“Thank you so much for coming with me,” Cindy said earnestly. “I was so scared to start the process, and I don’t know why.”
“You said before you’ve been mentally planning your wedding since you were a little girl,” Victoria said. “That’s a lot of pressure to put on satin and lace.”
Cindy laughed. “You’re right.” She looked around. “This is where Luis asked me out for the first time. We sometimes came here after a hard day, just to talk and unwind. For the first couple of years after we lost Gina, we mostly talked about her. Then we started talking about each other. Looking back I realize figuring out that we were in love was a gradual thing.” Her smile returned. “Although I would guess you’re the more impulsive type when it comes to love.”
“I don’t do love,” Victoria said flatly.
“No, don’t say that. Loving someone is wonderful.”
“It rips out your heart and leaves you alone and stupid.”
Cindy nodded slowly. “So who’s the guy?”
Victoria knew she could pretend not to know what the other woman was talking about, but they would both know she was lying.
“Prescott Jameson.”
Cindy’s mouth dropped open. “The actor? Prescott Jameson, the guy from the space movie and that Western trilogy that made all of us want to move to Montana?”
“That’s the one,” Victoria said, telling herself she was long over Prescott. What she couldn’t seem to shake was the stupidity that had overtaken her when it came to the man.
“Despite the Montana references in the movie, it was actually filmed in New Zealand. I was on the stunt team.”
“Oh, you must have doubled for Morgana. I can see it. You look a lot like her, and you have the same body type.”
“A lucky accident for my career. The movie was a huge break for me. We filmed all three movies at the same time. A logistical nightmare, but one that was cost-effective for the studio. We were on location nearly six months.”
She held in a sigh. “I knew set romances were always a bad idea. I went over there knowing I wouldn’t get involved. Prescott came on to me a couple of times, but I told him no.”
Cindy leaned forward. “He won you over?”
“He wooed me. He was funny and charming and easy to be with.”
And sexy, but she didn’t say that. No doubt Cindy would figure it out all on her own.
“We started hanging out together. At first it was as friends, but then it was more and I fell hard. He swore he felt the same, but the second we got back to LA, he dumped me. And I do mean the second. We were literally standing in baggage claim. He grabbed his bag, told me it was over and walked away.”
She’d been both jet-lagged and devastated. Worse, she had no one to blame but herself. She’d known what he was, and she’d fallen for him anyway.
“Oh no.” Cindy’s tone was sympathetic. “I’m so sorry. What a jerk.”
“He was, but the final revenge is mine. I’m working through my feelings in my screenplay, and he comes out as a total asshole.”
“Perfect. Who does she fall for instead?”
“No one.” Victoria shrugged. “Love isn’t required for a happy ending.”
“Sure, it is. We all need love in our lives.”
“I agree that relationships are important, but romantic loveis for fools.” She paused. “Present company and my parents excluded, of course.”
Cindy looked at her. “Is that what you learned from your relationship with Prescott? Because it’s the wrong lesson. He was a terrible man to use you like that, but he’s the exception, not the rule. Victoria, you have to allow yourself to believe in love. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life alone. And what about children?”
“They’re not on my radar, but if and when they are, technically I don’t need a man for anything but getting pregnant. I could be a really cool single mom. Maybe not as good as you, but I’d sure try to be.”
“It’s a lot harder than you think,” Cindy told her. “It’d be much easier with a partner. Having someone you can count on makes life so much better. You’ve seen your parents’ relationship your whole life. Why hasn’t that influenced you?”
“Because they’re the exception. I’ll never have that kind of luck.”
