over next to him now that her two teenage girls, along with Daniel’s kids, had begun clearing the table.
“I’m fine. Why?”
Shannon, who had the Kelly blue eyes and dark hair, shrugged. “You know…” She lowered her voice, although no one else at the table was paying any attention to them.
Reed stifled a sigh. “Trust me. I’m fine.”
She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but instead bit her lip. Her eyes held concern.
Reed reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for worrying about me, Shannon, but I’m really okay. In fact, I’m relieved.”
“Well, I think the whole thing stinks. What’s wrong with that woman, anyway?”
“There’s nothing wrong with Emma. She was just more honest than I was. Our breakup is for the best.”
“You’re not just saying that? You’ve been awfully distracted today.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not just saying that.” Shrugging, he added, “There was always something missing between us. I felt it, but I didn’t want to face it. I’m glad Emma did.”
Now Shannon gave him a real smile. “You know, I never thought she was right for you, either.”
He couldn’t help grinning. Her loyalty warmed him. He could always count on his family.
“What’s going on over there?” Daniel said.
“Who wants to know?” Shannon said cheekily, winking at Reed.
After a few more lighthearted remarks, Daniel’s wife, Anna Lisa, turned to Shannon and said, “Hey, guess who I saw coming out of Goldman’s Deli this afternoon.”
“Have no idea,” Shannon said.
“Alex Newhouse.”
“Really?”
Alex Newhouse sightings were rare in Eastwick, for even when he was home and between films, he usually stuck close to his gated estate, especially during the height of tourist season.
“Yes. You should have seen the tourists gawking at him.” Anna Lisa giggled. “Of course, I wasn’t much better. God, the man’s gorgeous! Those eyes…” She sighed. “Did you know Felicity Farnsworth is doing his daughter’s wedding?”
Shannon nodded. “I’d heard.”
“Wouldn’t you kill for an invitation?”
“I know I would,” Reed’s mother said. “I’ve loved Alex Newhouse from the moment I first saw him in a movie.”
“He is magnetic,” Shannon agreed.
Reed wondered if he should mention the fact that the Newhouse wedding pictures were going to be taken at Rosedale. And that Alex would be in them. Best not to, he decided. The Newhouse family wouldn’t want an audience, especially at a photo shoot that was costing them five grand.
“Felicity’s done quite well for herself, hasn’t she?” Anna Lisa said.
“Surprisingly so,” Shannon said.
Daniel stifled a yawn, clearly bored with this talk of weddings. “Reed, want to go catch the rest of the ball game?”
What Reed really wanted to do was stay and hear what the women had to say about Felicity, but he couldn’t think of any way to do that, so he reluctantly pushed his chair back.
“Why do you say surprisingly so?” Anna Lisa asked.
Yeah, Reed thought, stalling by pretending something was in his shoe. Why do you?
“Oh, you know,” Shannon said. “She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. I just didn’t think she’d have that kind of drive.”
“She strikes me as a woman who, once she sets her sights on something, will work like crazy to accomplish it,” Anna Lisa said. “I give her credit for picking herself up after that horrible divorce of hers and making something of her life.”
“It’s too bad she doesn’t have better taste in friends,” Reed’s mother said, shooting him a dark look.
Reed knew an exit line when he heard one.
But even after he and Daniel were settled in the family room in front of the big-screen TV their father had bought less than four months before his fatal heart attack, Reed’s mind was only marginally on the Red Sox game. Most of it remained centered on Felicity, his ex-fiancée’s best friend. And the more he thought about her, the more he wanted to pursue what they’d started earlier today.
Damn!
Why couldn’t he get the woman out of his mind?
Maybe his subconscious was trying to tell him something. Maybe, instead of trying to forget about Felicity, he should be figuring out how to get her into his bed. Because, obviously, he wasn’t going to be able to move on with his life until he did.
When Felicity arrived at her office Thursday morning, she wasn’t surprised to see Bo Harrison already there, ready and waiting. Bo, with his dyed platinum hair, diamond earrings and all-black “uniform,” looked like the creative artist he was. His photographs were works of art, and he was in high demand despite his outrageous prices.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling.
“Good morning, Bo.”
“Ready to roll?”
“As soon as I get my coffee I will be.” She’d barely uttered the words before Rita emerged from their little kitchen and handed Felicity an insulated cup. Felicity grinned. “You’re an angel, Rita.”
Today her assistant wore a bright yellow dress and matching yellow heels with peekaboo toes. She, too, was a shoe junkie, although unlike Felicity, Rita bought her shoes on sale at discount stores instead of designer shops.
“You look nice today,” Felicity said.
“So do you,” Rita countered, eyeing Felicity’s frothy multicolored sundress, a far cry from her normal work attire of either black or taupe—colors that would never take attention away from her brides or their attendants.
“Thanks,” Felicity said. “I have a Debs Club luncheon later.”
“I saw it on your calendar,” Rita said. “What time will you be back here?”
“Probably not until three. Why? Is there something urgent that I’ve forgotten?”
“No.” Rita smiled. “I just like to keep track.”
“If anything changes, I’ll call you. Or if something does come up, you call me on my cell.”
“Okay. Have fun today, you two.”
Five minutes later,
