An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach #1)(13)

“Don’t be silly. If I don’t, someone else will. Come on.” And with that Liddy took off like a shot in the direction of the bar, leaving a startled Maggie in her wake.

She watched Liddy approach the group of men without hesitation, a smile on her face and a spring in her step. She took a few steps in Liddy’s direction but was waylaid by classmates who wanted to catch up. Distracted, Maggie tried to maintain attention to dual situations. She was happy to see old friends and wanted to talk, but at the same time, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that things weren’t going to end well for Liddy, especially after she saw a woman in a short tight blue dress cut down to there scoping out the same group Liddy had joined.

Tapping her target on the shoulder, Liddy stepped back as Rick turned and greeted her warmly with a hug, as did the others in the group. After a few moments of what appeared to be lively conversation, the woman in the blue dress who’d caught Maggie’s eye drifted over and joined them, and one by one the attention of all five men began to swivel from Liddy to the newcomer.

LeeAnn . . . Maggie didn’t know what the woman’s last name was after three marriages . . . but it was pretty clear that LeeAnn was dressed for success, her impressive cleavage having led the way to the circle. The guys looked fascinated and hung on every word, and they slowly closed ranks, with LeeAnn in and Liddy gradually being eased out.

Maggie grabbed the hand of Caroline McNally, the latest friend to approach her, and said, “I told Liddy I’d meet her at the bar, and I see she’s waiting. Let’s join her for a drink.”

Maggie made a beeline toward the bar, dragging Caroline with her.

“Time for a drink,” Maggie said as she physically turned Liddy toward the bar.

“Did you see . . . ?” Liddy was understandably embarrassed.

“I did, but I don’t think anyone else did,” Maggie said under her breath. Aloud, she told Liddy, “Caroline was telling me how well she’s doing now that she’s in remission. Caroline, I think you’re remarkably strong. And you look wonderful.” Maggie signaled the bartender. “Wine, ladies? Or something else . . . ?”

When the bartender made his way to their end of the bar, Maggie ordered two glasses of pinot grigio and a sparkling water for Caroline. In the meantime, several others had gathered around them. Maggie fixed a smile on her face and let Caroline take center stage.

“Thank you. That was a really nice save,” Liddy whispered when their drinks arrived. With a glance at the corner of the bar where the men still stood talking, laughing, and flirting with LeeAnn, she added, “You’d think none of them ever saw boobs before.”

“None of them were worthy of you back then, and they’re not worthy of you now.”

“LeeAnn deliberately broke in on my conversation and she . . . she . . . oh, I’m so pissed.” Liddy tossed back her wine as if it were water. “You know, she always was obvious. Remember the class trip junior year to New York City and the way she was making out with Tony Faselli in the back of the bus?”

“We can talk when we get back to your house and you can bitch and moan as much as you want, but right now, you need to act like you didn’t even notice her.”

“Right. You’re right.” Liddy took a sip of wine.

Emma made her way over, dressed as usual in a pretty but modest dress of navy knit with a white Peter Pan collar and plain navy leather heels.

“How does she do that?” Liddy wondered. “If I wore a dress like that, I’d look like a nun. She never does.”

“That’s just Emma. She always looks just right.”

“Well, so do you. You couldn’t have been blind to the fact that just about every head in this room turned when you came in,” Liddy told her.

“You came in at the same time,” Maggie reminded her. “Don’t assume everyone was looking at me.”

“Everyone’s used to seeing me around. You haven’t been to a reunion in years. Which makes you somewhat exotic.”

Maggie laughed. “Believe me, there’s nothing exotic about me or my life. But you’re right. It’s been too long. Let’s mingle. Let’s get a refill for our drinks—then we’ll go and have a good time.”

“Maybe I should have let you paint my face after all,” Liddy said with apparent reluctance as she glanced over her shoulder to the corner of the bar where LeeAnn was now holding court.

“Don’t be silly.” Maggie leaned closer to Liddy’s ear. “If you think you have to wear makeup to attract someone’s attention, you’re wearing it for the wrong reason, and you’re trying to attract the wrong person.”

“You were the one standing at the ready with the tools at hand,” Liddy reminded her.

“I was doing it for you, not Rick or anyone else.” Maggie slipped an arm through Liddy’s. “I just remembered how much we loved doing our makeup when we were younger.”

“You were trying to spruce me up and make me look more attractive, and I bitched at you.” Liddy sighed. “I’m sorry for that. Looking around here at everyone else, I guess I look a little old and tired. I don’t blame Rick for being lured away by LeeAnn’s cleavage.”

“I thought we were talking about makeup.”

“That too.” Liddy gestured toward the center of the room. “There’s Kay Doran. Did you know she’s working for the Boston Globe now? She covers the features desk. Let’s go catch up . . .”