“Shhh. Jurnee, don’t argue with me. I never argue with you about Spartan gear.”
“Touché.”
A waiter appeared as we settled into our seats. “Ladies, may I interest you in a cocktail as you review the menu?”
“Champagne?” Soraya scanned the table for any objections.
“Red tips,” Genevieve shook her head. “I haven’t seen those in a while. Everything okay?”
“Things are great. Sometimes, it’s good to remind them not to be stupid. Bollinger?”
“Is this about the new horse?”
“Genevieve, I don’t understand why you aren’t on my side on this one. Chloe loved him.” Soraya glanced at the waiter still waiting for an order.
“They have Taittinger from Reims.” Avery looked up from the menu. “We had it on the cruise. Soraya, we should get a bottle. It’s delicious.” Genevieve winked at me.
The waiter grinned from ear to ear as he listened to the two decide which bottle of expensive champagne to start with. They hatched an agreement that we’d try a couple bottles of each, and the waiter dashed from the table much cheerfully.
“It’s a lot of commitment for all of us. Are you willing to fly down to Florida every weekend for three months?” Genevieve’s eyebrows went up as her perfected side-eye was affixed on Soraya.
With skilled deflection, Soraya announced the reason for today’s lunch. “Jurnee has made Page Six.”
“When?” Avery and Genevieve exclaimed in unison as both reached for their phones.
Genevieve smiled at me, “How are you doing with all this?”
“Which? Signing on with Graham Morgan for a string of coffee shops, falling for a guy that the gossip columns are interested in, or moving to one of the biggest cities in the country?” I caught myself before reaching for a glass of water that wasn’t there.
Michiganders are used to having ice water on the table of a restaurant. It’s just what happens. You sit at a table, and someone places water in front of you. None of the restaurants I had been to in New York provided water to the table unless specifically requested.
“Let’s take it one at a time,” Genevieve smirked.
Avery tossed her hands in the air. “Negative. Let’s jump right to the ‘falling for a guy’ part. What have we missed?”
A smile that I could not rein in spread across my face. Shifting in my chair, I attempted to process what I had flippantly spewed out, but it was too late. Words were coming out.
The girls giggled, and that was it for me. “I think I really like Anderson.”
“He’s a very lucky guy.” The waiter placed a champagne glass in front of me and smiled warmly.
“He’s right.” Soraya began as the waiter completed the important task of filling all our glasses. “Anderson is lucky to have you. But there are some things you will have to adapt to being with him.”
“Like…”
“Page Six. Has he talked to you about the press and his family position in the city?”
“Well, I’ve been to his parent’s house so…” Sipping the champagne, I wiggled my nose as the bubbles made me want to sneeze.
“Whatever number you are thinking, you need to triple it. Anderson’s family has more money than the entire British Royal family, combined.” Avery smiled into her glass after another sip. “This brings back so many memories.”
“Perhaps we shouldn’t talk about those memories at lunch, Avery.” Genevieve’s face flushed several shades of pink while I scanned my memory for a time when I’d witnessed Genevieve embarrassed. Never.
“There is no way we are going to talk about our cruise when our girl has made her debut.”
“Correction. I’m the mystery girl. I wouldn’t call that a debut.”
“How did Anderson react?” Soraya slid the question in between sips of her bubbly.
“He didn’t mention it.” Yeah, why hadn’t he mentioned it?
Avery looked at me as she took a drink. “How was he at the office?”
“A jerk. He went behind my back to Graham to have me work with him instead of Alan.”
The girls stared at me like I had a booger hanging out of my nose. I brushed my finger over my nose and continued. “Normal. He was normal.”
“He hasn’t seen it yet. There is no way Anderson Douglas would still try to play house with you after seeing the paper.”
“He wasn’t trying to play house, Avery.”
“Jurnee, she’s right. The first time Graham and I were on Page Six, he flipped out. I had a full security detail assigned to me that day.”
I stared at Soraya. There had been nothing in my life that had prepared me for this conversation. “Security?”