Chapter 30
Penelope
It’s an innocent enough question.
But Mia immediately becomes uncharacteristically cagey. And Jess, visibly tense.
“You want to know how Mason and I first met?” Mia repeats, suspiciously. “Why?”
I frown. “Isn’t that, like, a normal thing to ask when someone’s getting married?”
“Well, it’s public knowledge,” Jess cuts in, a little too quickly. “Mason stopped to help Mia out of a traffic altercation—didn’t realize who she was because of the disguise we came up with, right Mia? The wig, the dentures—”
“But why are you asking?” Mia’s jaw tightens. “Did Mason say something different? To you or Tuck? Wait…to Brady ?” She flicks to Vivian. “What have you heard about it?”
Vivian blinks. “Er, I just know this is your second engagement. The first time, something went wrong, you broke up, then got back together…”
Mia exhales sharply. “Right. And honestly, I don’t know why I did it but—”
“Mia,” Jess interjects, voice firm, “I think we can leave it there.”
But Nora smells a story. “Uh-uh. You’re about to get married . If something was messy in the beginning, isn’t this the perfect time to hash it out? And who better than us to help?” She gestures around our circle.
“Oh, we don’t have any issues now,” Mia insists. “It’s just that, we started out as a completely fabricated—”
“Mia!” Jess waves an urgent cancel sign in the air. “That’s not for public consumption.”
Susan scoffs. “‘Public consumption’? Please. We’re practically family here in Blue Mountain Lake. I’ve known Mason since he started school. And look at us—we’re stripped down to nothing. There should be no secrets when we’ve got everything else hanging out.”
Mia hesitates. “Honestly? I’d love to be open about everything. But my reputation—Jess is right.”
“Then let’s all share a secret,” Vivian suggests. “If we all do it, we’re all bound to keep each other’s, right?”
“Great idea!” Nora claps. “Susan?”
Susan adjusts her position against the pool’s slate ledge. “I guess…”
Nora turns to Violet. “You in?”
Violet eyes us warily. “What kind of secret?”
“Well, that depends,” I say. “How big is this thing Mia’s keeping?”
Raquel leans back on her elbows, smirking. “Put it this way, you’ll see her in a whole new light.”
Nora nods. “Okay, then. A big secret. So, let’s all share a raunchy one. Then, Mia will tell us hers.”
“That seems fair,” Mia relents. “But, no judgment, okay?”
“Hah. Now this is getting interesting!” Raquel grins. “Can we get champagne in here?”
Mia groans. “Mom, we’re supposed to be cleansing .”
“Oh, honey, life is a cycle. You detox, then you retox .”
Jess looks stricken. “I’m not sure this is a good idea. Even if we swear confidentiality, there needs to be a water-tight agreement. And there are staff.”
“Send them away,” Raquel says breezily. “After they bring the champagne. Better make it two bottles in that case.” She waves Kelly over.
Jess still looks unconvinced. “Let’s ask if they have a printer? Because if this happens, it can’t be a handshake. We need actual NDAs. I can set them up and notarize them.”
Raquel cackles. “Honey, you’re even more uptight than Violet. When’s the last time you got laid?”
Violet presses her lips into a thin line.
Mia groans. “Mom, not appropriate .”
“Holy hog balls, Mia—look at us!” Raquel sweeps a hand over our nakedness, barely concealed by the swirling water. “We’re way past appropriate. We’re here to be real. But fine, I’ll slap a nipple print on your NDA if it means we can get back to the good stuff. The spicy stuff. Because hell, isn’t that what makes life sing?”
As Jess scurries off, Nora and Violet disappear to the restroom, and Vivian and Susan slip into the sauna. And I wonder if the moment has drifted away with them.
But by the time Jess returns, triumphant and waving paperwork like a victory flag, we’ve naturally gathered again under the soothing jets of the central pool. This time with chilled flutes of champagne.
“Alright, ladies, let’s make this official.” Jess motions to Kelly.
Kelly kneels at the water’s edge, setting down towels, pens, and a tray to hold the documents as Jess feeds them to her one by one.
As each woman signs, Jess swiftly stamps and notarizes.
“Huh.” I arch a brow. “You travel with notarization supplies?”
Jess shrugs. “You’d be surprised how often it comes in handy.”
Raquel sniffs. “Can’t decide if that’s impressive or deeply concerning.”
Then Susan hesitates, pen midair. “Is this really necessary?”
Jess gives her a pointed look. “If you don’t want any of this ending up in a ‘tell-all’ memoir or a drunken TikTok rant, then yeah. This protects you as much as Mia.”
Once the last signature is in place and the contracts are safely stowed away, Jess sighs with satisfaction and slips back into the water.
“Now, where were we?”
Raquel pulls herself onto the ledge, waggling her feet in the water. “The spicy stuff. Should I go first?”
Mia groans. “Seriously, Mom. Is there anything you haven’t spilled? What could possibly be left?”
“Honey, let me tell you— tons .” Raquel tips back her champagne. “The real question is, which story is worthy of the occasion?”
“You know what?” Violet runs a hand over her carefully secured hair. “I can go first.”
“Oh, I think we can save the story of your first kiss for later,” Raquel says dryly.
“Wow, with all these volunteers, we might need a system.” I try to soften the bite in Raquel’s words. “Alphabetical?”
Jess scans the group. “Nope, that means I’d be first.”
“ Reverse alphabetical?” Mia suggests.
We all take a sip of wine, eyes naturally landing on Vivian.
Vivian hesitates, glancing around the circle. “Okay. Well, a couple of you know parts of this, but not the whole story.” She winces. “Shit—this is tough.”
“Let it out, girl!” Raquel crows. “You’ll feel better. And whatever it is, mine will be worse—guaranteed.”
Vivian exhales. “When Finn was born, I convinced myself I got pregnant in Europe, while I was studying. I didn’t let myself really consider that Brady, the guy I had a fling with the week before I left, was actually his father.”
She turns to Nora with a regretful smile. “Because of that, Finn never knew his dad. Or his incredible grandparents, Nora and Harvey. Not until recently.”
“It really was a huge surprise, Brady with a teenage kid,” I chime in, trying to be supportive. “But, honestly, Vivian, as much as you’ve changed Brady’s life…as one of his close friends, I have to say, we’re all so lucky to get to know you and Finn.”
“Thank you, Penelope.” Vivian gives a warm smile. “That means a lot.”
Raquel pouts. “So this isn’t a newsflash?”
“Well…” Vivian bites her lip. “What isn’t really known is that when I figured out Brady was Finn’s dad, I still didn’t tell him. I held off.”
“But why ?” I ask, unable to help myself.
Vivian exhales. “I don’t know if I can fully explain. I mean, I was wrong , so there’s no justification. But maybe the moms here will understand. I was afraid. Afraid of how it would impact Finn. Brady was—”
“A mess,” Nora bluntly interjects. “His lifestyle, the people he surrounded himself with, the whole industry…I spent nights praying for him to be okay.”
Vivian nods, her face pensive. “So when Brady and I reconnected, when we started seeing each other again, I kept it a secret. I put him through this whole…test. Trying to prove to myself that he was worthy of knowing Finn. That bringing them together wouldn’t be a mistake.” Her voice wavers. “But it wasn’t my right to do that.” She turns to Nora. “I’m so sorry.”
Nora reaches for her hand. “Darling, we’re just so happy to have you and Finn in our lives now.”
Vivian’s shoulders sag with relief, but before the moment can get too heavy—
“ Next! ” Raquel declares, rapidly topping up glasses.
All eyes shift to Violet.
She downs the last of her champagne. “Jess—this NDA agreement. It’s air-tight?”
“A hundred percent,” Jess assures her.
Violet sets her glass aside, runs her eyes around our faces.
“Molly, my daughter, was conceived in the back of a hearse the afternoon of her—” She raises her fingers in air quotes. “ Father’s funeral.”
Raquel chokes, spraying a mouthful of champagne straight into the pool as a synchronized gasp ripples through the group.
“ Holy shit! ” Raquel sputters, wiping her mouth. “I’m gonna need you to repeat that golden nugget.”
Violet swallows. “My family assumes Molly was conceived before my husband died. But…Nick isn’t her father.”
Silence.
Then Raquel, eyes wide, leans forward. “Wait. Then who is? The priest?”
Vivian groans. “Raquel.”
“What? I mean, it was a hearse ! Like, wow.”
Violet closes her eyes, as if preparing for impact. “Nick’s brother. Luca .”
More silence.
Then Raquel explodes. “Oh. My. Lordy! ”
“ Whoa .” Mia breathes.
The rest of us exchange stunned looks. Prim and perfect, Violet?
Questions fire from all angles—how, when, why —but Violet calmly lifts her empty glass, extending it toward Raquel. “Refill.”
“Absolutely,” Raquel says, still giddy. “Honey, you are one dark horse! ”
“Oh, me next?” Susan murmurs, realizing Violet has no intention of elaborating further. She offers a coy smile. “Well. When Keith and I got together…he was actually my superior.”
Several eyebrows rise.
“I was working as a teacher’s aide before finishing my degree,” she explains. “Keith was my supervising teacher. And, well…there were sparks .”
Raquel leans in. “Forbidden romance ‘sparks’?”
Susan takes a sip of champagne, eyes twinkling. “One afternoon, after a field trip—some kind of outdoor survival workshop—we were the last ones back, double-checking the return of all the compasses, first-aid kits, and emergency whistles. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were tangled on top of the stack of safety vests.”
A beat of stunned silence.
Then I blurt, “ Susan! ”
She just shrugs, a wicked glint in her eye. “Oh yes. And believe me, Keith was quite built back then…it was… raunchy. ”
Appreciative laughter erupts.
Raquel rubs her hands together. “My turn! Okay, ladies, picture this —” she leans in, pausing for dramatic effect. “Portugal, 1987. I was young, single, and absolutely feral for a man with a good swing.”
Mia groans. “Oh god.”
“I mean golf swing , darling,” Raquel clarifies, though the smirk on her lips suggests otherwise. “I was on a European golf tour—purely as a spectator, of course—but I had a very hands-on tutor.” She winks.
Violet swirls her champagne. “Define hands-on .”
“He was very invested in my form,” Raquel purrs. “And let’s just say…I picked up more than just tips on my backswing.”
Susan gasps. “You seduced your golf instructor?”
“Oh, Sweetheart.” Raquel flicks a hand. “That man had legs like a goddamn gazelle, I didn’t seduce him, I just let nature take its course .”
Violet raises an eyebrow. “And…where exactly did nature take you?”
Raquel grins. “The thirteenth hole.”
Mia slaps a hand over her face. “Mother. No .”
“Oh yes , Darling,” Raquel continues, clearly delighted. “An open green, the scent of freshly cut grass in the air, my dress hiked up over my hips while he—”
“Okay, okay!” Vivian holds up a hand, laughing. “We get the visual.”
“Do you?” Raquel teases. “Because there I was—legs wrapped around him, my bare ass pressed into the green, when…”
Mia groans. “Please don’t say the sprinklers came on.”
“Oh no.” Raquel winks. “But your father sure as hell did.”
A collective gasp ripples through the group.
“No.” Susan breathes.
“Yes,” Raquel says proudly. “Caught red-handed. Or should I say, bare-assed. ” She pauses for dramatic effect, then continues. “Bennett was wildly jealous. At that stage, we’d only met a handful of times. His father was sponsoring the event, we’d flirted…”
Mia eyes her mother suspiciously. “Mom. Did you initiate sex with the golf instructor just to make Dad jealous?”
“What?” Raquel feigns innocence. “I had no idea Bennett was so captivated by me that he’d go after the poor guy. That it would turn into a full-blown brawl. A crowd gathered. Police were called. And then…Bennett swept me away on his yacht.” She sighs theatrically. “The rest is history.”
She takes a gulp of champagne. “Including our divorce a decade and a half later,” she adds drily, “when he—” She looks at Mia, then waves a hand. “Well. That’s a whole other story.”
“Thanks, Mom, for at least keeping some semblance of privacy,” Mia mutters.
Raquel takes a contemplative sip of champagne, then sighs. “I never did learn how to golf.”
I lift my glass for a refill and adjust my shoulders against one of the water jets.
Then I realize everyone’s following my movement.
It suddenly dawns on me that I’m next.
“Um…well.” I laugh nervously. “Suddenly, I wish I had a golf story.”