into points.”
Jessie stared at her in bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”
Lurene’s carefully plucked brows arched in surprise, her dark eyes full of laughter. “Just wanted to see if anyone was home in there. You seem a little distracted.”
“Sorry.” Jessie straightened on her stool and made an effort to focus on the here and now. “What were you saying before you began teetering on the edge of fashion disaster?”
“You don’t think I’d look good in purple?” Lurene asked, fluffing her pale blond hair.
Jessie narrowed her eyes consideringly. “I think you’re more a teal-blue kind of girl, maybe with a white streak right down the middle like Cruella De Vil. But I’d skip the nose ring. They’re so common.”
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to be common,” Lurene said. “Maybe I’ll get a tattoo instead.”
“Much more upscale,” Jessie said, and they grinned at each other.
“The party seemed to go well,” Lurene said, reaching for her Diet Coke. “I got nibbles on a couple of other catering gigs. A wedding and a birthday party.”
“I heard a lot of people raving about the food,” Jessie said.
“Your desserts were a big hit. There was one woman who practically offered me her firstborn child if I’d give her the recipe for that apple crumb thing of yours.” She shook her head. “Of course, maybe she was just looking for a way to get rid of the kid.”
“Could be.”
“I heard you and your friend put on quite a show on the dance floor.”
Jessie flushed and shook her head. “Definitely amateur hour. We never were Fred and Ginger, and after so many years, it’s a miracle neither of us ended up crippling the other.”
“I heard you looked pretty good. Of course, it would be hard not to look good with Reilly McKinnon,” Lurene said with a mildly lustful sigh. “He’s definitely a hunk.”
Jessie murmured a vague agreement, feeling ridiculously guilty about agreeing.
“The other one’s even better, though.”
“Other one?” Jessie asked blankly.
“Your other friend, the one with the dark hair and the to-die-for body and those incredible blue eyes that look like they hold all kinds of interesting secrets. And that mouth.”
“Matt,” Jessie murmured, dropping her eyes to the counter again, afraid of what they might reveal. Shedidn’t want to think about Matt’s eyes or his body, and she especially didn’t want to think about his mouth. Because thinking about his mouth made her remember how it had felt against hers, and that set up a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach that she didn’t like at all.
She’d spent a great deal of time and put a lot of effort into not thinking about Matt since Saturday night, which meant he was practically all she thought about. Him and The Kiss, which had advanced to capitalized status in her mind. She’d gone over it a hundred times in her mind, but she still couldn’t figure out why he’d kissed her or what it might mean. Of course, it could mean nothing at all. People kissed all the time without it meaning anything. But Matt didn’t kiss her all the time. Or ever. Except now he had, and all kinds of crazy thoughts had been floating around in her head ever since.
“Do you ever regret not having children?” The question popped out without thought, and she saw Lurene’s brows go up in surprise. But she didn’t look offended. She appeared to give the question some thought as she sipped her Coke.
“Not really,” she said after a moment. “I thought about it a time or two, might even have gone for it if either of my marriages had worked out. But husband number one wasn’t ready to grow up himself. I don’t think he’d have enjoyed having a real baby in the house. And husband number two was so busy totting up our financial situation—and boffing his secretary—that he didn’t have time to be a father. And then, when I divorced him, I was past thirty and wanted to have something all my own.
Jessie stared at her in bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”
Lurene’s carefully plucked brows arched in surprise, her dark eyes full of laughter. “Just wanted to see if anyone was home in there. You seem a little distracted.”
“Sorry.” Jessie straightened on her stool and made an effort to focus on the here and now. “What were you saying before you began teetering on the edge of fashion disaster?”
“You don’t think I’d look good in purple?” Lurene asked, fluffing her pale blond hair.
Jessie narrowed her eyes consideringly. “I think you’re more a teal-blue kind of girl, maybe with a white streak right down the middle like Cruella De Vil. But I’d skip the nose ring. They’re so common.”
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to be common,” Lurene said. “Maybe I’ll get a tattoo instead.”
“Much more upscale,” Jessie said, and they grinned at each other.
“The party seemed to go well,” Lurene said, reaching for her Diet Coke. “I got nibbles on a couple of other catering gigs. A wedding and a birthday party.”
“I heard a lot of people raving about the food,” Jessie said.
“Your desserts were a big hit. There was one woman who practically offered me her firstborn child if I’d give her the recipe for that apple crumb thing of yours.” She shook her head. “Of course, maybe she was just looking for a way to get rid of the kid.”
“Could be.”
“I heard you and your friend put on quite a show on the dance floor.”
Jessie flushed and shook her head. “Definitely amateur hour. We never were Fred and Ginger, and after so many years, it’s a miracle neither of us ended up crippling the other.”
“I heard you looked pretty good. Of course, it would be hard not to look good with Reilly McKinnon,” Lurene said with a mildly lustful sigh. “He’s definitely a hunk.”
Jessie murmured a vague agreement, feeling ridiculously guilty about agreeing.
“The other one’s even better, though.”
“Other one?” Jessie asked blankly.
“Your other friend, the one with the dark hair and the to-die-for body and those incredible blue eyes that look like they hold all kinds of interesting secrets. And that mouth.”
“Matt,” Jessie murmured, dropping her eyes to the counter again, afraid of what they might reveal. Shedidn’t want to think about Matt’s eyes or his body, and she especially didn’t want to think about his mouth. Because thinking about his mouth made her remember how it had felt against hers, and that set up a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach that she didn’t like at all.
She’d spent a great deal of time and put a lot of effort into not thinking about Matt since Saturday night, which meant he was practically all she thought about. Him and The Kiss, which had advanced to capitalized status in her mind. She’d gone over it a hundred times in her mind, but she still couldn’t figure out why he’d kissed her or what it might mean. Of course, it could mean nothing at all. People kissed all the time without it meaning anything. But Matt didn’t kiss her all the time. Or ever. Except now he had, and all kinds of crazy thoughts had been floating around in her head ever since.
“Do you ever regret not having children?” The question popped out without thought, and she saw Lurene’s brows go up in surprise. But she didn’t look offended. She appeared to give the question some thought as she sipped her Coke.
“Not really,” she said after a moment. “I thought about it a time or two, might even have gone for it if either of my marriages had worked out. But husband number one wasn’t ready to grow up himself. I don’t think he’d have enjoyed having a real baby in the house. And husband number two was so busy totting up our financial situation—and boffing his secretary—that he didn’t have time to be a father. And then, when I divorced him, I was past thirty and wanted to have something all my own.
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