Chapter 12
TWELVE
SOMEONE TO MEET?
The first person she’d considered was Keely. Which was why sitting still in Carolyn’s fancy chauffeur driven car was so difficult. His sister? Bastian adored his sister. That wasn’t a bond she wanted to jeopardize with their lie.
Getting away from Damon was a plus. No denying it.
Leaving him gaping had been kind of fun.
Carolyn deserved thanks for swinging that.
Maybe if her ex hadn’t been around, she’d have put up more of a fight to avoid the lunch.
She should’ve called Bastian to let him know what was going on, except…
she didn’t have his phone number. Another thing she couldn’t admit to that particular audience.
Not that it necessarily would’ve made a difference. Harper wasn’t cut out for winning battles against members of the Hunt family. They were a determined bunch.
Instead of running out on him Saturday, maybe she should’ve first discussed with Bastian how to address telling the truth.
Until they had that conversation, her hands were tied.
So much for never seeing him again. The last thing she wanted to do was damage the son’s relationship with his mother, but she had no idea how to play this.
They stopped outside a restaurant she’d never been to before. Had they meant to stop? The road was suddenly busy as vehicles slowed. Why? Another car was parked at the curb too, surrounded by a mob that washed the full width of the sidewalk, rippling this way and that like a sudden riptide.
What caused the commotion?
Or who.
In LA, it was usually a who.
The back door was opened and both she and Carolyn were helped out of the car.
Noise gathered from the bustling group, roaring and screeching, all baying for the attention of…
A couple of big guys barged people out the way, creating a corridor to free another few burly guys and out emerged a beauty wearing a boatneck dress and oversized sunglasses.
“Right on time,” the tiny brunette said, adjusting to head for the door as another guy opened it. “Let’s get inside.”
That woman had been in the current and got out alive? Security sure were pros.
At the restaurant door, the beauty lingered to wave at the crowd. She and Carolyn were ushered to a table in the far corner, next to the glass walls showcasing a private rear courtyard.
“This is beautiful,” she said.
Someone helped her with her seat, another helped Carolyn. The pair raced to get the third seat as the brunette joined them. Slipping off her shades, a sigh left the woman’s lips when she sat.
The woman. Brunette. Familiar. Why would—
“This is the intrigue?” the stranger asked Carolyn with a smile that never strayed.
“Yes. Harper Scott, I’d like you to meet Roxanna Kyst. Oh, or should that be Lomond?”
“Officially, we’re hyphenating, a nod to the caveman thing, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever is fine. I know who I am. Course my guy may not say the same. We all know what he’s like,” Roxanna said, rising just a little to reach over the table. “Roxie.”
“Harper,” she said, accepting the handshake.
On letting go, Roxie dropped back into her seat. “We could’ve done this at the club or back at the hotel. We’re paying the competition here.”
They were separated from the rest of the room.
Tables around them were empty. On purpose?
Maybe. Maybe not. The restaurant wasn’t full, only a dozen or so tables were occupied, yet, hmm, they did appear to be drawing some whispering interest. Security guards formed a perimeter, standing ready, for what?
Anyone who may invade their sanctuary, or Roxie’s sanctuary anyway.
Carolyn lowered her volume. “We’re flying under the radar.”
Drawn in, Roxie got closer. “Oh, we are?” Glee wrapped the beauty. “I love a good caper.”
“Bastian doesn’t like it when I meddle in his love life.”
“What? Are you kidding?” Roxie exclaimed. “That’s half a mother’s job.” Her head went sideways. “Although, if my mother tried that…”
“She’d be in cahoots with your husband.”
“My parents do prefer him over me… Like the rest of the planet’s population. It’s the eyes, all in the eyes, and his smile… the jaw, the ass… Let’s not talk about the rest of the package.” She combed her finger down her long bangs. “Though the package… mmm.”
Carolyn laughed. “You found true love all by yourself.” True love? “And you’re never in one place long enough for your mother to meddle. I dread to think how she sleeps at night.”
“She sleeps because my dad and Z are bros now. You dread to think? I dread to think what they talk about and have never been brave enough to ask. Hope it’s not our sex life. Z talks about sex a lot.”
“Says the woman with the stream and enough followers to land her own TV show.”
“Sexploitation will get you just about anything in Hollywood,” Roxie said. “And you can quote me on that.”
On a laugh, Carolyn gestured at Roxie, who immediately ordered when the server came over.
“Roxie just got married,” Carolyn explained. “At the Grand. We’ve dragged her away from her new husband.”
“What do you want to eat?” Roxie asked. “I’m starved. Z and I have dinner reservations later, so he says, I don’t know. I’ll need to carb up to get through the night’s marathon either way. That’s a whole other kind of ravenous.”
She quickly grabbed a menu and ordered fast. Roxie probably didn’t want to be away from her guy for too long, hence the haste.
“Congratulations,” she said when the server left.
“Congratulations for…” Roxie’s eyes rolled in their sockets. “The show? Oh, no, the wedding? Right! Yes!” She laughed. “Sorry, I’m a little out of practice with the real world… And anyone who isn’t Z really, and he’s taken me on for life. He gets no apologies.”
“Is it a relief?”
“To be married or over The Wedding?” Roxie asked. “Jane took the heat for the Big Day, the stress was all hers.”
“Jane got married too,” Carolyn filled her in. “They’re close friends.”
Nice, but… relevant?
“Enough about my nonsense. Should I assume Harper is Bastian’s squeeze?” Roxie said, taking the time to scrutinize her. “She’s pretty. Is she smart? Funny? How’s the sex?”
The… his mom was sitting right there! Shock had to be written all over her face.
“Roxie has few filters.”
“Who needs filters? It’s honesty in full stereo. Bastian may believe you’re chaste, Mrs. Hunt, but you’re a woman, same as me. And I’ve met your kids.”
“Keely?” her sudden question jazzed the other two.
“She’s a fabulous woman. Incredibly smart. Incredibly kind,” Roxie said. “I’m putting her on my list.”
“Your list?” Harper asked.
Again, it was Carolyn who illustrated. “Roxie likes to help.”
Okay, that didn’t give her the full picture. “Help?”
“Women, in relationships, navigating into them, out of them, around in them—”
“Hey, I never coerce anyone. I’m a listening ear… and sometimes I nudge. Love just happens around me.”
“And you have a list…?”
“Of single friends who may, or may not, be lined up for love.”
Okay, that was… She didn’t know what that was. Was it a hobby or a full-time occupation? She still hadn’t figured out why Roxie was so familiar.
“How do you know each other?”
Carolyn didn’t seem like the fangirl type.
“Our charitable work overlaps.”
Charity? She got that. People from all walks of life contributed to charitable causes. From volunteers making minimum wage through to the upper echelons of society donating billions. Charity was a great equalizer. And it was a big part of her work too. At a certain level, anyway.
“Good cover for meeting too,” Roxie said. “If Bastian asks, this is about Lola’s Liberty.”