“Stop it. You’re so dramatic. Anyway, you’re gorgeous, and you know it. You’re the blonde haired, blue-eyed bombshell of Romona, Ms. Jubilee. The woman who captured Jesse’s heart in high school and never let it go.”
“If I remember, you captured a heart or—”
Robyn rolled her eyes and cut Eva off. “Oh, don’t start.”
Eva winked and thought back to that time. “You and I, we did make quite a pair in school didn’t we—ebony and ivory.”
Robyn wrinkled up her nose. “Ebony and ivory? Did you really say that?”
Eva’s smile widened. “If we had gone to the same college, we would have been known as Frick and Frack.”
Robyn frowned. “God, no.”
“Well, regardless, I feel blessed that my best friend, the famous Robyn Levy, and prodigal daughter of Romona has finally come home.”
Robyn toyed with the camera. “That’s a bit much don’t you think?”
“Nope. Not. At. All. You know that headline wrote itself. Tessa Jones didn’t even have to think hard about it when she printed it in the local paper.”
Robyn was never completely comfortable receiving compliments. She looked down at the floor and pushed several strands of wavy dark hair behind her ear.
Eva kept going. “It wasn’t just your mom and dad who plastered the city with newspaper articles and magazine spreads about you. We’re all proud. And now I can add that I’ve worked with the Robyn Levy on my resume.”
Robyn smirked. “If you think it’ll help.”
“I’ll be in high demand after Saturday. I’m sure of it.” Eva paused, and her voice softened. “I do have one more question. You mixed it up with the rich and famous a lot. Of all the places you could have settled down, why did you come back here?”
Robyn answered without any hesitation. “Truth? The stars in my eyes crashed and burned. Years ago I didn’t think Romona had anything to offer me. But then, one morning, I woke up and realized everything I ever wanted was right here—well almost.” Robyn shrugged. “It was a no-brainer. It was time to come home.”
“What about that one guy? What was his name, the famous movie director . . . Chet Andersen? You were so excited about him. You dated him for a long time, almost a year, which is so unlike you. I thought for sure he was the one and would keep you tied to New York forever.”
Robyn’s face soured. “Me too, until I came home and found his leading lady and an extra from one of his films in our bed.”
Eva’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh. My. Gawwwd! You never told me that!”
“Nope. I kind of kept that one to myself.”
“The few times I met him, I knew something was off. Dirtbag! You should have told me. We could have burned all of his clothing, broke the windows out of his car, ate ice-cream, and watched Waiting to Exhale!”
Robyn’s lips lifted as she tilted her head from side to side. “The best thing about what you said . . . is I know you meant it. That means everything. Anyway, it was over a year ago and kind of embarrassing. To be honest, he really wasn’t worth the calories.”
“I’m ALWAYS your girl. What a bastard! I promise I won’t spend another damn dime on any of his horrible movies. I only supported him because you two were dating.” Eva’s eyes were filled concern. “Are you really okay? I know you, and sometimes it’s difficult to tell.”
Robyn waved her hand back and forth. “I’m fine. I promise I was more embarrassed than hurt. That’s what really got me to thinking about superficial relationships, and I’d had plenty of those. I had to ask myself some hard truths. I don’t know when but life stopped being fulfilling. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the work, but even it lost some of its luster. Once I came to that conclusion, everything else fell into place. My staff in New York is more than capable of handling my business affairs. So I tied up some loose ends, packed up the car, and drove home.”
“Well . . . as long as you’re good, then I’m good.” Eva stared long and hard into Robyn’s eyes just to be sure. Once she was confident Robyn was telling the truth, she changed the subject. “Knowing you’re handling all of this stuff for my party does give me a sense of relief. And we do make an excellent team. Me, the party-planner Queen, and you, bringing your touch of citified décor, are going to do amazing things!”
“Citified? Oh, Lord.” Robyn did have to admit; she had a renewed sense of excitement being here in this house. It was an energy she hadn’t felt in quite some time. The slow burn in her belly was back, and it felt good. That’s all that mattered.
Robyn clapped her hands together with excitement. “Okay, this heart-to-heart is great, but we’ve got a lot to do in less than a week. We’d better get to it.”
“Right.” Eva wanted to hug Robyn again just so that she knew how much she cared but realized she’d embraced her twice already. She nodded instead. “I’ll call you this evening to make sure everything is running smoothly on your end and to see if you need anything.” She turned to leave. The sound of her heels bounced off of the walls within the empty room. Just as Eva made it to the door, she whirled around, as did all of her long silky blonde hair did. She put up her index
