my face and I laughed.
“Read you loud and clear, base. Is Missy here yet?” I peeked over Krista’s shoulder to see if my roommate had arrived yet, but I couldn’t see her. I had known Missy since my childhood days in Blue Moon Bay on the coast. After we moved to Sacramento last year, she and Krista had hit it off immediately when they met, meaning we all spent a lot of time together.
“Missy sent a text that she’s already in the lounge,” Krista said. “Hopefully, with three chilled cocktails making rings on the coasters as we speak.”
I laughed again. No matter how stressed I was, spending time with the girls always lifted my spirits. Friends were essential in life. Leaving the ballroom behind, I followed Krista to the lounge area, and sure enough there was Missy, having nabbed the best table in the place.
“Mwah, mwah!” Missy kissed me on both cheeks with exaggerated sound effects, and did the same to Krista before sitting back down. Missy could be a little over the top at times, but, she was an ex-supermodel and it suited her bubbly personality.
The lounge at the Geoffries hotel wasn’t quite as opulent as the ballroom, but it was a stunning venue and one of our favorite places for a night out, because it wasn’t as loud as the usual bars and clubs in town. This was a great place for catching up and girl talk.
I sank down into a navy-blue and gold patterned chair, its deep mahogany arms polished to the same high standard as the doors and wood panels. I smiled and held a hand up at the familiar bartender, who was waving hello to us.
“That’s a sure-fire way to know we come here way too often,” Missy said, handing me a cocktail—a creamy-looking concoction of goodness knows what, but it tasted divine when I took a sip. I licked a sweet drop off my bottom lip and images of the masquerade ball, or more specifically the kiss with Prince Charming, immediately invaded my mind.
“You’re blushing, Michelle. Do you think the bartender is hot, or something?” Krista winked at Missy and they both looked at me expectantly.
“What? Oh, please. He’s like half my age.”
“Cougar,” Krista declared.
“Can you be a cougar at twenty-seven?” I asked.
“Can he be half your age at twenty-seven if he’s a bartender?” Missy asked.
“Well, he looks twenty-one. Too young for my taste.”
Krista shrugged. “If anyone can pull off being a twenty-seven-year-old cougar then it’s you. Or you, Missy.”
“Nick happens to be older than me by a couple of years and I’m beyond happy with my fiancé, thank you very much,” Missy said, glancing at the enormous sparkle on her ring finger.
“You two are perfectly adorable,” Krista said, smiling at Missy before turning to me. “But let’s get back to the reason Michelle is blushing.”
“I’m not blushing, it’s the reflection of the lights.” I gestured up at the ornate golden ceiling, where extravagant chandeliers hung, the crimson crystal droplets casting a magical hue over the entire lounge.
“Fine, don’t tell us. We’ll discover your secret eventually. We always do, and you know that.” Missy twisted her mouth in a ‘whatever’ kind of way, and turned to Krista. “So, how’s life at the travel agency?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s just say it’s never dull. We had this woman come in to book a holiday to Florida at Christmas. She asked about essentials to bring and I suggested sunscreen. She got very annoyed with me and asked if I thought she was stupid.”
“She didn’t,” I said.
Krista nodded. “Oh, she did. She called my boss and complained that I thought I was better than her just because I got to travel all over the world. I didn’t correct her that the farthest I’d traveled was seven hours to Disneyland. But, whatever.”
“Was your boss upset?” Missy asked.
She shook her head. “No, but I think that’s only because she’s going through some kind of crisis. Mid-life, maybe? I don’t know. She’s been acting weird, though.”
“Like how?” Missy asked.
My gaze wandered over Missy’s shoulder where I caught sight of the door to the ballroom across the way, making me think of the masquerade ball again. How could I have missed that those gorgeous blue eyes behind the mask belonged to Brooks Keller? Maybe because he wore glasses? That couldn’t be it, though, because I’d always been mesmerized by his eyes. Maybe because I never thought I’d see him again?
“What do you think, Michelle? Are you up for it?”
I jumped