Chapter 41
How had the week gone by so fast? How was it Thursday and time for the next Queen Bees book club meeting already?
Paige wasn’t sure, but she was looking forward to seeing her new friends.
She used a cotton swab to remove a tiny fleck of wayward mascara from under one eye, then stood back from the mirror.
She’d gone casual chic this evening. Crisp white shirt—collar popped—medium-wash straight-leg jeans, accessorized with emerald green croc-embossed belt and loafers, a single strand of Mikimoto pearls, tiny gold hoops, and on her ring finger, a wide, hammered-gold band.
She was happy with what she saw. And ready to see her friends, talk about the book, share some laughs, some nibbles, and catch up.
She might not be ready to broadcast Graham to her TikTok audience, but she was definitely telling the Queen Bees. He was too good to keep to herself. Her joy overflowed. They’d gone out again for lunch to a little place further down the coast.
He continued to impress her. And she continued to consider changing her mind about staying single. Not that she was looking to get remarried. But a boyfriend wasn’t such a bad idea, was it?
Essie was the first to arrive for book club and she came bearing a small gold box of exceptional chocolates. “Frank brought these back for me from his trip and I wanted to share them with all of you.”
Paige was nearly blinded by the light coming off Essie’s wrist. She caught hold of Essie’s arm to have a better look. “Is that all he brought back?”
Essie looked a little shy, but lifted her wrist just the same. “No. The bracelet is new, too.”
“That is a major piece of bling. Frank has excellent taste. But then, he married you.”
Essie threw her head back and laughed. “No argument from me.”
Blaise came in after her, holding a plate in both hands with a snowy-white coconut cake on it, delicately wrapped in cling film. “Hello, everyone. I am proud to say I baked this myself. With some assistance. But there’s no guarantee how it’ll taste.”
“It looks incredible,” Essie said as Blaise set the cake on the counter.
“It does,” Paige said. Then she gently nudged Blaise. “Check out the new ice on Essie’s wrist. A little gift from Frank.”
Blaise turned. “Let me see it.” She gasped as Essie held up her wrist. “Are you serious with that? How are you lifting your arm? Does Frank have a brother?”
Essie laughed. “You guys are too much. But I do feel pretty spoiled.”
The bell rang and Paige went to get it, finding Maude and Cece standing there. “Come in, come in. The gang’s all here.”
Maude had a veggie and dip tray that looked homemade in the best possible way. “I hope this is all right.”
“That is perfect.” Paige meant it, too. They had more than enough sugar in the house with Blaise’s cake and Essie’s chocolates.
Cece held up her hands. “I’m sorry. I brought nothing. That makes me a terrible guest, I know, but I’ve had a couple of long days.”
Paige hugged her, because she looked like she needed it. “That’s fine. All that’s required is you.”
“Thanks,” Cece said softly.
Paige closed the door. “Why don’t we get our snacks, sit down, and catch up before we get into the book?
Althea’s not going to make it this evening.
She just wasn’t ready to leave Lester home alone on his first day out of the hospital, but she promised she’s going to try to make the next meeting.
Lester’s doing great, by the way. He’s still got a lot of rehab to do, which is probably another reason why Althea didn’t want to leave him. ”
Essie was slicing Blaise’s cake. “I can understand that.”
“Same here. I might text her and see if she needs anything,” Maude said. She helped herself to a piece of cake. “I love coconut cake. Is this from Publix?”
“No,” Blaise said. “I made it on Sunday, with the instruction of my very grumpy neighbor, Earl Tanner. It’s his late wife’s recipe. It’s been in my fridge, taunting me since then. Best coconut cake I’ve ever had. Well, the cake he made was. No promises what this one tastes like.”
“I love that your grumpy neighbor bakes.” Maude smiled as she sniffed the cake. “It smells crazy good. I can’t wait to try it.”
They all got their food and drinks and sat in the living room. Paige smiled at the group. “I heard the three of you dominated at trivia night. I wish I could have seen that.”
Essie grinned. “We won three games in a row.”
Blaise nodded. “We’re now the reigning champions.”
“We killed,” Maude added.
“Well,” Paige said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it but…” She let out a happy sigh. “I was on a date.”
That got the response she was hoping for: smiles, oohs, little gasps. Essie even clapped her hands.
“Tell us all about it,” Blaise said. “Or as much as you’re willing to tell us.”
“His name is Graham, he’s British—sorry, English—an absolute gentleman, and he took me to Salt & Cedar. I’ve already seen him again, and I will be seeing him a third time soon.”
Essie let out a little squeal. “That’s fantastic. And Salt & Cedar is nice .”
“It is,” Cece confirmed. “I took my daughter there after she helped me get moved in. Not cheap, either.”
Maude had a funny, knowing look on her face. “A third date? Won’t that ruin your TikTok rep?”
Paige laughed. “I’m not sharing him with that audience just yet. It’s too good.”
“I get that,” Maude said.
“How was your week?” Paige asked.
Maude’s smile disappeared. “Good and not so good. I went out for sushi with Dr. Oliver Keen, which was good.” Her smile came back. “Really good.”
Paige’s mouth fell open. “Lester’s doctor?”
“Yes,” Maude said. “But I’ve known him since high school.” Her smile had an unexpected shyness to it. “We were a couple then.”
Cece nodded. “He told me about that after I mentioned you. Pretty cool that you’ve been able to reconnect.”
“It is,” Maude said. “He hired me to do some digging on his ex-wife and I discovered some significant dirt on her.” She frowned. “Not what I was hoping for, but Ollie was happy. His attorney thinks he’ll be able to get Ollie his dog back at least. Ollie lost him in the divorce.”
“That’s awful.” Blaise looked horrified. “I cannot imagine that.”
“That poor man,” Essie whispered.
Maude shrugged. “I’ll be glad if something good comes of it.” She smiled again. “Besides going on the first date I’ve had with Ollie in thirty-seven years.”
That made them all laugh.
Paige turned to Cece. “How about you share next?”
Cece exhaled deeply. “I hate for this to be more of the same, but I did some investigating into my son-in-law.” She looked at Maude. “You know already because we talked.”
“We did,” Maude said. She looked at the rest of them. “Nothing conclusive yet.”
“What happened?” Essie asked.
Cece answered. “He came home from a conference, and my daughter found a blond hair in his laundry. She’s a brunette.”
Paige grimaced. “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“That’s what I told her, but she’d already had some suspicions.” Cece frowned. “I did a reverse image search and found he has a second Facebook profile, but it’s set so only friends can see his posts. I don’t see any valid reason for him to have such a thing if he’s not having an affair.”
Maude sat back. “I’m still waiting on him to accept my friend request.”
“I hope he does that soon,” Cece said. “Natalie’s losing her mind not knowing.”
Maude gave a quick, confident nod. “I’ll step it up and send him a message. I’m pretty good at being an online honey pot.”
Cece snorted. “Thanks.”
“Anything else interesting happen this week for you?” Paige asked.
That got a smile out of Cece. “I did have a little date of my own. Which Blaise helped me get ready for. We had dinner and went bowling and I’m seeing him again.
Also, not tomorrow night but the Friday after, if anyone feels like it, he’s the live music at Shooters.
He plays guitar and sings. I told him I might bring some friends. ”
Essie clapped again. “Girls night out.”
“I’m game,” Maude said. “By the way, Blaise, this cake is delish.”
“Thanks,” Blaise said, smiling.
Essie nodded. “It’s really good.”
“I’m in for Shooters, too,” Paige said. “Maybe I’ll see if Graham wants to go.”
“That would be great,” Cece said. “Joe would love that.” She shrugged. “Also, I’m thinking about starting a podcast, so don’t be surprised if I force some of you to be guests.”
That got them laughing again.
With a smile, Cece said, “That’s it for me.”
Paige went to the next woman. “Blaise? How was your week?”
She smiled. “It was nice. As I was saying, my neighbor taught me how to bake that cake. He’s a real enigma.
Grumpy widower, retired Marine, sweet as pie to my dog but answers most of my questions with grunts.
” She laughed. “He invited me over for dinner one night and I did get him to go on a beach walk with me, so I think I’m making progress.
I just can’t tell if he likes me or my dog. ”
Maude’s brows shot up. “Any man who picks your dog over you must be blind. I mean, I’m sure your dog is cute, but…”
More chuckles.
Blaise shook her head. “I don’t know. Brick—that’s his nickname from the Marines—he knows who I used to be, but he doesn’t seem the least bit impressed by it. Which I like. It’s refreshing to be treated like a person and not a…”
“Sex symbol?” Cece offered.
Blaise nodded slowly. “Those days are a bit behind me, but yes, something like that.”
“I can only imagine,” Paige said. “But it sounds like he’s needed a friend, so I think it’s great. Anything else to add?”
“Just that I talked Brick into entering the community bake-off.” She was all smiles.
“Well done,” Cece said.
“I thought so, too.” Blaise looked at Essie. “That’s it for me, so you’re up.”
“All right,” Essie said. “Well, my week was nice. Frank went to Miami to talk to his daughter about using her social media to bash me. He was mad, I tell you. Frank doesn’t have a temper, but you get him riled up and watch out.
He laid down the law and handled the problem.
In fact, Sophie’s supposed to be calling me to make a formal apology.
And she hasn’t mentioned me once on TikTok since his visit. ”
“Wow,” Paige said. “That’s impressive.” She grinned. “Not as impressive as that sparkler on your wrist, though.”
Essie showed off her bracelet again. “He’s a sweet man and he loves to surprise me.
What can I say? I’m blessed.” She put her hands in her lap.
“I feel really blessed that Maude and Blaise went to trivia with me this week, too. It’s so nice to have girlfriends again.
Thank you for bringing us all together, Paige. ”
“You’re welcome. I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that. It’s exactly what I hoped would happen.”
Cece lifted her bottle of water. “To the Queen Bees!”
They all cheered as they raised their drinks.
“And,” Essie said, “to Paige, for starting this book club!”
That got more cheers and moved the conversation naturally into talking about the book. Paige was impressed and pleased that Essie and Cece had both brought notes.
For the next forty-five minutes, they talked about the book nonstop. From plot twists to characters, they discussed what they liked, what they didn’t, and what surprised them the most. Not once did Paige have to refer to the list of questions she’d made in case there was a lull.
She loved this group. And she loved that they’d interacted with each other during the week on their own. What a gift these women were turning out to be.
“What are we reading next?” Maude asked.
“I want to know, too,” Cece said. “I’m ready to get reading.”
“How do you feel about Southern women’s fiction?” Paige asked. “There’s a book that’s getting rave reviews right now, The Language of Waves .”
Maude had her phone out and was looking at the screen. “This one by Loretta Church? About a girl who nearly drowns and ends up gifted with premonitions that cause conflicts in her small Alabama town?”
“That’s the one,” Paige said.
“Looks good to me,” Maude said.
The rest of them had their phones out, too. Blaise and Cece were nodding. Essie stared at her screen like she’d seen a ghost.
“Essie, you okay?”
Essie swallowed and shook her head, but her eyes never came off her screen. “This is not good.”
The rest of them put their phones down to look at her.
“What’s wrong?” Blaise asked.
Essie looked like she might cry. She finally lifted her head. “My daughter just texted. Sophie posted a new video on TikTok. She announced she’s suing her father for breach of trust and me for undue influence.”
She pressed a hand to her throat. “I don’t feel well. I need to go home.”
Cece slipped an arm around her shoulders. “She’s probably bluffing, but listen, you’re not going through this alone. We’re here for you.”
Paige stood, her voice firm. “Cece’s right. Anything you need, I’m available. Night or day. I mean that.”
Essie exhaled shakily. “Thank you. That makes me feel better.” She managed a quick smile. “I should still get going. Frank needs to know about this.” She got to her feet. “I really do appreciate all of you.”
As the rest of them rose, Essie hugged Paige. “Thanks.”
“Call if you need me,” Paige said. “I mean it.”
“Same goes for me,” Maude said. “Maybe Cece and I can dig up a few skeletons in her closet.”
That earned a weak laugh. “I’ll let you know.” She looked at the women standing around her. “I’m so glad for all of you.”
Paige, moved by the moment, placed her hand in the center of their little circle. “Queen Bees. All for one…”
The others laid their hands over hers and answered in unison: “And one for all.”
Blaise’s smile spread wide. “We might not have swords like the Musketeers,” she said, “but if you mess with the Queen Bees…” She glanced around at the women with a look that said she now considered them sisters. “You’d better be ready for the sting.”
A ripple of laughter followed, soft but full of intent. The women’s hands tightened briefly before they let go. Paige got it. They were acknowledging that they were stronger together, protective of each other, and ready for whatever came next.
Paige had never been prouder to be a Queen Bee.