to her and Barbie after the plane crash, and they were both financially secure.
"Want to go for a ride?"
Anne Marie's first inclination was to decline. Almost immediately she changed her mind. Why not go? Lillie's excitement was so contagious, she couldn't resist joining in.
"I'd love to," she said warmly.
"Great. I'll meet you in front of the bookstore in twenty minutes."
"Uh, what about Jacqueline?" She knew Lillie had plenty of other friends and that she and Jacqueline Donovan were especially close. They'd raised their children together, belonged to the same country club and were active members of several charitable organizations. Jacqueline, too, was a frequent customer at Blossom Street Books, not to mention all the other neighborhood stores.
"Rest assured, she'll get her turn," Lillie told her. "So, do you want to go for a ride or not?"
"I do. I just thought...never mind. I'd love to ride in your shiny new red convertible."
Gulping down her soup and then grabbing her coat, Anne Marie waited outside by the curb. Lillie pulled up right on time. The car, a convertible, was certainly bright red, and it shone from fender to fender. Despite the overcast skies, her friend had the top down.
Anne Marie stepped forward, gawking at the vehicle. "Lillie, it's fabulous!"
The older woman grinned. "I think so, too."
"What did Barbie have to say?"
Lillie shook her head. "She doesn't know yet. No one does. I'd just driven it off the showroom floor when I called you."
"Why me?"
"You're the one who inspired the idea. So it's only fitting that you be the first one to ride in it."
Anne Marie remembered the "eat something," "do something" conversation, but she never would've guessed she'd end up riding in a brand-new BMW because of it.
"It's the first time in my life that I've purchased my own car. I negotiated the deal myself," Lillie announced proudly. "And I had all my facts straight before I even walked inside. Those salesmen take one look at me and see dollar signs. I needed to prove to them - and to myself - that I'm no pushover."
"I'm sure you did - and then some."
Lillie nodded. "I got on the Internet and found a Web site that showed the invoice price, and then broke out the dealer's typical overheads and advertising costs."
Anne Marie was more impressed by the minute. "You really did your research."
"My dear, you can find out just about anything on the Internet." She raised her eyebrows. "I also discovered that the dealer cost includes a holdback for profit." Lillie smiled roguishly as she continued her story. "The salesman was a charming fellow, I will say that. He expected to walk away with a substantial commission check, but I quickly disavowed him of that notion."
Anne Marie stared at her, astonished. "How did you do it?"
"We started negotiating and I had him at the point of accepting my offer when I remembered that dealers sometimes get incentives and rebates on cars sold."
"You mentioned that, too?"
"Darn right I did and he agreed to my terms."
"Lillie, congratulations." Anne Marie had no idea the older woman had such a head for business. As far as she was aware, Lillie hadn't worked a day in her life, or at least not outside the home. In many ways Barbie was a younger version of her mother. Both women had married young, and each had chosen a husband ten or so years her senior. That was something Anne Marie had in common with them; the fact that they were both mothers was not. They'd promptly delivered the requisite child, in Barbie's case, twin sons. If Anne Marie recalled correctly, the Foster boys, Eric and Kurt, were enrolled in separate East Coast schools - very elite ones, naturally.
"It feels so good to drive a vehicle I negotiated for myself," Lillie said. "And this came about because of you."
"Really, I just made an offhand comment."
"It's more than purchasing my own car," she said, as though Anne Marie hadn't spoken, "it was managing everything myself instead of handing the task over to someone else. I've always felt I could be a good businesswoman if I'd been given the opportunity." She rubbed her hand over the arc of the steering wheel. "No one seemed to consider me capable of running my own affairs. Ironically, the person I needed to convince most was me. Thanks to you, I did."
Anne Marie felt a bit uncomfortable; Lillie was giving her far more credit than she deserved.
"Come on," Lillie said. "Get in."
Swinging open the passenger door, Anne