he was sharp enough to recognize the desperation beneath. And to play on it.
    “Good to see you too, baby. Let’s have a look.” He heldher at arm’s length, scanning her up and down in a way that made Adrianne’s cheeks warm. “Looking pretty good. Lost a little weight, but thins in fashion now.” He thought it was too bad about the lines around