Susan Mallery - Until We Touch

Larissa settled in the chair. She glanced at Taryn and grinned. “My vote depends on my boss. If she’s drinking, I’m all in.”

Because right now, a drink sounded great.

What had her mother been thinking? The same question had circled in her brain for much of the morning. Talk about humiliating and inappropriate. As soon as she’d calmed down and could talk about it rationally, she was going to have a very long chat with her mother.

She was lucky that Jack had handled the situation with his usual easy charm, but jeez. What if he’d thought her mother was telling the truth? She didn’t want to think about it.

Love Jack? She had flaws but being an idiot wasn’t one of them. Besides, they were a great team. She would never mess with that.

“You okay?” Taryn asked quietly.

“Yeah. Great.”

Because faking it was much easier than telling the truth.

Taryn, ever stylish in a designer suit that probably cost more than half a year’s rent on Larissa’s apartment, tossed her menu onto the table. “What the hell. Let’s be wild.”

Dellina, a local party planner and Sam’s fiancée, tossed her menu down, as well. “I don’t have any client meetings this afternoon.”

Isabel laughed. “I have a store to run. I’d better be careful or I’ll accidentally put the new merchandise on sale.”

“I love being bad,” Taryn announced. “I just love it.”

“You’ve always been bad,” Dellina told her. “You’re the type. I can tell about these things.”

Larissa leaned back in the booth and prepared to listen. She enjoyed being around these women. They were smart, successful and yet so very different. Taryn was one of the partners at Score. While all four partners were equal owners, the three guys would admit that Taryn was just a little more equal than the rest of them. She was good at keeping her “boys” in line.

Larissa had always admired her. Taryn dressed in beautiful clothes, walked around in five-inch heels and had a handbag collection that belonged in a museum. Better than that, Taryn was a good friend.

Dellina handled events of all kinds in town. Birthday parties, weddings. A couple of months ago she’d planned and managed a big weekend event for Score’s biggest clients. She was also recently engaged to Sam.

Isabel owned Paper Moon. On one side, a clothing store, on the other, wedding gowns. All three women were professionally dressed in suits or dresses. Larissa glanced down at her yoga pants. Maybe in her next life she would inherit the fashion gene, she thought wistfully. Until then, she was going to dress for comfort and practicality.

Jo, the owner of the bar, came over and took their order. Taryn ordered nachos for the table and a pitcher of margaritas. Jo raised her eyebrows.

“Not planning to work this afternoon?” she asked.

“We’re going to see how it goes,” Taryn told her.

“I’ve heard that before.”

“She doesn’t think we’re behaving responsibly,” Dellina murmured when Jo had left.

“Then my work here is done,” Taryn said. “So what’s new with everyone?”

“I’m busy with fall clothes.” Isabel smiled. “You have to come in and see what’s new. There are some beautiful things.” She turned to Taryn. “There’s a suede jacket you’ll love.”

“I’ll come see it when we’re done here.”

Dellina shook her head. “No way I’m stopping by,” she told her friend. “You tempt me with gorgeous clothes.”

Isabel laughed. “That’s the point.”

“I’m saving my pennies.”

“For a wedding?” Larissa asked, her gaze settling on Dellina’s shiny new engagement ring.

“No. I’m going to be moving into an office. Sam’s house is great and he’s mentioned that I can set up my office there, but I think it’s time I joined the real world and had an actual office.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m kind of getting to the point where I need to hire an assistant. That means more space.”

“Wow! Good for you.” Isabel leaned over and hugged her friend. “That’s a big step. Congratulations.”

“Yes, congratulations,” Larissa said, pleased her friend was doing so well.

“You’re a tycoon,” Taryn teased. “Impressive.”

“I’m no tycoon, but I’m doing well. So what’s going on with everyone else?”

Taryn mentioned a new account Score had just signed, then all eyes turned to Larissa. She froze, painfully aware that her life wasn’t like theirs. She didn’t own her own business. In fact, there was a sameness to her days that was kind of sad. The newest thing in her life was her mother’s talk with Jack and there was no way she was mentioning that.

“I adopted a cat,” she said instead. “A lady died. She was ninety-three. Her kids couldn’t take in her cat, so I did. Her name is Dyna. She’s a Ragdoll cat. Really beautiful.”

She pulled out her phone and showed them a couple of pictures.

Dellina’s eyes widened when she saw the photograph. “She’s stunning.” Her mouth twitched. “Taryn, if she were human, she’d give you a run for your money in the fashion department.”

“I’m more impressed you committed to an animal,” Taryn told Larissa.

Isabel frowned. “I don’t get it. Larissa is always jumping into causes. That cat rescue last month was fantastic.”

Larissa squirmed in her seat. “Taryn means that I tend to give in big gestures. Saving forty cats, not adopting one.”

Jo appeared with a very large pitcher of margaritas and four glasses. She poured and said the nachos would be out shortly.

Isabel raised her glass. “To the women I adore. Thank you for getting drunk with me. One day very soon Ford and I are going to be getting pregnant and then I’ll be on a drinking hiatus.”

“Anytime,” Larissa said. She was going to add something else when Taryn slapped her hands down on the table.

“Okay,” her friend said. “Here goes. I’m getting married.”

Larissa looked at both Isabel and Dellina. They seemed equally confused by the statement.

“You’re engaged,” Larissa pointed out gently. “You have a really big ring. We all noticed.”

“Yes, but I’ve decided on a wedding. Angel and I are going to have a real wedding.”

Larissa nodded slowly. “That will be nice.”

“I’m happy to help you plan it,” Dellina added, sounding equally cautious.

“I have some gorgeous dresses I want you to come see,” Isabel told her. “Designer stuff that will make you look like a sexy fairy princess. Or a slutty one, depending on what you want.”

Taryn squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them. “Really? You think it’s okay?”

Then Larissa got it. Taryn and Angel weren’t young kids. They’d both been married before. Taryn wanted the fabulous dress and traditional service, but she wasn’t sure she deserved it. Because everybody had their weak spots. Some were just better at hiding them than others.

She reached across the table and touched her friend’s hand. “You should have the biggest wedding ever. In a dress so beautiful, it will make us cry.”

Taryn’s mouth quivered. She squeezed Larissa’s fingers then shook off the emotion and reached for her margarita. “Thanks.”

Dellina reached for her bag and pulled out an appointment book. “I’ll call you in a couple of days and we’ll talk.”

Isabel turned to Larissa. “I nearly forgot. Your mom was in yesterday. She bought a dress and a handbag. She’s my new favorite person. Did you two have a nice visit?”

Larissa grabbed her margarita and took a big gulp.

“Uh-oh,” Taryn murmured. “That’s not good. I thought the visit went fine. That’s what you said this morning.”

If only, Larissa thought. “That was before I found out what my mom did.”