Chapter12
“What kindof tanning salon are you going to down there? Your skin looks flawless,” Karensaid.
Lola took a swig of her mimosa. How could she explain to her friend, a spoiled heiress, that it all happened naturally? Her new hectic lifestyle left her no time to go to a tanning salon. “Too long under the Texan sun, babes.”
“Sounds like a great movie title.” London winked. “With some hot virile hunks.”
Lola nudged her friend. Of all of them, London had been the one she missed most. Maybe because the two of them shared almost everything with each other. And she was the only one who knew his name before he’d become the most sought-after designer in LA: Eugene Sandovall. A secret she would take to her grave.
“Talking about hot virile cowboys, where’s your ex?” Luce asked, smoothing her platinum blondehair.
Lola looked at her three friends. They occupied the most coveted table at the Ivy. Did she want to spoil such a marvelous lunch to talk about her personal life? When she herself didn’t know what the hell was goingon?
She cleared her throat. “He’s working.”
“So are you two back together? You came to LA together right?” Karen lifted her eyebrow. God, they were perfectly manicured too—Lola knew Karen’s eyebrow specialist scheduled clients months in advance.
Lola shrugged. “More like in the same plane.”
“Are you staying more like in the same hotel room?” London teased. “More like in the samebed?”
Heat filled her cheeks. Shit. “I-It’s not what you think. Once I open my business, he’ll move out of the ranch and we’ll get legally divorced. We’re just sort of doing a pre-divorce party. Just for the two of us. Naked.”
“Sounds like a good plan. But why don’t you take him for all he’s got? Financially?” Karen asked. Twice divorced, Karen wasted no time with crying over spiltmilk.
“Ugh… because I don’t want his money.”
London whistled. “She just wants hiscock.
Lola nudged his elbow. “I see your manners haven’t improved.”
“Don’t you go all Southern belle on me, babydoll.”
“Why wouldn’t you secure your future? The man is loaded, and you are still married to him.” The lawyer in Luce was just too much to ignore. That had been how Luce and Karen became friends—Luce had represented Karen in her second divorce.
“I’m not going to screw him over. I’ve spent my whole life using Daddy’s money as Plan B. Now, I’m my own PlanB.”
“Cheers to independence.” London lifted his glass. “Your boobs look bigger too. Or is it a newbra?”
“Are you calling me fat?” Gosh. Granted her friends didn’t sugarcoat it, but c’mon. Why did she feel out of place with them? That was a first.
He blew her a kiss. “Never, babe.”
Perhaps she should stop eating Consuelo’s food and start eating her own—that would drop a few pounds quickly. She studied her friends, as they started to gossip about the latest nightclub and the celebrities that had been seen getting wasted in it. Months earlier, she’d get firsthand invites to the hottest parties intown.
And now… not so much. Has she missed them? Not really.
She played with her food a little. Why hadn’t Luce and Karen tried harder to keep in touch? London had been sweet, offering to do her graphic designing for her B&B pro bono which meant a lot, especially because he was one of the best around.
The girls though… Lola sighed. Had she really missedthem?
No. She had gotten used to her life at the ranch. What if the tranquility didn’t last, like other decisions she’d made before? She didn’t envision herself on a ranch in Texas, away from the only life she’d known. A couple of years was all it would take, for the business to really take off and for her to step down. But did she want to step down? Or did she want to stay and really become part of the fabric of the community—the people she was coming to know as herown?
“So when is the big opening?” London asked.
“Soon. You guys are coming, right?”
Luce and Karen looked at each other, hesitating.
