“I thought I’d bring her out to LA when it all begins. I can take a few weeks off.”
“And then what? Bring her back here to see a condo going up in its place? There’s probably not a day in her life where she didn’t look out her windows at the Starlight sign. It’s her center, her purpose, her life.”
“Harry’s taking the town through the motions, but this is all but a done deal. I’ve looked at the plans, the approvals, talked to the city council. They’re dead set on it. Eminent domain gives them complete autonomy.” He lifted the lid from the cookie jar and took out a twenty-dollar bill. “Will this cover dinner?”
“Pizza’s on me, Dad.” Matt waved off the money with a renewed sense of purpose. “I’m going to fight the city council with Granny. Save the Starlight. It should be her own son fighting with her, but whatever.”
“Watch yourself, Matt.” Dad’s face flashed with a bit of anger. “I’ve been on Granny’s side my whole life. When there was no oneelse, I was here. So don’t tell me you’re the Lone Ranger propping her up. If she was smart, she’d take the money and run. Travel. Go to Lauchtenland and see where Prince Blue was born, tour Perrigwynn Palace. Murdock will give her a good deal on one of the condo units, which will be a heck of a lot nicer than the rattletrap she’s been living in since the twenties.”
“If she wants to go to Lauchtenland, I’ll take her, and she can come to LA for as long as she wants. But she’s not giving up that house and you know it. Especially if she loses the Starlight.”
“I wish you’d seen her back in the day, Matt.” Dad softened with a chuckle and looked out the kitchen window toward the rink. “She was a fighter. I gave her guff, but I respected the heck out of her. Shoot, the whole town is tied up with memories of Ma and the Starlight. Remember the first time I put skates on you?”
“I fell backward and cut my head open.”
“But you still wanted to skate.”
Matt laughed softly, then sobered. “She asked me to help her, Dad. I’m going to do what I can.”
HARLOW
In the five days she’d been in Sea Blue Beach, Mom had called fifteen times.
“What’s the plan?”
“How’s itgoing?”
“I sent you a Richard Simmons workout video. Ithink you’ll enjoy it.”
“I found an aerobics studioin a town called Niceville. How far is that fromyou?”
Jinx called once.“CCW still wants you, so...”
Harlow Hayes felt the pressure. The resurrection of her career and the overthrowing of Xander’s power depended on her returning to her former self. Was it even possible to be a hundred-and-thirty-two pounds again? Or even one-thirty-five? It was one thing to be the thin teenager maturing into womanhood. It was another to shove her womanly female self back into a teen body.
She’d been so in love with Xander, enjoying her life with him and planning the wedding, she’d gained seven pounds before the breakup. But now she wasn’t in love, wasn’t enjoying her life, and her habits were hurting her more than Xander.
That was the trouble with rebellion. The rebel suffered the most.
Last night, while trying to figure out the best window covering to keep the light from the big neon sign across the street—Starlight—out of her living room, Harlow assured her mother she was working a diet plan, even spouted off details of her daily routine. She simply left out the part about it being fiction. She intended to do everything she said. Didn’t that count for something?
What caused her delay? For starters, the Blue Plate Diner. It would take Harlow Hayes a month to work through the breakfast options alone. Then there were seafood-and-steak platters and sides like fried green tomatoes and fried pickles. How could she resist? She wasn’t sure she wanted to.
Growing up, she’d never been allowed the luxury to eat what she wanted.
Biggs Market, one of the oldest grocery stores on the coast, sold the thickest cut of steak she’d ever seen, perfectly marbled, and oh my word, send-you-to-heaven delicious.
And what about the ice cream shop, the Tasty Dip, and the half dozen food trucks along the Beachwalk? They all served items from French fries to hot dogs, beignets to sub sandwiches, and her favorite, the one-serving cinnamon rolls, which could be washed down with the creamiest chocolate shake.
Then there was the bakery, Sweet Conversations, which sold the best sourdough and Tuscan bread. Harlow already had more loaves than she could eat in a month. But she couldn’t resist the aroma of freshly baked bread.
Yesterday, when she stopped by for an apple fritter, the girl behind the counter told a curious tourist that the shop was named in honor of the movieTalk to Me Sweetly. What a small world. She was tempted to step up and say,I’m Harlow Hayes. I played theother woman.But when she caught her reflection in the large paned glass, she left without a word. Or the apple fritter.
So far, no one around town had recognized her, for which she was grateful. Besides gaining weight, Harlow Hayes had let her famous golden hair fade to bronze, and without makeup, she looked nothing like the airbrushed girl on the cover ofGlamourorAllure.
But of all the places she loved in Sea Blue Beach, Tony’s Pizza had won her heart. Coming from New York City with the world-famous Lombardi’s, she never expected to find the best pizzaeverin this little town.
Pizza with a glass of wine and the TV tuned to Superstation WTBS had quickly become one of Harlow’s favorite pastimes. The heady taste of dough, tomato sauce, and cheese along with the black-and-white reruns ofLeave It to BeaverandThe Andy Griffith Showrestored her hope in mankind.
