The Supermodel's Best Friend (A Romantic Comedy) (31 page)

“Your father told me how you stood her up
last night.” She patted his chest again, this time leaving the
fingers splayed across his heart. “Is she the forgiving type?”

Why had he told his father about Lucy? And
why had he shared that with this vindictive woman? “She is,
actually. I already explained.”

“That you preferred drinking an elderly man
under the table?”

Miles stilled. “He’s not that old.”

“He’s seventy-three, Miles. Way past middle
age. In fact, who could say how many years he has left?”

He wasn’t going to admit how concerned he’d
been the night before about his father’s age. After their fourth
drink, his dad tripped over the bar stool and would’ve fallen if
Miles hadn’t caught him. Not many people could stop a Girard man
from hitting the floor—they were big suckers.

He captured her wrist and squeezed. “We had a
really nice time. You got a problem with that?”

“Why should I? Now I’ll get to see you more
often.”

Miles pushed her hand away from his chest.
“Why can’t you stop being such a bitch?”

Heather’s eyes lit up as if given a precious
gift. “Now who’s giving advice?” She smiled at the sky, inhaling
deeply and arching her back. “Such a lovely day. The cold takes a
little getting used to, but I’m starting to like it. Maybe I can
talk your father into moving out here.”

“You’d hate it.”

She laughed. “It is so nice seeing you
again.” Before he could step back, she went up on tiptoes and
kissed him on the cheek. “Son,” she whispered in his ear.

He recoiled instinctively. “Stay away from
me.”

She was still laughing as she strode
away.

* * *

Miles went immediately to Lucy’s cabin and
banged on the door. His conversation with Heather had shaken him
more than he’d like to admit. That woman was poison. His father
needed to see her for what she was.

He corrected himself. His father’s choice was
none of his business. Certainly nothing he could do anything about.
If he was going to have a relationship with his dad, he couldn’t
dive in being critical of Heather. His dad had already shown whose
side he would choose.

He knocked on the Ceanothus cabin door again.
No question he owed Lucy an apology.

But it was Fawn, not Lucy, who answered the
door. “Hey, Miles! Just the man I wanted to see.”

“Not Huntley?”

She pulled him inside. “Not at the moment.”
She shut the door and pinned him with a serious look. “What did you
do?”

Every transgression Miles had ever committed
flashed before his eyes. “Do?”

“To Lucy.”

He lowered his voice. “I thought you knew
about what we did.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not
that
. Give
me a break. This morning.”

“We had a fight.”

“Like I said, what did you do?”

Miles sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.
“I screwed up.”

“That’s what I thought.” Fawn went over to
the mini-bar and pulled out a diet energy drink. “How are we going
to fix it?”

“We?”

“Tell me what happened.”

“She was getting all lovey-dovey with Alex,
and I flipped.”

“She was
what
?”

“They were holding hands.”

“Brother. You think that was her idea?”

“I admit I overreacted.”

Fawn sighed. “Here’s the deal. I don’t know
you well, Miles, but I knew from the way Huntley talks about you
that you’d be perfect for Lucy. Sure enough, right away she’s all
hot and bothered. A great sign.”

“Hold on. I thought you were setting her up
with Alex.”

She smiled over the rim of her Monster
Lo-Carb. “You’ve got to be a little sneaky with Lucy.”

He stared. His mind flew back over the last
few days. “Not very nice to Alex.”

“He jumped to his own conclusions. I didn’t
do a thing.”

Miles stood up. “I have to talk to her.”

She got between him and the door. “Listen to
me first. I have some advice.”

“Fawn—”

“I’m her best friend. I understand her like
nobody else.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“You do.”

“I just need to explain how crazy I am about
her.”

“That’s the last thing you should say.”

“She’s all I can think about. Even though
it’s only been a few days.”

Fawn sucked in a breath. “No.
That
is
the last thing you should say.”

She was so certain, so genuinely horrified,
Miles sat down again. “It is?”

“She can’t stand it when guys are all gushy.
That’s how she ended up engaged to somebody who didn’t like having
sex with her.”

Some loser shared a bed with Lucy and didn’t
even like it? “Was he gay or something?”

“We’ve been wondering. Point is, Lucy seemed
to prefer that kind of relationship. And I knew she’d look for the
exact same thing again if we didn’t interfere.”

“Wasn’t it risky to set her up with
Alex?”

“I didn’t! She just assumed he was the one.”
She took a sip of her drink. “But it was you. Not that I could say
that, because then she’d get skittish and weird and you’d never,
ever have made it this far.”

“But Alex seemed to know she was looking for
a man.”

“Maybe Huntley said something to him. Or
maybe he just picked up on her signals.” She shrugged. “Anyway,
it’s over now, thank God. Maybe Krista can sort him out.”

“Krista.”

She threw the empty can in the recycling
basket near the door. “They slept together. The other night. After
we left you at the B and B.”

He looked at his hands. Hot damn. “And Lucy
knows?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Grinning, he looked up at her. “Then I’m
set.”

She sighed in exasperation. “Alex was never
your problem.
Lucy
is your problem. She hates big displays
of emotion. Lots going on under the hood, as I’m sure you know, but
she likes everything on the surface to be calm and controlled.”

He thought of the way she screamed his name
and squeezed his hips with her thighs. “Not as much as you might
think.”

Face breaking into a stunning smile, Fawn sat
down next to him on the bed. “I know you’re what she needs, Miles.
A man who can give her real passion.”

“You just told me I was too
gushy
.”

“In bed you can be as wild as you want. But
the rest of the time you have to play it cool. No angry outbursts
about her being your woman. If she thinks you want a long-term,
exclusive thing without a baby at the end of it, she’ll run. As
long as you’re fun and casual and great in bed—and not too
easy—she’ll keep you around.”

Easy
. She made him sound like a slut.
“Maybe I do want a long-term, exclusive thing without a baby at the
end of it.”

“Maybe. Who knows? You just met. One thing I
do know? Lucy needs at least one hot, passionate fling in her life.
Something to dream about after she’s married to some boring guy who
can’t light her fire.”

The thought of her married to a cold, boring
guy made him clench his teeth. “How am I supposed to ‘light her
fire’ and be a jerk at the same time?”

She patted his knee. “You just have to do
what I say.”

* * *

To Lucy’s surprise, the rehearsal dinner late
Friday afternoon was neither a rehearsal nor a dinner. Like the
tree ceremony, the spa had a tradition of gathering the bride and
groom with the important people in their life and having some kind
of New Age ritual that made everyone uncomfortable. This time it
would be in a spa building called the Peace Yurt. Lucy went over
with Fawn a few minutes early to make sure everything was
ready.

Vibrating with nerves, Fawn kept tripping
over the dirt path. Lucy didn’t want to add to her stress, but she
was worried about being forced to hold hands with both Alex and
Miles and sing love songs or something.

Other women might’ve liked having a man fight
for her, but Lucy hated it. She wasn’t anyone’s
thing
. Not
her father’s, not some guy she just met. Why did men think a little
affection meant they owned you? Was it because they were so
incapable of taking care of themselves?

Neither of them was what he seemed. Alex,
ambitious and anal-retentive, should have been too self-absorbed to
get attached to a stranger in a photograph.

And Miles! Preening around like the alpha
gorilla. They hadn’t made each other any promises. Now he seemed to
think he owned her.

Nobody owned her. For the first time in her
life, she was free. Her dad was safely hitched to an excessively
capable woman who seemed to enjoy the exhausting job of taking care
of him.

No adult should need that much from another.
Children—sure. But a grown man? Or a woman? What kind of life was
that, to live at the mercy, skills, whims, emotions, or fortunes of
another?

Fawn stopped suddenly and put her hands on
her stomach. “I feel sick. I’m so nervous I’m going to barf.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. Who’s going to
be there?”

“Bride, groom, maid of honor, best man,
parents,” she said in a monotone. “Am I wearing too much concealer?
Of course I had to break out this morning. All the sugar and
stress. Look at my chin. It’s like a ‘You Are Here’ dot right on my
face.”

“I can’t see anything.”

“Don’t lie to me!” she snapped, then bit her
lip. “Sorry.”

Lucy put an arm around her. “Go ahead. Say
anything that makes you feel better. I can take it.”

“You are so great,” Fawn said slowly, looking
up at the sky and blinking fast. “I hope you find as much happiness
as I have.”

I was kind of hoping for more
. “How
are Huntley’s parents behaving?”

“Same. It’s okay. They’re probably too old to
change.”

“And Huntley?”

Fawn didn’t look at her. “He’s willing to
live on the west coast so it doesn’t come up very often.”

“But Fawn—” Lucy stopped herself. Should she
tell her that wasn’t going to work? She was marrying into a family
that didn’t like her. That was going to be awful no matter where
they lived.

After checking her makeup in her compact and
putting on more lipstick, Fawn plastered a smile on her face,
pushing her shoulders back. “My mom went to meet her new boyfriend
at the Greeting Lot. She might not make it here in time, which I
told her was totally fine.” She lowered her voice. “It’s hard
enough for
me
to suck up to the Sterlings. She doesn’t have
it in her.”

“We just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.” She put her hands over her
chest and sucked in a deep breath. “I can do this.”

Lucy hugged her. “Of course you can. Huntley
will be here. And I’m here.”

Fawn took her hand and squeezed. “I can’t
expect Huntley to turn against his own parents, but if you’re here,
at least I feel like there’s somebody prejudiced to take my
side.”

“That should be him, Fawn.”

“He’s not a fighter, but he is loyal
underneath. I love that about him. I do. I just have to keep
reminding myself that it’s going to be enough. His parents
obviously hate my guts and always will.”

Fawn opened the door to the Peace Yurt and
gave Lucy a funny look. “Wow, I guess they weren’t kidding.”

Lucy peeked inside and groaned. “We’re going
to be naked?”

“Not the whole time, I don’t think.”

“I’m not getting naked, Fawn. I love you,
but—”

Fawn pushed her inside. “I don’t see why
you’re getting prudish now. You seemed pretty eager to get naked
the other night.”

“Er—”

Another push. “If I can do it, you can.”

So says the supermodel.

A naked female staffer greeted them with a
white candle in each hand and a big toothy smile. She was in her
fifties, had breasts more perky than Lucy’s had been in high
school, and sported gray pubic hair that was trimmed short. Like
hedged lavender.

Lucy imagined her serving mashed potatoes and
bean sprouts at the Snowy Egret and started to giggle. “I’m sorry,
but I can’t do this.” She turned to flee and ran into a big,
familiar chest.

Miles wore a fitted black sweater that
emphasized his strong build. She inhaled the scent of him and hung
on for a second before stepping back.

He kept his hands on her. “Where’s the fire?”
he asked. Then he saw the nude staffer. “Oh. There it is, right
behind you.”

“She wants us to get naked,” Lucy said.

Miles frowned. “I don’t do naked in groups.
It’s bad for fundraising.” With an arm tight over her shoulders, he
guided her back inside. “Maybe it’s the wedding
night
rehearsal dinner. In which case, I think they could skip it since
they’ve been practicing a bit already.”

Then he dropped his hands and walked to the
other side of the yurt.

“Hello, friends,” the naked woman said. “I’m
Denise, and yes, I’m nude. I’m going to invite all of you to join
me. It’s a simple but profound step to illustrate your unlayering.
To bare yourself to me, to your committed partner, to each other,
to yourself. I’ve got towels—”

“Thank God!” Fawn said, holding out her
hand.

“—for you to lie down on. I’ll come by with
scented oils for your feet and hands. I do ask that you not touch
one another, as that may increase the discomfort of everyone
else.”

Fawn held the towel to her chest for a
moment, then shrugged and started unbuttoning her dress.

“I really can’t do this,” Lucy said.

“Oh, boy,” Miles said, looking at the
door.

Lucy turned around to see Huntley and his
parents walk in.

Behind Huntley, Rosalind Sterling had on a
cream pantsuit and a gold necklace as thick as a Twizzler. The
elder Huntley wore a navy blue pinstripe, but had left off the
tie—which, next to his wife, made him look as naked as Denise.

“Why is that woman in the nude, son?”
Rosalind asked.