Return to You

way he'd let Sophie cling to him.
    The bastard.
    The hour dragged by. She almost sobbed in relief
when the machine beeped that she was done. She'd never felt this
tired in her life. Except for maybe eleven years before.
    Forty-five minutes later she was dressed,
make-upped, and ready to go to the shop. She took special care to
look good, which meant she had to use half a tube of cover-up to
mask the dark circles under her eyes.
    As per her morning ritual, she stopped at Grounds
for Thought for a Nutella latte. "Hey, girlfriend," she called out
to Eve, pasting on a smile so big it hurt.
    Eve looked up from what she was doing, a frown
marring her smooth forehead. Olivia almost expected her to pull out
a magnifying glass, Eve was studying her so hard.
    "How's it going?" To anyone who didn't know Eve, the
question would have sounded casual.
    Olivia knew better. "I've been better."
    Eve wordlessly began making Olivia's latte. Once
done, she took the mug, nodded to her barista, and came around the
other side of the counter. "Let's sit so you can tell me what
happened last night."
    "What didn't happen?" Olivia said as they walked to
an empty table in the back. "I found out my father engineered this
whole situation because of some misguided attempt to get back into
my good graces. Gran was in on it of course."
    "That's sweet," Eve said, sitting down across from
her. "Strange, but sweet. My father would never have gone to the
trouble."
    Olivia gripped the latte. "I reserve judgment on the
sweet part, but it definitely wasn't the most strange thing. It
turns out Parker hired Rick to investigate Lainie. He told Rick
Lainie was the cause of valuable information leaking to the press.
Rick thought the next info she was going to sell was about my love
child with Michael. I believed it for a split second before I
dismissed it as bogus. I feel bad that I even believed it for that
long."
    "Rick knows about the baby?"
    "Everyone knows about the baby now."
    "Are you okay?"
    "Yes." She was surprised that she meant it. "Yes, I
think I am."
    "What did Michael say?"
    "The bastard asked if it was his."
    Eve's mouth dropped incredulously. "No!"
    "He thinks I aborted it. I didn't bother to clarify.
It doesn't matter anyway."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Eve, Sophie Martineau was draped all over him last
night. You saw it. Do you really think I'm interested in sharing?
She can have him."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Damn right I'm sure." She leaned across the table
and patted Eve's hand. "I mean it. If Michael doesn't want me, he
doesn't deserve to have me, does he? And if he thinks I could abort
my baby, he never knew me at all. I think that hurt the most,
because he was my best friend and your best friend is supposed to
know you inside and out, right?"
    Eve studied her. "You're taking this very
calmly."
    "Actually, I wasn't, but I finally realized that
what I wanted didn't exist where I thought it did." And it didn't
mean she didn't really wish it still did. She'd probably miss
Michael all her life.
    Another person entered the cafe. Both Olivia and Eve
looked up.
    A grim looking Lainie strode toward them. "Good
morning," she said, though her tone said that it clearly
wasn't.
    Olivia patted the seat next to her. "Sit."
    "I don't have long. My flight leaves in a couple
hours, and there's the drive to the airport." But she sat down
nonetheless. "I just couldn't leave without thanking you both for
everything you've done."
    A whirlwind with purple-streaked hair rushed through
the cafe and plopped down in the only remaining seat at the table.
"Having a quorum? What did I miss? And how was the party?" asked
Gwen brightly.
    "You missed the event of the decade," Olivia
deadpanned.
    Eve chortled and Lainie just looked grimmer, if that
was possible.
    Gwen, of course, was oblivious to the subtle
sarcasm. "Tell me."
    "Well, Michael and his leading lady put on quite a
show for everyone. Then there was the news that Rick has been
investigating Lainie. To be outdone by my father, who's
single-handedly orchestrated everything."
    Gwen blinked owlishly. "Huh?"
    "Exactly."
    Lainie cut in at that moment. "I was just telling
Olivia and Eve that I appreciate everything you've all done for me.
I'd like to stay friends, if that's possible." The question
included them all but it was Olivia she stared at.
    Olivia shook her head. "You don't need to ask. We
expect you to keep in touch."
    Lainie murmured her promises as she hugged each of
them. She held onto Olivia the longest.
    They