Chapter 5
Chapter Five
P aige focused on the beat of the music pumping through her earbuds and the knowledge that what she was doing was good for her and terrible for Peter, her cheating ex-husband.
Not that she was bitter. Much. Her hefty divorce settlement had helped soothe the damage he’d done. Some of it, anyway.
There was nothing that would ever permanently erase the scars of finding one’s husband of forty-three years in bed with his new, younger lover.
Who also happened to be a man .
The utter humiliation of that would never go away.
Dripping with sweat and breathing heavily, Paige turned off the treadmill and stepped onto the floor, her forty-five minutes done. She grabbed her towel and took a look around. The fitness center was busy, but that was nothing unusual. It was a popular spot.
One filled with handsome men.
As she dabbed at her throat with the towel, she did a quick inventory. How many of them were eligible, she had no idea. It was hard to tell because a lot of them didn’t wear their wedding bands to work out. A lot of them didn’t work out with their wives, either.
She wasn’t looking for another husband, however.
Just a nice man to date once or twice. Long enough to snap a few pics with or shoot a little video for her social media.
Her way of showing Peter, and the world, that she wasn’t just moving on from him in style, she was stepping out with plenty of wonderful men.
Men who wanted to wine and dine her. Men who craved her company.
Men who had no interest in other men.
Finding Peter in bed with Scotty, his personal trainer, had destroyed her in ways she didn’t know were possible. She’d questioned her worth as a wife and as a woman. Her confidence, such as it was, had tanked.
Despite trying to help her daughter, Randi, through the divorce, Paige herself had fallen into a morass of depression. Taken to drinking a little too much wine in the evenings. Over and over, she’d asked herself the question, “What now?” And over and over, she’d been unable to answer.
After a solid month of mourning the loss of her marriage and her life, she’d been surprised by with a trip her college roommate, Claire, a friend from her gardening club, Gretchen, and Paige’s own wonderful daughter, Randi.
She hadn’t wanted to go, but they’d forced her.
The first day she’d been infuriated, but as the trip went on and the conversations continued, her friends talked some sense into her.
So much talking. So many tears. But she’d gone home blessed by the knowledge that she had great people around her, and that her life wasn’t over. It had only just begun.
Since moving to the Colony a year ago to be closer to her daughter, Paige had embarked on a personal transformation.
She’d changed everything about her life.
She made better food choices, eliminating processed junk.
She only drank wine if she was out with friends and then only one glass. She worked out five days a week.
Those things had made it possible for her to shed forty-three pounds, which had in turn allowed her to upgrade her wardrobe.
And, boy, had she. Instead of the shapeless tent dresses and big shirts with leggings she’d once favored, she now wore cute little dresses that showed off her legs, along with shorts, slim ankle pants, and fitted tops.
She’d swapped her skirted bathing suit for a two-piece boy-short bikini that was probably one of the most daring things she now owned. And she felt good in it.
She’d let her short, gray hair grow out, dyed it blond, and had it cut into a fun shag.
With some of the money from her large divorce settlement, she’d splurged on some laser resurfacing treatments that she now maintained with facials, a dedicated new skincare routine, and even a little Botox now and then.
Randi had taught her how to use makeup more effectively and how to do her brows.
In short, she’d lost her husband and gained herself. She’d become a new woman. One she now celebrated on social media. Much to her surprise, and her daughter’s, Paige had become something of a hit on TikTok.
Apparently, the mature female audience was alive and well on the Tok. And they liked her tips and tricks for living your best life after divorce.
Hard not to smile when she thought about how far she’d come. She headed for the locker room to shower and change. She had an appointment at Nectar, the Colony’s beauty salon, for a pedicure. She wanted to look perfect for the book club this evening.
Larry Marsden came into the fitness center, saw her and waved. “Paige.”
She stopped. “Hello, Larry.”
His brows lifted as his gaze swept her. Larry had taken her to a concert at St. Pete’s Beach. The concert had been fun, but he’d talked about himself all night. She’d already had a man like that so Larry was one and done. “Looking good, Paige. Did you just finish up?”
“I did and now I’m off to run errands.”
Before she could leave, he said, “How about some dinner tomorrow night? There’s a new Italian place just opened up in Beechwood.”
“That’s so kind of you to think of me, but I have plans Friday.” She tossed her towel into the Used bin and took a step toward the Women’s Locker Room. “I’m sure Sarah Ross is free, though. You should give her a call.”
Paige slipped into the locker room before he could ask about a different night. She liked to send some action to her less outgoing friends as a courtesy. Sarah could hold her own with Larry and she’d get a free meal out of it.
Paige sat on a bench and took her phone out, sending Sarah a quick text. Larry Marsden is looking for a date tomorrow night, new Italian place. Told him to call you.
Thanks for letting me know. Wouldn’t mind getting out.
He likes to talk about himself so consider yourself forewarned.
As long as I get a couple of glasses of wine and dessert, he can talk all he wants to. She followed that up with a laughing emoji.
Paige, who was actually laughing, send three back in return. Then she put her phone into her locker, grabbed her bag and went to shower.
She dried her hair, touched up her makeup, and inspected her outfit.
The pink gingham was adorable. While she did occasionally play pickleball, she’d made the dresses part of her daily attire.
They were just so cute. They all had pockets, were figure-flattering, and had little shorts to wear underneath. What wasn’t to love?
Figuring Larry was occupied with his workout by now, she removed the last of her things from her locker and put them into her bag. Then she stuck her sunglasses on and left. Larry was on a treadmill and, from the looks of it, chatting up Margaret Hilton, who was on the machine next to him.
He wouldn’t get far with Margaret. Rumor had it she was a distant relation to the hotel chain Hiltons. Regardless if that was true, she only dated men who could buy the restaurant, not just dinner.
Paige hopped into her golf cart and drove to Nectar. She had her polish in her purse, a pretty pink appropriately named Ladies Who Lunch. It was important her nails looked nice. She needed to make a good first impression.
Tonight, she was hosting her first book club, and she was nervous about it.
She had no idea if the women would show up.
They’d RSVP’d, but that didn’t always mean anything.
Since Paige had arrived at the Colony, she’d carefully studied the newsletter, listened for the names that came up the most in conversation, and tried to determine the women others were most interested in. From that, she’d built her list.
She parked and went in, her mind on the six names she’d come up with. Those women seemed to be the most interesting, the most influential, or the most talked about, and, to some extent, the women who seemed like they’d yet to find their group.
Surprisingly, they’d all said they’d come.
She went up to the reception desk. The woman behind the counter smiled. “Hi, Ms. Wheeler. Here for your pedicure appointment?”
“Yes.”
“You can go on back to number seven. We’re all ready for you.”
Paige took her polish out of her purse as she walked. She greeted the woman at the pedi chair, handed over her polish, then sat and toed off her shoes. She settled in and took out her phone, checking her socials, then her email.
No one had cancelled. Fingers crossed it stayed that way.
The book she’d chosen for the book club was a psychological thriller that was being made into a movie and had lots of buzz. Hopefully, it would be good. Even if it wasn’t, she hoped the group would take off.
She had some friends here, but they were really more acquaintances. Shallow relationships. She wanted girlfriends . That deep bond of sisterhood.
This book club was her plan to make that happen. Because not only did the women she’d chosen seem fun and interesting and unique in their own ways, they seemed like the perfect mix of women to become her squad.
That’s what the TikTokers called it.
Heaven help her, but Paige wanted a squad.
Marriage had made it nearly impossible to have close female friends. Peter hadn’t exactly been controlling, but his schedule of events, nearly all of which had required her presence, had left very little time for a social life of her own.
Now she had the time but the only social life she had was online, along with the occasional dates she went on to give her something to post about.
It was time for a real life. And real friends.