Return to You

holding her glass out.
    Gwen shrugged. "The usual kind of girl
things, I suppose."
    Eve held her glass out for a refill too.
"Like eating, drinking, and talking about men."
    "It's been a long time since I've had a
girls' night," Lainie admitted. "Working at Parker Pictures doesn't
give me much free time."
    Olivia grunted. Of course it didn't. Her
father was demanding. She could just imagine Lainie's schedule. She
hoped the woman received war pay.
    Eve patted Lainie's knee. "We're glad you
could come tonight."
    "Enough of this." Gwen punched the pillow in
her lap. "Let's talk about men."
    Lainie's brow wrinkled. "What about
men?"
    Olivia laughed. "Well, usually Eve tells us
how scrumptious her husband is and we all drool with envy."
    Gwen perked up, her curls bouncing around
her face. "Speaking of scrumptious, I saw this guy hanging around
Olivia's shop."
    "What guy?" Eve asked.
    "He looks like a surfer god. He's tall and
tan and gorgeous." Gwen rolled her eyes back in rhapsody. "He has
wavy hair that's the color of syrup drizzled on French toast—"
    "That sounds like Michael Wallace," said
Lainie. "He's the director of the movie."
    "He's a stud." Gwen sighed.
    "He's a jerk." Olivia pointed at Gwen. "Stay
away from him for your own good."
    Eve cocked an eyebrow at her. She shrugged
in reply. She was concerned about Gwen's welfare. She didn't want
her friend to be taken in by Michael's sweet-talking. It had
nothing to do with the thought of Gwen and Michael together. Not at
all.
    Lainie looked at her with wide eyes. "How
long have you known Michael?"
    "Too long."
    "How about you, Lainie?" Eve asked quickly.
"Do you have anyone special waiting for you at home?"
    Lainie blushed. "No. There's no one."
    Happy Eve maneuvered the
conversation away from Michael, Olivia leaned closer, studying her.
"You look guilty. There is someone, isn't there?"
    Gwen smiled. "You might as well confess.
She'll pry it out of you eventually."
    "Olivia is nothing if not relentless," Eve
added.
    Lainie's gaze darted to each of them and
back. "Okay, there is a man I'm interested in."
    Gwen scooted closer. "Details! We want
details."
    "There really isn't much to say. He doesn't
know I'm alive."
    "He must be an idiot then," Olivia said.
    Lainie's head snapped up and her eyes
flashed. "He is not. He's quite intelligent. And very kind, despite
what people think of him."
    She rolled her eyes. "Then what's holding
him up?"
    "I'm not his type."
    "You're every man's type, Lainie," Eve said.
"Don't believe anyone if they say otherwise."
    Lainie shook her head. "I'm drab."
    "You don't have to be," Olivia said. "I
think you wield your wool suits like camouflage. Underneath all
that gray, there's a red lace kind of person."
    "You have a fairy princess kind of beauty,"
Gwen said. "I'd kill for ivory skin like yours. And to have shiny,
frizzless hair." She held up one of her curls.
    Eve nodded. "It wouldn't take much to bring
it all to the surface."
    Lainie looked like she was afraid to hope.
"You think so?"
    Olivia patted her arm. "Give us an afternoon
and your man will be panting after you."
    "Olivia hasn't told us about her guy,"
Lainie said suddenly.
    That was news to her. She didn't realize she
had one. "What guy?"
    "The one you had dinner with last week."
    "Are you holding back on us?" Eve
teased.
    "The only guy I had dinner with was Rick."
She laughed as she realized that was whom Lainie meant. "I'm not
dating him. He's just a friend."
    The way Lainie's face fell was comical. She
almost felt sorry for shattering her illusion.
    Eve grinned. "Rick's hot. Not as hot as
Treat though," she amended loyally.
    Gwen pretended to gag.
    "Tell us how you really feel," Olivia said,
reaching for a piece of cheese.
    "What's the man you're interested in like?"
Eve asked Lainie.
    "He's handsome, not in a weak way like a lot
of Hollywood stars but masterful. He has thick dark hair that's
silver at the temples. His eyes are pale but hot at the same time.
And when he looks at you, it makes you shiver."
    Olivia heard Eve and Gwen sigh along with
Lainie, but she couldn't make a peep. Shock froze her in place.
Lainie was talking about her father.
    That was Lainie's secret.
    Olivia blinked a couple times and drank some
of her water to steady herself. She didn't know how to feel about
this sudden revelation.
    Feeling eyes on her, she looked up. Lainie
stared at her with a stricken expression that said she knew Olivia
had figured out who the object of her desire was.
    Gwen