Page 98 of Late Harvest

Remy rolled her head against the back cushion to face Gen, who’d sunk into the other overstuffed chair. She filled her lungs with air, wrangling with the impulse to tell Gen the truth. It seemed pointless to keep it from her.

And yet…other than Lila, whom she’d known professionally for more than a decade, she barely knew Nell and Gen—though she’d blurted the real story to Nell early on. If she revealed the nature of her deal with Sebastian, and one of them wasn’t what they appeared, it would blow up a carefully constructed ruse. Worse…Walter Pennyrose would yank away Sebastian’s dream role, and he’d become far too important to her to let that happen.

She examined Gen, her mind and heart warring. Remy had naturally gravitated to Etta, who’d become the truest of friends. The kind that turns into a sister of the heart. But considering her heinous choice in life partners—a.k.a. Doug Greene—she couldn’t call herself a shrewd judge of character, either. What if Gen, Nell, and Lila weren’t as they appeared?

Her fellow Red Wine Supper Club members sat quietly, giving her space to process. She stared at the picture of Etta and Tasha on the mantle, their happy faces pressed together, beaming with joy and love. Remy’s throat caught with tears.

“It’s ok, Remy.” Nell rubbed soothing circles on her back. “You don’t need to say anything more.” When a lone tear snaked down Remy’s cheek, Nell reached for an unused napkin and handed it to her. “The Red Wine Supper Club is a vault. But no one needs to share anything they don’t want to. Or can’t.”

“Exactly,” Gen whispered. “Just know we’re here for you. And we can see you’re struggling, so all you need to do is SOS⁠—”

“And we’ll come running,” Lila finished. “That’s what friends are for.”

Nell’s eyes danced, and in an incredible, chills-inducing contralto, she started singing the refrain in the eighties ear worm by Dionne Warwick. “Keep smiling…”

Lila and Gen joined in, and soon Remy did too, the four of them spontaneously belting out the song and then breaking into tipsy laughter.

“Girl…you’ve got a set of pipes on you!” Lila marveled. “What other secrets are you keeping from us?”

Nell blushed furiously, every bit of her a bright pink. “None,” she squeaked.

Gen side-hugged her lifelong bestie, pressing an affectionate kiss to the side of Nell’s ginger hair that vied with her flushed cheeks for brightness. “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Our girl here is crazy talented. She just doesn’t ever sing in public.”

“Gen,” Nell admonished on a pained whisper. “Don’t embellish.”

“I just speak the truth. And I will always be the first to sing your talents from the mountaintops. I mean”—Gen beamed a wicked grin—“‘That’s what friends are for…’”

“I love you guys.” Lila scanned the three other women with emotion. “I mean it. You’re…you’re just…really beautiful people. Thank you for being my friends.”

Gen snickered. “Now I wanna sing the theme to The Golden Girls.”

As semi-buzzed giggles filled the room, Remy pressed a fingertip to the corner of her eye, where a fresh wave of tears—happy ones—threatened to break free.

Deep in her core, a calm and certain part of Remy recognized she could trust them all. She quickly closed the windows—this was not something to be overheard by anyone—and turned to Gen. “Sebastian and I have an arrangement,” she began, and poured out her heart.

Chapter Fifty-Two

You are stronger than your shitty ass excuses. Knock that shit off.

—From Remy’s Badass Bitch Affirmations

Remy

“Twenty million dollars?” Gen’s eyes were wide as saucers.

“Yes. For St. D’s,” Remy confirmed. “And in exchange, Sebastian and I have a fake marriage, until after the premiere.”

Gen pointed to Lila and Nell. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“Because we’re not,” Lila admitted. “I knew about it. From the beginning.”

“And I learned not long after that,” Nell added, looking guilty.

Gen cocked her head and smiled fondly at her friend. “Why does that not surprise me? No one can get a person to unload their heart quite like Nell. It’s all her experience from handling the drama of four close-in-age daughters.”

She faced Remy. “It’s a really charged situation isn’t it? High stakes. Of course you wouldn’t just tell me something that has the power to hurt a lot of people. I would expect caution. Hell, it’s part of our cavewomen survival DNA. I’m honored that you shared the details of your fake relationship with me. I will protect your confidence.”

“Thank you.” Relief whooshed through Remy’s veins.