“SO WHAT EXACTLY is happening at this big LA party?” Sienna asked.
“I have no idea.” Courtney thought about what Quinn had told her about their upcoming trip to Los Angeles. “I know it’s going to be at his house on Thursday night.”
“I need more details. When you get back, you’re going to have to tell me everything in real time. Do you have anything to wear?”
“No, but he said we’ll shop for that once we get to LA.”
“Okay, so you need something cute for the trip down and maybe a dinner out.” Rachel grinned. “I’m sure you’re having lots of sex, but you don’t need clothes for that. Unless you’re doing role-playing, in which case you’re on your own. We don’t need to know that you get off on being a lion tamer.”
Courtney blinked at her sister. “A lion tamer? What on earth did you and Greg used to do?”
“Not that. I’m just saying you don’t need clothes for the naked part.”
Sienna shook her head. “Just when you think you know a person...”
They were in the middle of the thrift store. Both her sisters had agreed to help her get a few new-to-her things for her trip. Courtney wanted to look good for her time with Quinn. They would be hanging out with trendy people. She didn’t think her jeans and T-shirts were going to cut it.
“Dresses,” Rachel said. “They are easy to wear, easy to pack, and you can use accessories to fit any occasion.”
“I agree.” Sienna pointed to a rack at the other end of the store. “Let me go pull a few. I’ll be right back.”
“Lion tamer?” Courtney repeated when Sienna had left.
Rachel laughed. “I meant it as an example, not a suggestion. You’re young and in love. Heaven knows what you’re doing with that man.”
Courtney felt herself stiffen. “We’re not in love. We’re having fun. Quinn’s great and all, but it’s not serious. He’s not the serious type.”
In love? Why would anyone think that? There was no love. There couldn’t be. Love meant being hurt, and when she was around Quinn, she only felt good.
Rachel held up her hands in the shape of a T. “I meant it as a figure of speech. Don’t bite off my head. You two are together a lot and it’s fun. That’s all.”
“Okay. Sorry. We are enjoying ourselves. He’s nice. I wouldn’t have expected that, but he is.”
“Everyone’s having sex but me,” Rachel complained as she looked through a rack of shirts. “It’s depressing.”
“Sex would be easier if you were dating.”
“I don’t want to date.”
Not a surprise, Courtney thought. Since the divorce, Rachel had kept to herself. “Do you want to get back together with Greg?”
Her sister swung around and glared at her. “Why would you say that?”
“I’m just asking.” Overreacting seemed to be in the air. “You and he are getting along. He’s a great guy, you’re fantastic. Stranger things have happened.”
“I know. Sorry. Greg confuses me.”
Sienna returned with several dresses. “How does he confuse you?”
“He’s being nice.”
“That bastard!”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “He’s stepping up with Josh. He’s doing everything I ask. Why couldn’t he have done that before the divorce? Why now?”
“Maybe he needed time to figure out what was important,” Sienna offered. “Time to see what he’d lost.”
Courtney nodded. “Once he lost you and Josh, he was able to see how much you meant to him. Rachel, you have to do what’s right for you. I’m only pointing out that no one is going to judge you if you want to give things another try.”
“Greg’s not interested in that.”
“How can you be sure? Have you talked about it?”
Rachel shifted from foot to foot. “No, but he hasn’t said anything about us getting back together.”
“Someone has to take the first step,” Sienna reminded her. “Maybe it could be you.”
Rachel grabbed the dresses and shoved them at Courtney. “You need to try these on so we can go meet Neil. Now hurry.”
“That wasn’t even subtle,” Courtney pointed out as the three of them walked back to the dressing rooms.
They did have to keep an eye on the clock. Their mother’s fiancé had asked to meet them for coffee.
Courtney tried on the five dresses Sienna had picked out. Two weren’t for her, but the other three had possibilities. One was a slim-fitting sheath in a red-and-white swirl pattern.
“Hold on,” Sienna told her and raced off. A minute later she was back with a skinny white belt. “Try this on.”
The belt was perfect.
“Wear your hair up,” Rachel told her. “And you need really great sandals. Not white. Maybe nude and with a heel.”
“Nude pumps would totally work,” Sienna added.
There was a light blue sundress they all decided would be perfect for the drive down, and a casual open-weave number that would work for a beach cover-up.
Courtney bought the three dresses for a total of thirty-seven dollars, then the three of them headed for Rachel’s SUV. They were meeting Neil at Polly’s Pie Parlor. Yes, they would have gone anywhere to join him for coffee, but the added incentive of a slice of pie didn’t hurt.
“Do you know about the kazoos?” Rachel asked as she drove through town.
Courtney was glad she was in the backseat. There was less to bang her head on. “He mentioned them before. I hoped he was kidding.”
“He wasn’t. When he called to ask me to meet him, he played one for me. It’s gonna be loud.”
Sienna turned in her seat and grinned. “Be grateful there aren’t going to be swans. They might think the kazoos are a mating call and start attacking guests.”
“Aren’t you the funny one.” She would have to look at her timeline to figure out where they would be—event-wise—when the kazoos came out. If it was after ten, they would be violating the noise policy, not to mention disturbing the other guests.
“I wish we could stop with the surprises,” Courtney said. “And buying things for the wedding. Mom ordered custom chair covers. They’re embroidered with her and Neil’s initials. They’re lovely and there are three hundred of them. Whatever will they do with them afterward?”
“Probably let us take them home as souvenirs,” Rachel offered cheerfully. “Let it go, Courtney. This wedding is bigger than all of us. You simply need to surrender to the inevitable. At least Mom’s happy.”
Courtney leaned against the door. “You’re right. I’ll focus on that. And the meal will be great. We have excellent wine, and the rest of it will take care of itself.”
There were a couple of minutes of silence, then Sienna said, “I don’t remember Dad much. Do you, Rach?”
Courtney looked at her older sister. Rachel stared out the front window. “Some. I have images of him. Snippets, really. The sound of his laugh. How it felt when he hugged me and told me I would always be his princess. But not much more than that.”
“I don’t remember anything,” Courtney admitted.
“You were a lot younger,” Rachel said. “I should have more memories.”
“It’s been a long time,” Sienna said. “We should be happy Neil came along.”
Courtney was glad her mother had someone in her life, but she had no sense of Neil as a father. She’d seen other women with their fathers. Friends and coworkers. There were plenty of fathers and daughters at the hotel. But all that was outside her. She couldn’t relate to it. As for missing her father—she found it hard to miss what she’d never had.
They pulled up in front of the restaurant and got out of the car.
“No talk about Dad,” Rachel said as they walked inside.
“I don’t mind if you talk about your father.”
They all jumped and turned to find Neil had come in right behind them. He smiled at them.
“Phil was an important part of your mother’s life, and yours, as well.” He pointed to an open table. “Shall we?”
Courtney and her sisters exchanged glances. None of them seemed to know what to say, so they followed Neil to the table and took seats.
He wasn’t a classically handsome man, Courtney thought as she looked at him. He was a little short and a little round. Balding. But there was a kindness in his eyes. A gentleness that made her feel, in her gut, that her mom was going to do very well with Neil.
Now he leaned forward, his hands on the table. “I have a few things to say and then we’ll eat pie.”
They waited.
“I was very lucky to find your mother. I’ve told you before, I lost my first wife to cancer and it took me years to get over the loss. I didn’t want to be alone, but I couldn’t imagine loving anyone the way I’d loved her.”
He drew in a breath. “And here’s the funny thing. I don’t love Maggie the same. I love her differently. It’s just as wonderful, just as deep, but I don’t for a moment think I’m marrying someone who’s similar. Maggie is her own person.”
He smiled at them. “So don’t worry that I expect you to see me as your father. I hope, over time, we’ll be close. That you’ll see me as someone you can come to, a man you can trust. But I’m not your father and I don’t expect to replace him.”
Sienna nodded. “Thank you for saying that. You never had children?”
“No. We weren’t blessed. I hope you girls don’t mind if I sometimes think of you as mine. Just because it makes me happy.”
“That would be all right,” Rachel told him.
“Good. I’m hoping I can convince your mother to sell her business and travel with me, but if she wants to work awhile longer, I’ll keep myself busy. I also want you to know that I did all right in my business. I’ve put aside some money for your mother. It’s in a trust fund. If I go first, she’ll be taken care of. I don’t want you to worry.”
Courtney might not remember much about her father, but she did remember her mother worrying about how things were going to work out. Even after she was successful and the family was back in a house, she’d made comments from time to time that had made it clear that the fear of losing everything hadn’t gone away. Courtney couldn’t recall the man, but the pain his passing had caused had stayed with her. She and Maggie had their differences. Maybe they would always clash, but even so, she was happy to know there was a wonderful man who had her mother’s back.
Without thinking, she rose and walked around the table. She leaned over and hugged Neil.
“Thank you,” she told him. “For loving her. I hope you’ll be very happy together.”
“Thank you, my dear.”
Courtney returned to her seat. Neil cleared his throat.
“Now that we have that out of the way, I thought I’d get your opinions on taking your mother to Vail for our honeymoon. There are some lovely resorts. This time of year, it’s relatively quiet. There’s enough nature to be beautiful, but also shopping and lots of restaurants.”
“It sounds lovely,” Rachel told him.
Sienna fluffed her short hair. “Jennifer Aniston honeymooned in Bora Bora. You could go there.”
Neil smiled. “I’m not really the swimsuit type.”
Courtney leaned toward her sister. “Since when did you care where Jennifer Aniston honeymooned?”
Sienna laughed. “I don’t. I have no idea why I mentioned it.”
“It’s a lovely suggestion,” Neil told her, “but I think we’ll stick to Vail.” He reached for the menus at the center of the table and handed them around. “Now, I understand the peach pie is not to be missed. Who will join me in a piece?”
* * *
The house was definitely a starter home—small, old and far from the beach. But the garden was pretty and there were a lot of windows to let in light.
Sienna had seen the open-house signs as she’d driven back to the office. She’d been at a women’s business group luncheon, talking about what The Helping Store did for women in need. She’d ignored the first sign but had turned when she’d seen the second.
Despite the fact that it was a Tuesday afternoon and the open house was due to close in a few minutes, there were three other cars parked in front. She pulled in behind a young couple and followed them inside. Jimmy winked when he saw her. He handed all three of them flyers.
“New on the market,” he said with an easy, welcoming smile. “The sellers are motivated. I’ve had a lot of interest and I expect this one to go quickly. Please let me know if you have any questions.”
She murmured her thanks and walked from the surprisingly large living room to the kitchen in back. It was smaller and in need of updating, but it had that look of being well loved. There were stencils up by the ceiling, and the tiles were carefully scrubbed.
She checked out the two tiny bedrooms and the single bath, then went out into the backyard. It was a decent size, with a fence. No view—not this far east of the ocean.
All the windows were open and she could hear the other couples talking.
“I like it, too,” a man said. “But, sweetie, could you be happy in this kitchen? You love to cook, and the right layout is important to you. We couldn’t afford to remodel for a few years.”
There was genuine concern in his voice. Love, she thought wistfully. He cared about her. Wanted her to be excited about their first home.
She went back inside and found her way to the small dining room. Jimmy had placed a notebook there with different pictures of the house along with information about the area, including schools and local restaurants and shopping. With three large companies moving to the area, they were getting plenty of relocations. The town was growing fast.
She sat at the table and looked through the notebook. Although she studied the pages, she didn’t read the words. Instead of pictures, she saw David’s face and wondered if anyone could hear love in his voice.
Their relationship confused her. On the one hand, he was sweet and supportive. On the other, she worried he was obsessed with her looks. Even more troubling, she couldn’t pin down what she felt. Sometimes she was convinced she barely liked him, and other times she really wanted to be with him.
Was that love? It didn’t sound like any of the definitions she’d ever heard, but maybe it was different for everyone. Maybe this was her version of love.
It wasn’t like what her mom had with Neil. Just looking at them she could see they belonged together. They were happy. She would have put Rachel and Greg in that category, but they were divorced now. Even so, there had been a rightness to their marriage. Courtney had always avoided long-term commitments. Maybe that was going to change with Quinn. As for herself—she still had more questions than answers.
A few minutes later the last of the prospective buyers left, and Jimmy joined her at the table.
“Successful?” she asked.
“I’m expecting an offer in the next day or so. Maybe more than one.”
“You do good work.”
“Thanks.” He studied her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. A little introspective, but it will pass.”
He took a bottle of water from the collection at the center of the table and opened it. “Want to talk about it?”
Discuss David with Jimmy? That would be awkward. “Have you ever been in love?”
He paused in the act of taking a drink. “You are introspective.” He put the bottle down and considered the question. “Once, there was this girl. She was blonde and funny, and when she smiled, it was like the best thing in my world.” He shrugged. “But we were young and it didn’t work out.”
“There has to have been someone other than me,” she told him. “Not that I don’t appreciate the compliment.”
“I’m pretty sure you were the only one I could say I loved. There have been other women, but it wasn’t the same.” He took a drink. “I’m not worried. The right one will come along.”
“You are a catch.”
He flashed her a grin. “So they tell me. What about you? Besides me, of course. That Chicago guy and David. Anyone else?”
“No.” She wasn’t even sure about Hugh anymore. Had she loved him, or had she loved what he represented? And David...
“Are you coming to my mom’s wedding?” she asked, not wanting to talk about love anymore.
“You know it. I got my invitation the other day. I’ve already RSVP’d.” He frowned. “It was very pink.”
“The invitation? I saw.” She laughed. “You might want to brace yourself. There’s going to be a lot of pink at the reception. Are you bringing a date?”
“Nope. I’m going to be cruising the single ladies, though. Maybe I can hook up with one of the bridesmaids.”
“Unlikely. It’s me, Courtney and Rachel. I honestly can’t see you wanting to sleep with one of my sisters.”
“That’s true.” He winked at her.
Oh! Did he mean to imply...her? The thought hit her low in the belly. But she was with David and they were engaged.
“I’m teasing,” Jimmy told her. “Don’t panic.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You looked ready to run.”
Maybe, but not for the reasons he thought. She reached for a bottle of water. “Want me to save you a dance?”
“Absolutely.”
* * *
Courtney had been to Los Angeles before. There had been a couple of trips to Disneyland—which was technically Orange County, but close enough—along with Universal Studios. She’d spent a weekend with a girlfriend in Mischief Bay. But her only knowledge of Malibu came from what she’d seen in magazines or on TV.
The drive along Pacific Coast Highway was amazing. The ocean stretched on forever. The sky was clear, the temperature warm. There was heavy traffic, but she didn’t mind that they had to go slow. That meant more time for her to gape at everything.
Quinn turned down a residential street. She was a little surprised to see walls and garage doors rather than houses. There were no high roofs and mansions, at least not that she could see.
He stopped in front of a closed wrought-iron gate and pushed a button on the underside of his rearview mirror. The gate swung open. Courtney saw a relatively short driveway with a four-car garage at the other end. There was a pathway leading to a modest-looking solid front door.
Quinn parked in the driveway and collected both of their bags. They walked to the front door, where he used a keypad to let them in. She stepped inside and realized the outside had been deliberately misleading.
The house was huge. She stood in a massive foyer. The floors were marble and the chandelier looked as if it might be Italian. She wasn’t sure. There was an open living room with multiple seating areas. A giant dining room that could easily seat twenty was to the left, and stairs leading down were to the right. She had the impression of expensive artwork and the studied casual air of a room designed by someone who knew what they were doing. But what really caught her attention was the view.
The entire west wall was floor-to-ceiling windows. She could see down to the beach and the ocean beyond. There was a big deck and outside stairs leading to the sand.
Quinn led the way downstairs. She followed. The second level was more living space, but this seemed to be where he might actually spend his time. There was a restaurant-size kitchen, a comfortable living room and what looked like a den. Complicated electronics filled a glass-fronted cabinet. She noticed built-in speakers everywhere, which made sense, given what he did for a living.
Again, the view dominated everything. Light spilled into the house, and she knew if she opened a sliding glass door she would hear the sound of the ocean, along with the cries of the seagulls.
They went down one more floor. She saw a nice-size guest room and the master bedroom. The latter was big, with a fireplace and a luxury bathroom. The tub was large enough for five, as was the shower. On this level, the beach was right outside. There was a huge patio and seating. She looked from him to the window and back.
“Seriously? You’re leaving all this to live in Los Lobos?”
“After a while, you stop seeing the view.”
“Then you should get your eyes checked. This is incredible.”
He chuckled and put both bags on the bed. “I assume you’re sleeping with me,” he said easily. “There’s the guest room if you prefer.”
She tilted her head. “Really? Why would I want that? Although it’s very polite of you to offer. Your grandmother would be so proud.”
He winced. “Let’s not tell her.”
“I’m sure she wants to hear about your sex life about as much as you want to talk about it.” She turned in a slow circle. “You’re really going to sell this place?”
“That’s the plan. It goes on the market next week.”
“You’re not going to find anything like this in Los Lobos.”
“I don’t want anything like this. I’m ready to move on.” He crossed to her and pulled her close. “About our few days here. I have a plan.”
“I like it already.”
He kissed her lightly. “We’ll unpack, make love, then go shopping. Tonight we’ll eat in and tomorrow I’ll show you the sights. Thursday night is the party, then we’ll drive home Friday.”
She gazed at him, taking in the lines of his face. Passion flared in his eyes. He was tall and powerful, and when she was around him, she felt better about herself. As if she could do anything.
She smiled. “So we’re just having sex the one time?”
He laughed. “I think we can do it a second time, if it’s important to you.”
She loved how he teased her. Well, two could play at that. “You’re old. I don’t want to strain your heart.”
He kissed her again. “You’re young. I don’t want to shock you with my debauched ways.”
“Are you debauched?”
“I might have been, once or twice.” He straightened. “Courtney, you know there have been other women in my life.”
Not a question, she thought, unclear on the message. “I was clear that you weren’t a virgin, yes.”
“At the party,” he began, then hesitated.
She couldn’t remember a time when Quinn hadn’t known what to say. She put her hands flat on his chest.
“I get the mean girl thing. They’ll want me to know why I don’t belong or tell me you really don’t care. It won’t be about me.” She thought about what it had been like when she’d been the oldest and tallest girl in her class. “I’ve been through a lot worse. I’ll be fine.”
“I never doubted that for a second.”