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"Let's say it does. What then?"
Everett pondered the question…and couldn't stop the smile that formed.
That evening Tessapressed her nose to the lavender bouquet delivered to her salon earlier that afternoon and breathed deeply. Had she mentioned how much she loved lavender?
"What have we here?"
Tessa blinked and opened her eyes to find Mary Elizabeth standing just inside the salon door, still holding the knob.
"And I'll also askwhohas put that smile on your face?"
Tessa flushed but hesitated to tell her friend about Kirk.
"Oh, my word…are they from Bruce?"
"What?No. No, I haven't… Why would my ex send me flowers?" Tessa turned away from the bouquet and set about her daily closing routine. Most of the girls had already gone for the day, but a few remained in the kitchen discussing an upcoming concert.
"I just thought since you mentioned seeing him so much—"
"Inpassing. Not in a we've-had-words kind of way." Tessa grabbed a bottle of disinfectant from the cabinet as well as a rag and began spraying down the checkout desk and glass display.
"Okay, but the flowers are from a man?" Mary Elizabeth asked.
"They might be," Tessa said, scrubbing the smudged glass extra hard.
"Tell me everything," MeMe ordered. "What's his name? What does he do? Is he retired? Does he have children?"
Tessa laughed at the barrage of questions, but at the same time, unease settled deep within her. "He's...a businessman."
"A local?"
"Yes, though newish to the area."
"Okay, and…? Come on, why are you being so secretive? It's me!"
"I know, it's just… He's a bit younger than me."
Mary Elizabeth's gaze narrowed suspiciously.
"How much younger?"
Oh, why did her friendshaveto know details? "He'll... be fifty in another month."
Mary Elizabeth gasped and then choked to the point Tessa had to pound her friend on her back before rushing to get a tiny bottle of water from the fridge. Or maybe she should open a bottle of wine now that she'd spilled her news? They literally were on island time.
She shook her head at her musings and twisted off the cap before handing the bottle to Mary Elizabeth, then made the second trip to the fridge. Since salons were safe havens for women the world over, she kept a well-stocked wine selection for just such discussions. "White or red?"
"Your choice," Mary Elizabeth said in a watery-sounding voice. "Tessa…he'showmany years younger?"
"Are you really going to make me say it? Now you know why I've been so quiet about meeting him. If your reaction is this bad, can you imagine what Cheryl will say?"
Of all the Babes, Cheryl was perhaps the most judgmental and quick to try to keep her family and friends from making what she deemed were mistakes. Cheryl's heart was in the right place, which was why she was forgiven when she got judgy. It just didn't make her comments more palatable.
"It's just that'syoung, even for you."
"What do you mean, even for me?"
"Now don't be that way. You're the one out of all us who's had the most experience with dating. That's all I meant."
