“Ha ha.” Tamsyn finished pouring the three glasses and handed one each to Maggie and Carmen. Tamsyn and Maggie shared a look that Carmen couldn’t decipher as they took each other’s hand.
“So, we asked you over because we have an announcement.” Tamsyn paused and seemed to be collecting herself. Were those tears she blinked back?
Maggie leaned in to Tamsyn. “Want me to say it?”
Tamsyn visibly swallowed. “No, I can do it.” She turned back to Carmen. “We’re getting married!”
“Oh my God, that’s fantastic!” Carmen rushed over to them both.
Mindful of their champagne, the three of them shared a clumsy hug.
“That’s just the most wonderful news.” Carmen was genuinely happy for them. Delighted, in fact. Their story was almost a fairy tale, and she couldn’t have wished for a better ending for them both.
Once again she wondered just what she and Gerald were doing, playing at being in a relationship when it was nothing of the sort. It didn’t help that everyone else she knew in her age bracket was either engaged or already married. She pulled away from the hug and ensured she had a smile on her face when she met their gazes. “So, when and where?”
“September 26th,” Maggie said. “And at the cottage.”
“Oh, I love that! It’s perfect!”
“Will you come?” Tamsyn asked.
“Of course! Wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Carmen grinned. “Tamsyn Harris saying, ‘I do’, and to a woman at that. I assume you’re not inviting the Daily Mail?”
“Ha bloody ha. No, we’re not. In fact, none of the press are invited, and Tony’s hiring a top-notch security firm to make sure no one attempts to trespass.”
“Good!” She gazed at them. “God, I’m so pleased for you both!”
“Thank you.” Maggie gave Carmen a warm smile. “And I’m glad you could pop over tonight. We wanted you to be one of the first to celebrate with us. After all, you played a major role in making sure this could come to pass.”
“Oh, that was nothing. Well, nothing much once I’d got this one to admit she had a heart.” Carmen thumbed in Tamsyn’s direction.
“Whatever,” the actress said.
Maggie chuckled.
Tamsyn raised her glass in a toast. “To Carmen. Friend first, agent second.” Her brown eyes were filled with affection, and Carmen’s cheeks heated. “I will be forever grateful for what you did two years ago, my friend. Thank you for teaching me that there was definitely more to life than a career and for helping me bring this amazing woman back into my life.” Tamsyn turned her gaze to Maggie, who took her hand and brought it to her lips to kiss.
The depth of love between the two women was like a living, breathing entity holding space in the room, so palpable Carmen could almost reach out and touch it. She shivered as an intense wave of longing washed over her.
After a few moments, Tamsyn seemed to remember there was someone else in the room, her blush adorable as she looked back at Carmen. “Um, sorry. Where was I?”
“Thanking our friend.” Maggie threw Carmen a warm smile.
“Oh yes.” Tamsyn held out her glass, and Maggie followed suit.
Carmen clinked hers against theirs, and they drank.
After a couple of sips, which gave Carmen time to compose herself—her emotions were all over the place after what she’d just witnessed—she raised her glass. “To the greatest love story I ever heard. Long may it continue.”
Tamsyn’s eyebrows rose; Maggie let out a soft “oh, my,” and Carmen smiled even as she still fought back mysterious tears that wanted to spill down her face.
She focused with all her might on tapping each of their glasses and sipping some more of the delicious vintage.
Tamsyn and Maggie stared at each other over the rims of their glasses, once again lost in their love. The purity of what they shared touched Carmen in so many unexpected ways, and she couldn’t begin to fathom what was happening to her. She never felt things like this. For years now she’d been all business, focused on her career, not fussed about things like love and emotion. And yet what these two friends had together seemed to be releasing something in her she didn’t know how to deal with: envy and longing. She was happy for them, of course, but a deep ache for what they had burned in her chest. Sadness filled her and set her tears free.
“Carmen!” Maggie set her glass down. “What’s wrong?”
Carmen waved her off when she would have approached. “Nothing.” She wiped at her eyes. “I’m just so happy for you both.”
Neither of them looked convinced, but it seemed they respected her need to pretend that was the only reason for the tears.
Tamsyn motioned her towards the sofa again.
While their backs were turned, Carmen dabbed her eyes some more and swallowed down the rest of her emotions. Shit, how embarrassing!
“So, I assume work has been full on again?” Tamsyn asked once they were all seated.
Shooting her friend a grateful look for the change of topic, Carmen relaxed back into the sofa. “Yes! But all good. Well, mostly. I have one or two difficult clients, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“I bet.” Maggie raised her glass in Carmen’s direction.
“Ooooh, anything you can share?” Tamsyn asked.
“Absolutely not.” Carmen gave her a smile. “But believe me when I say that I’ve spared the British public from a couple of TV disasters waiting to happen.”
“Your country will never know how much it owes you.”
“This is very true.”
Now back on an even keel, Carmen opened up a little about her week. She would never name names; she always respected every celebrity’s need for privacy, no matter how obnoxious or difficult she herself found them.
Tamsyn was on a long break before the wedding—and delighted about it. It was something that still took some getting used to for Carmen, given how much of a workaholic her biggest client had been for so many years.
“I still want you to let me know if any juicy
