She stared at him, her expression stricken, then bolted from the car. He watched her go, then sighed. Well, that had gone well, he thought sourly. And now he had to go deal with a bunch of cheery holiday fanatics. Ho-damn-ho-ho.
* * *
Jeanette was still reeling from Tom’s words when she blindly made her way into the spa. She stuck her head into Maddie’s office.
“Margaritas at my place tonight, okay?” she said, a desperate note in her voice.
“Why are you here?” Maddie asked, then regarded her worriedly. “Never mind. Should I call the others?”
Jeanette nodded. “Please.” She didn’t think she could deal with all their likely questions right now—especially Dana Sue’s—not if she was going to get through the afternoon without falling apart.
“Do you want to talk now?” Maddie asked.
Jeanette shook her head. “Tonight, okay?”
“We’ll be there at seven,” Maddie promised.
It was what they did. When one of them had a crisis, the others rallied. They listened and offered advice and support, whether it was requested or not. Jeanette looked forward to their unsolicited opinions, because right now she had absolutely none of her own. She was still in shock. Tom thought he loved her? He’d actually said the words. Thrown them in her face, in fact.
She went through the motions with her first client, nodding appropriately, asking an occasional question, but her head wasn’t in it. That appointment went reasonably well since the client was new and had no expectations beyond a good facial. She left happy, her skin glowing, her shopping bag filled with expensive products.
Unfortunately Mary Vaughn was next. She took one look at Jeanette and frowned.
“You look awful,” she said tactlessly.
Despite her mood, Jeanette smiled. “Gee, thanks.”
“Sorry,” Mary Vaughn said. “I guess it’s understandable with all you’ve been going through with your dad. I heard he’s better, though.”
“He is, thanks.”
Jeanette concentrated on applying cleanser to Mary Vaughn’s face to remove every trace of makeup.
“Did you get a chance to see the decorations going up?” Mary Vaughn asked.
“I caught a glimpse of them before I went to lunch.”
“With Tom,” Mary Vaughn said, her gaze meeting Jeanette’s in the mirror. “I saw the two of you leaving together. I must say, you looked a lot happier then than you do now. Did something happen? You two didn’t have a fight, did you?”
“Tom and I are fine,” Jeanette said, hoping it wasn’t a total lie. They might be on pages so far apart they were in different books, but otherwise they were fine. Really. “Tell me how everything’s coming for the festival. Are we ready?”
Mary Vaughn seemed reluctant to drop the subject of Jeanette’s relationship with Tom, but she finally relented. “The choirs were battling it out for a while. All of them wanted to sing ‘Silent Night,’ but I think I finally managed to get through to the directors that there are plenty of familiar choices to go around. I swear it was like dealing with a bunch of superstar divas. I wanted to tell them to get out their stupid hymnals and choose something before I did it for them.”
“That would have pretty much ruined the whole holiday spirit of goodwill and cooperation,” Jeanette said, amused.
“You’re telling me.”
“How’s it going with Sonny? Are the two of you cooperating for Rory Sue’s sake?”
Mary Vaughn’s eyes started to shimmer and Jeanette realized she was about to cry. “What is it? Did I say the wrong thing?” she asked.
Mary Vaughn waved off the question. “No, you didn’t say anything wrong. It’s just that we’ve been getting along really well.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It is if you’re divorced and your ex-husband has moved on.”
“Moved on? You mean he’s seeing someone else?”
Mary Vaughn nodded, her expression miserable. “I had no idea, either, until I saw the two of them together at Sullivan’s last night,” she confided. “She works for him. She used to be a bookkeeper or secretary or something, but she’s recently been promoted to sales associate. Judging from the way Sonny was looking at her, I think I know how she got that promotion.”
“Mary Vaughn!”
“Well, that’s exactly how some women operate,” Mary Vaughn said.
Jeanette studied her closely. “Why do you care? The two of you have been divorced for a long time.”
“I know,” Mary Vaughn said with a sigh. “But lately, since we’ve been talking again and spending some time together, I’ve started wondering if maybe it wasn’t a mistake. The divorce, I mean.”
“You have feelings for Sonny?” Jeanette asked incredulously.
“I do,” Mary Vaughn admitted. “How’s that for a shocker? And, please, you can’t tell another soul. It would be too humiliating. Years of dating and marriage and now, all of a sudden, after we’ve been divorced forever, I’m realizing what a great guy he is. I mean, I always knew he was great. I’m just realizing how we mesh. We have all this history, which means we don’t have to explain every little thing. He gets me. He really gets everything about me. Do you realize how rare that is?”
Jeanette gave her a penetrating look. “Do you?”
“I do now. I have no idea why it took me so long to figure this out. Maybe I had to lose him—not the divorce, but to another woman—before I could see it.”
“Do you want him back?”
Mary Vaughn nodded. “I think I do.”
Jeanette heard the note of uncertainty and seized on it. “Look, I’m the last person to give anyone advice on relationships, especially today, but you don’t sound one hundred percent sure that you want Sonny back. Until you are sure, don’t try to break up this relationship you think he’s in. Don’t try to start something with him yourself.”
“I know you’re right. I’ve hurt him more times than you can possibly imagine. I can’t do it again.” She turned to meet Jeanette’s gaze. “But how am I supposed to know for sure if we don’t give it another try?”
“Maybe spending all this time with him during the holidays will give you the answers you need,” Jeanette suggested.
“Sitting back
