her success as a Hollywood producer even translate to the small screen? Or would she be laughed at for trying something new?
With these thoughts weighing on her mind, she slipped through the hedgerow from Le Chateau to Westerly and took a deep breath, deciding that for today—just for now—she would just worry about connecting with Skye and Daisy and tackle the rest later.
“Jax! Hello!” called Skye from the back patio, waving her over to an elegant lunch table.
“Hi!” said Jax, smiling at Skye as she hopped up the steps, and offering her hostess a massive bouquet of wildflowers. “I brought flowers.”
“My God! A whole greenhouse of them!”
“Too much?” asked Jax, cringing as Skye cradled the bouquet in her arms.
“Only if I hated flowers. Which I don’t!” The maid hurried out from the house and Skye turned to her. “Fran, can you find a—a…”
“A vase, ma’am?”
Skye nodded. “Yes, a vase. Can you find one for these?”
Fran took the flowers and headed back into the house as Skye turned to Jax and gestured for her to take a seat. Her cheeks had pinkened. “My—that is, my mother wasn’t around much when I was little. Or…ever, really. I didn’t grow up with many flowers to put in vases.”
“My mother wasn’t around much either,” said Jax, hoping her confession would place Skye at more ease.
“Oh. Were your parents…divorced?”
“No. Just absent.” Jax reached into her purse for her sunglasses and put them on. “Mostly traveling the world for business. Or pleasure. Or just to be away together. Or just to be away from us.”
“They loved each other?” asked Skye.
Jax nodded. “I think so. Certainly more than they loved us.”
Skye sighed. “Well, I think we both turned out great.”
“You barely know me,” said Jax, reaching for her wine glass.
“I know you’re nice. And funny. You made a great movie.” Skye took a sip of her wine. “Besides, Brooks said you’re a ‘good egg.’”
Jax lowered her glass, grinning. She’d never been very close to Brooks, so his compliment surprised her and delighted her at once. “He did?”
She nodded. “Yes. He said to steer clear of your brother, a couple of the Story sisters, and Sloane Ambler. But he said you were solid.”
“Steer clear of J.C.?” she asked, grinning.
“Yes.”
Jax nodded her agreement. “Brooks has a point. He’s a terrible flirt.”
Skye gave her a wide-eyed nod. “So I’ve heard.”
They were both giggling as Fran opened the door to the terrace and a beautiful blonde woman walked onto the patio with a cellophane-covered basket hanging from her arm. She was Daisy English, wife of the second-oldest English brother, Fitz.
“Hey, girls!” she called, heading to the table and pulling out the available chair. “What did I miss?”
“Daisy!” greeted Skye, standing to embrace her friend. “So good to see you…without spit-up on my shoulder.”
“Or a diaper bag filled to bursting,” said Daisy, turning to grin at Jax. “Hey, Jax.”
“Hi, Daisy. It’s good to see you,” said Jax, reaching her hand across the table to shake Daisy’s.
Daisy glanced at Skye, then back at Jax. “We do a Mommy and Me class together at Enchanted Beginnings in Wayne on Wednesday mornings.”
“But aren’t your children pretty different in age?” asked Jax. She’d seen Daisy and Fitz’s daughter at Étienne and Kate’s wedding, and she looked a lot bigger than tiny Sailor.
Skye shrugged. “Sailor’s two months and Caroline will be a year old in…?”
“July,” said Daisy.
“Well, there you go. The class is for babies twelve months and under.”
“Enough about kids!” exclaimed Daisy suddenly, taking her seat. “Today I’m just a grown-up, drinking wine with lunch and talking about anything but organic puff snacks and the ‘right’ preschool!”
“Amen,” said Skye, raising her glass. “The terror is fast asleep, which means I have two hours to get you two drunk, hear your secrets, and plan a party!”
Jax lifted her glass and giggled. “To wine, secrets, and parties!”
They clanked the crystal glasses together, and each took a long sip of ice-cold Chardonnay.
Daisy sighed as she replaced her glass. “Starting to feel human again.”
“Jax,” said Skye as Fran returned with warm rolls and plated salad, “remind us of what it’s like out there.”
“In the dating world?” asked Jax. She took another sip of wine. “Probably less glamorous than you remember.”
Daisy shook her head. “Actually, I remember it being pretty awful.”
Skye shrugged. “My boyfriend before Brooks was such an asshole.”
“I didn’t even have a boyfriend before Fitz,” said Daisy. “Just a fake one to make him jealous.”
“Did it work?” asked Jax, chuckling as she buttered her roll.
Daisy nodded, flashing her rock