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“And what would you know about men and their intentions these days?” Beatrice asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I know enough from the movies.”
“Because that’s realistic,” Beatrice argued, shaking her head.
“Back to the point at hand. Our dear Rachel, here, has a gentleman caller of apparently what most women would consider a sexy body type. That’s what we’re discussing.”
“He is not my caller. He just took me to the hospital and was checking up on me. He was being nice. That’s all there is to it. There was no sexiness or one-night stand business or anything of the sort. Maybe you two need better spies if that’s the information you got.” Rachel dismissed their queries with the waving of a hand.
“That’s what they all say,” Beatrice argued. “And I notice you didn’t deny he was sexy. Just sexiness. Come on, admit it. I can tell by the look in your eyes that you were attracted to him. Nothing wrong with that, no matter what the blasted club of yours says.”
Gigi and Beatrice knew all about the No Brides Club. They loved the women in the club and loved the idea of women focusing on themselves and their careers. They were both, however, hopeless romantics, too, and didn’t think Rachel should box herself into a life without commitment. They’d had quite a few conversations about it.
Rachel felt her cheeks warming. “It’s a moot point whether I think he’s sexy or not. You know my focus is on my career.”
“To be honest,” Gigi started, “you know I’m not a fan of men or marriage or any of that kind of stuff. Obviously. Never been worth much, in my opinion. But love, well, I think it’s good for some people.” She turned to Beatrice, her expression softening. “Beatrice and I both chose our careers over love, and it’s been okay. We’ve had each other to enjoy life with. But Rachel, I worry about you. Building your career is important, darling, but it isn’t everything. I just don’t want you to wake up one day with a successful career but no one to share it with. Life is long, and careers come and go. But love, well, it’s kind of what makes it all worth it.”
Rachel smiled, studying the two women. Maybe they were right. After all, they would know. They were rarely wrong. .
But Beatrice and Gigi were different than Rachel. They’d established careers, had achieved success.. Rachel felt like she still had a lot to accomplish.
“Okay, enough sappy crap for one day. Here, open your gift. We thought this stuff might cheer you,” Beatrice announced.
Rachel dug into the pink gift bag, pulling out items. There were two bottles of wine, a shot glass from Las Vegas, some magazines that made Rachel blush, and a chocolate bar big enough to keep Rachel sustained for months. Other than the magazines, Gigi and Beatrice knew exactly what she needed.
“Gigi picked the magazines, but the rest was me. Hope this helps cheer you. And you know we’re right next door if you need anything.”
“Thanks, guys,” Rachel replied, smiling.
“The woman in the gift shop said those magazines were sexy. Now, we didn’t realize at the time you had your own sexy man swinging by, so these might not be as needed. Or, heck, what am I talking about, maybe they will. Alone, bored in the apartment—I’d imagine you could use something to spice it up. Honestly, if you ask me, the cover guy’s you know what doesn’t look very impressive, even in that snug little speedo, not that it would impress me anyway. But still, you’d think—”
“Thank you,” Rachel interrupted, not wanting this conversation to go anywhere else. Gigi wasn’t afraid to be frank. Too frank sometimes. And she loved Gigi and Beatrice, she did, but talking about the scandalous cover model’s you know what just wasn’t something she’d planned discussing today with two eighty-somethings.
“Love you both,” she said, squeezing them both in for a hug. And she meant it. Despite the fact she couldn’t dare keep a secret from either of them, she loved them. Along with her friends, they were what kept her going, kept her chasing her dreams, and kept her feeling connected in the big, sometimes lonely city.
Rachel hobbled up on her crutches to see them out as they packed Frank back into the purse to head home, just a few steps away.
“If the hunky guy comes back, you better believe we’re interrogating him,” Beatrice added before leaving. “We have to make sure he’s worthy of you.”
“There’s no need, Beatrice. I’m not interested in anything,” Rachel assured again. She still had no doubt the two of them would be watching like hawks for Zander to return.
“That’s what they all say,” Gigi replied, shaking her head.
Rachel shut her door, smiling at the two neighbor ladies who just livened up the place. She headed back to the sofa, digging out the chocolate and the bottle of wine, leaving the magazines at the bottom of the bag, not really wanting to ponder over Gigi’s words or anything else in it, for that matter.
Some things were better left unexplored, she knew. Magazines, love, and other things of the sort.
