matching beret, I don’t think I got soaked too badly.”
He’d been suckered. Within days of ripping open the box, Lexie would have those dolls naked and looking like she’d picked them up at a garage sale. Georgeanne rarely bought Lexie expensive toys. Her daughter didn’t treat them any better than she did her things that were less costly, but mostly, there were a lot of months when Georgeanne couldn’t afford to drop one hundred twenty dollars on two dolls.
She had a tendency to go a little crazy and spend a lot at Christmas and on birthdays, but she had to budget and set money aside for those occasions. John didn’t. Last month, as their lawyers had hammered out a custody agreement, she’d learned that he made six million a year playing hockey, plus half that much through investments and endorsements. She could never compete with that.
She looked into his smiling face and wondered what he was up to. If she wasn’t careful, he would take everything and leave her with nothing but that hairless dog.
Chapter Seventeen
“Did you want your latte skinny or mocha?”
Georgeanne asked Mae as she packed the metal filter with espresso.
“Skinny,” Mae answered without taking her attention from Pongo, who lay curled up crunching on a doggie biscuit. “Damn, that’s pathetic. My cat is bigger than your dog. Bootsie could kick his butt.”
“Lexie,” Georgeanne called out, “Mae is saying bad things about Pongo again.”
Lexie walked into the kitchen, shoving her arms through the sleeves of her raincoat. “Don’t say bad things about my dog.” She scowled and grabbed her backpack from the table. “He’s sensitive.” She dropped down on her knees and pushed her face next to the dog’s. “I have to go to school now, I’ll see you later.” The puppy stopped eating his biscuit long enough to lick Lexie’s mouth.
“Hey now, I’ve told you about that,” Georgeanne scolded as she took a carton of skim milk from the refrigerator. “He has bad habits.”
Lexie shrugged and stood. “I don’t care. I love him.”
“Well, I care. Now, you better get over to Amy’s or you’ll miss your ride.”
Lexie puckered her lips for a kiss good-bye.
Georgeanne shook her head and walked Lexie to the front door. “I don’t kiss girls who kiss dawgs who lick themselves.” From the entrance she watched Lexie cross the street, then she turned back to the kitchen. “She’s absolutely nuts about that puppy,” she told Mae as she headed toward the espresso machine. “She’s had him five days, and he’s taken over our lives. You should see the little denim vest she’s made for him.”
“I have something to tell you,” Mae blurted quickly.
Georgeanne looked over her shoulder at her friend. She’d suspected something was up with Mae. She usually didn’t come by so early for coffee, and she’d been acting a little distant for the past few days. “What is it?”
“I love Hugh.”
Georgeanne smiled and filled the espresso machine with two cups of water. “I love you, too.”
“No.” Mae shook her head. “You don’t understand. I love
“What?” Her hands stilled and her brows lowered. “John’s friend?”
“Yes.”
Georgeanne set down the glass carafe but forgot to turn on the machine. “I thought you hated him.”
“I did, but I don’t now.”
“What happened?”
Mae looked as perplexed as Georgeanne felt. “I don’t know! He took me home from a club last Friday night, and he never left.”
“He’s been living with you for the past six days?” Georgeanne walked over to the kitchen table. She had to sit down.
“Well, for the past six nights mostly.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No, but I understand how you might think so. I don’t know how it happened. One minute I was telling him that he couldn’t come into my house, and then before I really realized what had happened, we were both naked and fighting over who got to be on top. He won and I fell in love with him.”
Georgeanne was numb with shock. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. He was on top.”
“I didn’t mean that!” If there was one thing that Georgeanne wished she could change about her relationship with Mae, it was Mae’s tendency to share details Georgeanne didn’t care to know. “Are you sure you’re in love with him?”
Mae nodded, and for the first time in their seven-year friendship, Georgeanne watched tears well up in her brown eyes. Mae was always so strong, it broke Georgeanne’s heart to see her cry. “Oh, honey,” she sighed, and moved to kneel by Mae’s chair. “I’m so sorry.” She wrapped her arms around her friend and tried to comfort her. “Men are such jerks.”
“I know,” Mae sobbed. “Everything was wonderful, and then he had to do this.”
“What did he do?”
Mae pulled back and look into Georgeanne’s face. “He asked me to marry him.”
Georgeanne sat back on her heels, speechless.
“I told him it was too soon, but he wouldn’t listen. He said that he loved me, and he knows that I love him.” She grabbed the end of Georgeanne’s linen tablecloth and wiped beneath her eyes. “I told him that I didn’t think we should get married right now, but he just wouldn’t listen.”
“Of course you can’t marry him now.” Georgeanne held on to the table and pulled herself to her feet. “Last week you didn’t even
“I knew after the third night.”
Georgeanne found her chair. She felt dizzy and had to sit down again. “Are you confusing me on purpose? Do you want to marry him?”
“Oh yeah.”
“But you told him no?”
“I told him yes! I tried to tell him no, but I couldn’t,” she said, and burst into renewed tears. “It may sound foolish and impulsive, but I really do love him, and I don’t want to throw away this chance to be happy.”
“You don’t sound very happy.”
“I am! I’ve never felt this way. Hugh makes me feel good, even though I never knew I could feel any better. He makes me laugh, and he thinks I’m funny. He makes me happy, but…” She paused and wiped her eyes again. “I want you to be happy, too.”
“Me?”
“The past few months you’ve been miserable, especially after what happened in Oregon. I feel horrible because you’re unhappy and I’ve never been happier.”
“I’m happy,” she assured Mae, and wondered if it was true. With everything happening in her life, she hadn’t stopped to think about how she felt. If she thought about it now, the only word that came to mind was
Mae put her hands in Georgeanne’s. “I know this whole thing sounds impetuous, but I really do love Hugh,” she said, her face lighting up when she spoke his name.
Georgeanne gazed into her friend’s eyes and let the romance and excitement of it all override her doubts- for the moment. “Have you picked a date?”
“October tenth.”
“That’s in three weeks!”
