She settled in, then watched as Larissa sat across from her between Noelle and Dellina.
Last fall, when she’d first visited Fool’s Gold, she was convinced she would hate living there. Nothing about a small town appealed to her. But now she had to admit, the place had grown on her. She’d made friends and settled into the comfortable rhythm of a life defined by which festival was next.
She’d always thought she preferred Los Angeles, where she could go about her business unnoticed. In Fool’s Gold, there were no secrets. Which meant if something bad happened, someone would be there to get her through. While the realization was a little strange, it was also comforting.
“You need a redhead,” Jo said, coming up to the table with menus.
Dellina leaned close to Taryn. “She’s right. It’s you and me against those three blondes.”
“We can take them,” Taryn told her confidently, then introduced Larissa to the owner of Jo’s Bar.
After Jo explained about the specials, she took their drink orders and left.
Noelle put down her menu. “Okay,” she said, smiling at Larissa. “We want to know your life story. We’ll share ours, too. I’ll go first. I moved here last year. I was a lawyer, which turned out to not be my thing. Now I run The Christmas Attic, like Taryn said. I’m married to Gabriel, who is a doctor here in town.” She pointed at Dellina.
Dellina drew in a breath. “Me, huh? I’m the oldest in my family. I have younger twin sisters. One of my sisters is a chef. The other has a small business in town. A temp agency. As Taryn said, I plan events. There’s no guy and while I wouldn’t say no to a long weekend of hot sex, I have no interest in a relationship. I’ve already raised my two kids.” At Taryn’s questioning look, she continued. “We lost our folks when I was in high school.”
“I’m sorry about your parents,” Taryn said. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“It was a while ago.”
“But still.” Taryn knew what it was like to be on her own. “I work at Score, where I plan advertising campaigns and try to control my business partners, who are annoying.”
“But you love them,” Larissa said.
“I do.” She held up both hands. “As brothers, I swear. Although I was married to Jack, briefly. Years ago.”
Dellina, Isabel and Noelle all stared at her.
“What?” she asked. “It was a couple of months and it didn’t work out. We stayed friends and now we work together.”
“Did you know this?” Isabel asked Larissa.
“Sure. They’re good friends. It’s nice that they still like each other.”
“You get more interesting by the day,” Isabel murmured. “Okay, me. I was born and raised in town. When I was fourteen, I had a mad crush on my sister’s boyfriend. When they broke up, I was thrilled, only he left town to join the navy and I knew I was going to die. When that didn’t happen, I started writing him. Flash-forward fourteen years, I came back, he came back and the rest is history.” She sighed happily. “Now we’re married and I can’t believe how lucky I am.”
Larissa glanced at them. “I guess that leaves me. I’m one of three girls, also the oldest. I like my job a lot because it gives me the time and resources to focus on helping others. Through Jack, I’ve gotten involved in organ donor programs and I also work with different animal rescue organizations.”
“She’s a saint,” Taryn said. “I tell myself my genuine affection for her will offset any bad karma I might create on my own.”
Isabel turned to Larissa and grinned. “So, you’re a masseuse to the football players. What’s that like?”
Taryn leaned back in her chair. She’d seen this before. Women were obsessed with the boys. Not only were they actually larger than life, but there was the whole sports hero thing going on. Add to that the fact that they were good-looking and well-off... Attention was inevitable. The only question no one seemed to ask was why were they all single.
Taryn knew the answer for each of them, and she wasn’t going to say a word. She loved her boys and she would keep their secrets.
Noelle sighed. “Really? Touching them like that.”
“Need I remind both of you, you’re happily married?” Taryn asked.
“I’m not interested that way,” Isabel told her with an unrepentant grin. “Just curious. Ford’s a former SEAL. I know about guys who work out regularly. Speaking as the woman who sleeps with him, I think being with him is very nice. But this is a whole different level of muscles.”
“Exactly,” Noelle said. “Our curiosity is purely intellectual.”
Larissa laughed. “Sure it is.” She thought for a second. “I don’t know what to say. They were all professional athletes. They did things their bodies are not designed to do. They were all successful and they all pushed too hard and now there are injuries. I try to make them feel better.”
Noelle sighed. “That’s so sweet. Are they naked?”
Taryn grinned. “And here we are, to the real question.” She looked at her new friends. “Yes, they are naked. They are very comfortable being naked. I can’t tell you how many meetings we’ve had in the company locker room, or worse, the steam room.”
She paused as three pairs of eyes widened. “I stay clothed,” she added.
“That would be weird,” Isabel admitted.
“You get used to it,” Taryn told her.
Noelle looked at Larissa. “Yeah, for you, it’s no big deal. You’re a professional.”
Larissa shook her head. “I’m not licensed, if that’s what you mean. I took the classes, but I never bothered with the exam. I don’t work with the public. I work on Sam, Kenny and Jack and sometimes Taryn.”
Jo appeared with their drinks. When she left, Taryn reached for her iced tea. “I notice no one wants to talk about the thrill of seeing me naked.”
“I’m sure you look great,” Noelle said absently as she continued to talk to Larissa. “Is it weird to see them that way, then around the office?”
Isabel rolled her eyes. “Let’s cut to the real question. Who has slept with whom?”
Dellina choked on her drink. “That’s direct,” she murmured when she could speak.
Noelle looked at her. “A genuine ‘it went down the wrong way’ or are you keeping secrets?”
Dellina held up a hand. “It went down the wrong way. Although the body talk is fun.”
Taryn was less sure. The great bodies were nice, but in her opinion it was what a man could do with that body that was more appealing.
“They’re sweet guys,” Larissa told her. “But we’re like a family. We don’t get involved like
