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Gemma was older than the rest, about six years. She knew everything about everyone. Married to a much older investment banker, Gemma lived a comfortable life. She had three grown children and had retired before forty.
“I’m wonderful,” Charlie answered casually, keeping her posture indifferent. This couldn’t have come in a worse time. She didn’t have the energy to battle wits with these women. Hoping for a simple lunch with her friends, she didn’t expect another investigative reporter digging into her life.
“Your hair, Charlie.What a change,” commented Gemma, her tone an octave more factitious as she smoothed down her purple wrap dress. “You must be going through something.”
“I’ve already put in our orders,” Charlie said to the group, ignoring the remark. “Our usual. But we’ll need to call the staff over to add Gemma. I didn’t know she was coming.” She eyed Gisele, who only returned a witless smile.
“It was last minute,” Gisele explained gaily. “I bumped into her this morning while shopping and mentioned our brunch. Since she was free, I thought she might join us! The more, the merrier!”
“Merrier” was hardly the word Charlie would choose, but she had manners, unfortunately. The subsequent conversations ensued, with most of the questions thrown at her, but she responded diplomatically.
While her friends chattered, Charlie’s mind drifted. It was the same conversations with the same people. Not that she minded; she grew up with most of them. They shared similar interests and family backgrounds, but overtime she found the repetitiveness tedious.
“Hey, isn’t that Matt?” Eunice asked.
Their table was in a corner window, facing the courtyard of Stonegate Village Outdoor Plaza. Everyone turned to look. Over by the tiered marble water fountain sat a few people, but Charlie saw her ex-fiancé with a woman next to him, looking very cozy and intimate. They didn’t live in a small town, but everyone came to Stonegate. Matt coming out in public with someone meant he wasn’t trying to be discreet.
Good. She was glad he was moving on.
“He doesn’t waste any time,” said Gisele.
Charlie observed, noticing something different about him. He was always impeccably groomed, but there was a layer of radiance bouncing off from him today. More lively. This was the happiest she had ever seen him.
Feelings of failure swarmed over her in thinking she wasn’t the one to liven up Matt’s life like the way this woman seemed to. Has a man ever smiled like that because of her? She knew it wasn’t her fault; they just weren’t compatible.
Thenwhowas she compatible with?
Certainly not Rick.
“Looks like he already has a date for the club’s anniversary party. What about you, Charlie?”
Charlie didn’t notice Gemma asking her a question until Gisele opened her mouth.
“Don’t worry about Charlie. She’s got Rick.”
“Rick?” Gemma’s curiosity rose.
“Her new man!”
“Yes! Charlie, you’re bringing him, right? So we can all meet him?”
Charlie winced. “Hmm?”
“The club’s sixtieth anniversary party next week. You’re going to bring Rick, right?”
With so many pairs of eyes on her, Charlie was a caged animal on display at a zoo. It was suffocating, and the only thing she could think of was Rick and how much she wanted him to takeher away, but she couldn’t very well use him as a fallback anymore.
Glaring at the group, she huffed an indignant breath. “I thought I already made myself clear that Rick was a friend.”
That didn’t seem to deter Gisele a bit. “Well, you could still bring him over.Friendsare also welcome.”
Charlie didn’t know whether to give the woman a piece of her mind, or to save her breath. Because while Gisele was being insufferable, Charlie couldn’t help thinking Rick was the only person she’d want to bring along.
The afternoon sun was slowly making its way down the horizon, just in time for Rick and Nick to arrive at the summit of their hike.
After a late lunch, they drove to the entrance of the Hollywood Sign trail. Rick brought his camera and wide-angle lens, intending to take photos of the famous sign during twilight.
“I’m missing work to come all the way up here for you to take some pictures?” Nick asked wryly. “And I thought I’d be romanced.”
