Page 30 (2/2)

"Are you reed you an ar last year, as I recall"

"I do and you did And you did a great job I always tell everyone who reat, Jaoing to give him the satisfaction Not worth the breath it would take ?"

"Marin, actually I just bought a house there" He grinned

"Really, , that’s great"

"Yep, settling down, just got married Hey, honey! C’mere, want you to meet someone" He waved toward a woman in the next aisle

Wife?

"There she is Come here, sweetie pie, and say hello to Caroline"

"Hello, Caroline," the prettiest girl in the world said to , I looked at Mrs Ja Beyond pretty She looked really sweet "I’hed to cover it "It’s wonderful to et

"Just a few rinned and tucked her into his side as she giggled "We met at the club Her father is a client of mine, and the rest was history"

"It happened so quickly, it was just like ere supposed to be together, you know? He proposed just three weeks later Can you believe it?" She giggled again, showing her ring It looked like a skating rink

"I really can’t" I sht up into ht Right?" Jahter was like tiny silver bells He grinned at her and reached over and patted her belly Which I now noticed was noticeably round She laced her fingers through his and they held her perfect little round belly together Krissy was on the nest Jaly at me

"How do you know Jimmy?" she asked

"Jimmy?" I asked Eyebroere officially a lost cause; they were on the back of my head at this point

"Caroline and I used to date when I was in law school, and then we reconnected when she decorated , by the way?"

"Fine, JihI took a class last year all about it I love that tile you’ve got there Are you decorating so to the black and neon-green geoprint tile I’d inadvertently picked up and was clutching so tightlyActually, I’ht a house over in Sausalito, so yep Tile For o there all the tis" Krissy giggled

Jaht a house? In Sausalito? With who?"

I love that he just assumed that it would have to be with so onable to afford a house in Sausalito on ht a house With Simon, actually You reuy?"

"Yes, that neighbor guy"

"Wow That’s great, Caroline, really great"

"Yes" I nodded firh Not what I expected"

"What? Why?"

Krissy had stepped away by now; she’d found a shiny tile

"You used to tellto settle down," he said

"I’ down, and for God’s sake, Sausalito isn’t the suburbs," I snapped, and his eyes danced He always liked to stirat all--it’s an a house I love it; it’s exactly what I alanted"

"I didn’t say settling; you did I said settling down And really, all I’ is you used to say you never wanted--"

"Ja hot at this point Krissy was prancing back over, and I needed to get out of here "Congratulations on getting ood luck with your tile" I whirled around and ran right into a sales guy

Throwing back ized, then said in a clear voice, "My boyfriend likes to fk my brains out on our kitchen island Which tile would you recouy actually showed lad for the convertible, because the trail I blazed back over the bridge to non-fucking-suburban Sausalito was infinitely better in a high-perfor across the bay in a clunky delivery van wouldn’t have cut nearly as draine as I cut down the tiny streets, I whizzed up onto our street and peeled into the driveway I got out and slammed the door

"Caroline?" Sie of the yard, chatting with Ruth froave us the keys e first saw the house

"Oh, hey there, Sihborly voice I click-clacked across the driveway, dodging sawhorses and plastic sheeting

Siress we’ve made in that upstairs bedroo room?" He reached out for me and tucked me into his side "Hey, babe, hoas your day?"

"Oh, tip-top" My voice must have sounded off, because he looked down atroom?" I asked