All You Need Is Love Read online

  “June twenty-eighth, God willing,” Julia told him. “We just got engaged on New Year’s Eve, so we’re trying to throw everything together in only six months. The girls’ getaway this weekend is so we can pick out our dresses. Except that Lauren has presented me with her list of demands, and made things very difficult.”

  Ben smirked. “That’s hardly a surprise. What shocks me more is the thought of Lauren actually wearing a dress. Now that I’d pay good money to see.”

  Julia sensed something of a kindred spirit in Lauren’s boss, at least in terms of his exasperation with her sister, and gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Give me your email address and I’ll make sure I send you a photo or two.”

  He laughed while Lauren shot her sister an evil look. “You wouldn’t dare, Jules. And I’m not sure why you’re so shocked,” she told Ben irritably. “I’ve been known to wear a dress or a skirt on occasion.”

  Ben shook his head. “Guess I missed those rare occurrences.” Tactfully, he steered the subject in a slightly different direction by asking Julia, “The wedding’s in Carmel, I assume?”

  “Pebble Beach, actually. But most of our coastal communities all tend to share borders and sort of flow from one to another,” admitted Julia.

  Natalie regarded Ben curiously at his mention of Carmel. “Have you ever visited the area, Mr. Rafferty?”

  Once again, Ben turned the full wattage of his rather dazzling smile on Natalie. “It’s Ben, Ms. Benoit. And yes – I was fortunate enough to spend some time in the area a number of years ago. You’re very lucky to live in what I personally consider the most beautiful region in the entire world. The time I spent there was easily the most memorable of my life.”

  He was looking very pointedly at Lauren when he said the last part and Julia frowned, sensing that there was definitely something there that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Lauren stubbornly refused to look at her boss, only muttering something under her breath that sounded an awful lot to Julia like “lying sonofabitch”.

  There was another awkward pause until Ben excused himself with another of those mesmerizing smiles. “Well, I’ll let you ladies get back to your meal. It was a pleasure to meet all of you. Lauren – bright and early Monday morning, hmm?”

  Lauren gave a flippant shrug. “Maybe not so early. Or bright. I’ve got a hot date Sunday night.”

  Ben’s sinfully full mouth tightened in rather obvious disapproval. “I see. Well, then, I suppose we’ll just see you whenever you decide to honor us with your presence. And tell your date to watch out for those sharp elbows of yours, unless he wants a broken nose like the last one.”

  As Ben walked toward the exit, Lauren made a horrible face and beckoned their waitress over. “I need a drink,” she told the rather harried-looking young woman, the one Lauren had already intimidated upon arrival earlier this morning. “Tequila sunrise – emphasis on the tequila. Pronto.”

  Natalie gave her daughter a stern look as the terrified waitress scurried off to get the drink. “Lauren, honestly. Was that really necessary? That poor girl looked absolutely petrified. Why do you insist on bullying people that way?”

  Lauren waved a hand in dismissal. “Nothing I’m sure she hasn’t had to deal with dozens of time before. This is New York City, after all. Better have a thick skin if you want to survive here.”

  Madelyn rolled her eyes. “And Lauren acts like she was a native New Yorker. I’ve yet to find anyone or anything that intimidates her.”

  Angela smirked. “Yes, but I think we have found someone who at least gets a reaction out of her. Exactly what has Ben the Bastard done anyway to get you this ticked off, Lauren?”

  The waitress returned with Lauren’s drink, and she wasted no time in bolting down half the contents in one long swallow. “Long story, Angie,” Lauren grumbled. “And one I really don’t want to discuss any further.”

  Alexis, who seemed blissfully, almost naively unaware of Lauren’s simmering anger, commented, “He seems like such a nice young man, Lauren. And very, very handsome, too. Don’t you all agree?”

  Lauren glared at the five other women as they all seemed to chime in at once about Ben’s rather obvious manly attributes. “First of all – Mom, Aunt Maddy and Alexis. No offense, but all three of you are way too old to be admiring a man Ben’s age. That’s just – two steps away from taking a trip to Cougar Town. Jules – for a newly engaged woman who’s supposedly a love-crazed fool over her man – tsk, tsk, baby sister. You’re being a very bad girl to be checking out another man’s goods. And Angie – I thought you’d turned all that stuff off. And all of you – don’t let a pretty face, a hot body and all that charm fool you. Deep down he’s an asshole.”

  Julia wisely didn’t quiz her sister any further on the matter of the unexpectedly hot Ben Rafferty, but knew with the instinct only twins shared that there was far more to the story than Lauren was willing to let on. But because she needed Lauren to be in something resembling a good mood when they tried on dresses in a short while, she kept her mouth firmly shut.

  ***

  As it turned out, however, keeping silent didn’t help in the least because Lauren was in a foul mood for the rest of the day. And night. Julia felt like screaming each time her sister turned her nose up at the sight of a particular dress, or made some scathing comment about it. After several hours and dozens of dresses, Lauren grudgingly agreed to narrow the selection down to three that she might find acceptable. However, by that point everyone was exhausted and agreed to reconvene in the morning to make the final selection.

  And tomorrow would also be when Julia would finally get to try on her own wedding gowns.

  ‘And,’ she thought sourly, ‘I won’t be anywhere near as hard to please as Miss Fussypants!’

  Julia had selected the Le Parker Meridien for its relatively close proximity to Bergdorf’s. She, Lauren, and Angela were sharing a two-bedroom suite at the hotel, while Natalie and Alexis were bunking with Maddy at her midtown Manhattan apartment.

  All six of them had an early dinner, and then the three older women took off to see a new Broadway play that had just opened. And while Julia would have loved to join them, she knew her sister and Angela weren’t real theater buffs and so she felt obliged to accompany them on a round of bar hopping instead.

  Lauren eyed Julia’s violet-colored martini dubiously. “What the hell sort of girly drink is that? It’s the same color as one of those frilly-assed dresses you oohed and ahhed over today.”

  Julia stuck out her tongue just before taking a dainty sip of the grape flavored cocktail. “I remember that dress very well and there wasn’t anything the least bit frilly about it.”

  Angela nodded as she took a healthy swallow of Absolut citron on the rocks – her preferred evening beverage. “I do remember that one, Lauren, and to me it seemed perfectly fine. Not a bow or ruffle or tiny floral print to be found.”

  Lauren shrugged as she bolted down one of the half-dozen tequila shots lined up in front of her. Their server had been a little taken aback when she’d ordered six at a time, but the look on Lauren’s face had clearly warned the rather prissy waitress to not even think of questioning her. And Julia knew from experience that this was merely the warm-up act. Her sister could drink most grown men under the table, including their own father and uncle.

  And Lauren could also flirt somewhat outrageously when she was in the mood, though tonight she seemed content to merely wink or give a teasing smile or two whenever she caught some hot guy’s gaze upon her. When one especially persistent – and incredibly good looking – would-be suitor kept staring in Lauren’s direction, Julia gave her sister a nudge.

  “Hey, hottie over there in the black shirt has really been giving you the onceover, you know,” pointed out Julia. “If you, ah, wanted to get some action, Angie and I can, um -”

  Lauren smiled knowingly. “Baby sis, if I needed action that bad, trust me I’d already be there. And that guy isn’t my type, you know that. Too suave, too sharply dressed. I’d be bored with him before he got his clothes off.”

  Angela gave her best friend a sly look. “Betcha old Ben the Bastard wouldn’t be boring. He, ah, looks like he could keep a girl interested all night long and well into the next day.”

  Lauren arched a brow. “Want me to fix you up, Angie? Ah, but then he’s already taken, live-in girlfriend and all that sappy stuff. Besides, I thought that part of you died inside a few years back. After the Asshole with No Name did a number on you.”

  Angela instantly sobered, her expression almost stricken. “It did die. And for a long time I thought it would never come back to life again. But recently – well, this seems like as good a time as any to tell you guys this. I’m seeing someone.”

  Julia, after getting over her initial shock, recovered quickly and beamed, giving Angela’s hand an encouraging squeeze. “That’s awesome news, honey. I’m so happy for you.”

  Lauren nodded, though her reaction seemed much calmer and far more matter-of-fact than Julia’s had been. “That is good news, Angie. It’s about damned time you admitted you needed help. I’ve been telling you for three years now that you ought to talk to someone about your issues. And I know it’s tough to admit you have a problem, but honestly, seeing a therapist is the only way for you to get past this whole fucked-up mess.”

  Angela and Julia both stared at Lauren dumbstruck, until Julia finally shook her head in exasperation.

  “No, you idiot. Angie isn’t trying to tell us she’s seeing a therapist. She means she’s seeing a man.”

  Julia ducked just in time as Lauren spewed out a mouthful of tequila, then found herself patting her sister on the back as she nearly choked.

  When Lauren was finally able to speak, she raised shocked, watery eyes to her best friend. “You’re not shitting us, are you? You’re actually, uh, dating someone?”

  Angela glared. “I didn’t realize the news would be quite that shocking. Have I become that pathetic?”

  “Of course not,” assured Julia gently. “Lauren’s just surprised, that’s all. And both of us have been so worried about you, Angie. We’ve missed spending time with the real you, not the depressed chick that’s taken up residence in your body.”

  Now that the realization had finally sunk in, Lauren was grinning madly and quickly bolted her final tequila shot down. “And it’s about fucking time, too. At times you were so depressing you made me want to cry. And you know I never cry, no matter what. Ah, this calls for more shots.”

  She signaled for their server, who approached the table somewhat warily. The young woman’s eyes widened in alarm when Lauren placed her order.

  “Got all that? Three clean shot glasses, a bowl of lime wedges, a shaker of salt, and a bottle of Patron Platinum.” She gave the server a saucy little wink. “This will save you the trouble of having to keep bringing more shots by. And can you hurry it up, please? My girls and I have some celebrating to do.”

  The now thoroughly intimidated server hurried off to fill the order while Julia shook her head in dismay.

  “Mom’s right. Why do you have to give everyone shit all the time? You always have to be the badass” she said irritably.

  Lauren blew her twin a mocking kiss. “Don’t forget, baby sis, I’ve got this reputation to live up to. You’re looking at the original Queen of Confrontation here. And yes, I know they called Elaine from Seinfeld that name but that chick ain’t got nothing on Queen Lauren.”

  The server returned with their order in an astonishingly quick amount of time, and seemed very anxious to put as much distance between herself and Lauren as possible. She was, thought Julia darkly, a wise young woman.

  Julia had only managed two shots to Angela’s four and Lauren’s six when she asked Angela, “So who’s your new man? Someone from the office?”

  Angela gave a little shudder. “God, no. Last time I was stupid enough to date a co-worker I wound up having to change firms. That will never happen again. No, he’s, um, actually someone you two know as well. Someone we all went to school with, in fact.”

  Lauren frowned, tapping a finger against her lips. “Hmm, the only guy I recall you ever dating back in high school was Rob Guardino. And I thought that was only because your sister kept pushing you two together.”

  Angela nodded, grimacing at the recollection. “Well, she is married to Rob’s oldest brother, after all. I guess Marisa thought it would be cute if her baby sister and Joe’s baby brother were a couple, too. Ugh, no way was that ever going to happen!”

  Julia tactfully didn’t push further on that matter, knowing full well what Angela had had to endure from her mother and two older sisters over the years. “So, spill then. Who’s the lucky guy who finally woke Snow White up from her enchanted slumber?”

  Angela gave a short laugh. “God, trust you to make all of this into some sort of twisted fairy tale, Jules. But I guess it’s a good thing that at least one of us isn’t jaded and bitter, huh? And the guy I’ve been seeing – and it’s very casual so far, okay? – is Dwayne Conroy.”

  At the mention of that name, both Julia and Lauren just stared at their friend, slack-jawed and shocked silent. They continued to stare silently for so long, in fact, that Angela finally had to snap her fingers in front of their faces impatiently.

  “Hello? Earth to twinnies?” she asked irritably. “What the hell is wrong with both of you anyway?”

  Lauren spoke first. “You don’t really mean who I’m thinking about, do you? The Dwayne Conroy I remember was about seven feet tall, skinny as a toothpick, wore thick glasses and high-waisted jeans – that were also floods, by the way – and kept walking into walls.”

  “Dwayne the Dweeb,” clarified Julia. “Oh, honey, seriously? You should have let one of us know you were ready to start dating again. I’m sure we could have found you someone a little less, er, dweeby.”

  Angela rolled her eyes at the sisters. “First of all, I never consciously made the decision to start dating again. When I was home for Thanksgiving I went out for a long run because – well, you know. Most any excuse not to stay in that house longer than I have to, not to mention I needed the training miles. And I happened to see Dwayne out for a run, too. We wound up doing almost ten miles together and talking the whole time. And, well, he’s – different now. Not quite so – dweeby. More importantly, he makes me happy.”

  “Jesus.” Lauren poured herself another shot of tequila, licked salt off her palm, bolted down the liquor and sucked on a lime. “Define exactly how he’s – different now.”

  Angela gave her friend an impatient look. “First, he’s six five, not seven feet. And, well, he’s still slim but definitely not skinny. Glasses are gone, he had Lasik done a few years ago. And he’s a professional athlete now.”

  “What kind of athlete?” asked Lauren warily. “No way is that guy a basketball player. He’d be tripping over his own feet and dropping the ball constantly.”

  “He’s a high jumper.” At the twins’ blank stares, Angela sighed in frustration. “You know, like in track and field? High jumpers do a run-up and then basically fling their bodies over a bar. Dwayne is really good at it apparently. He was third at the national championships last year, and he’s hoping to make the indoor team for the world championships coming up. In fact, I’m flying to Seattle next weekend to watch him compete in an indoor meet.”

  Julia and Lauren kept staring at each other, then at Angela, both in complete disbelief.

  “Why didn’t you tell us any of this until now?” asked Lauren. “Christ, I’m your best friend, Angie, have been for almost twenty years. And you know how worried I’ve been about you. “

  Angela shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess mostly because it’s all so new and I’m sure as hell out of practice with the whole relationship thing. Especially not what you guys would think of as a normal relationship.”

  Julia regarded her dark haired friend with concern. “Are you ever going to be able to talk about it?”

  Angela shut her eyes and gave a small shudder. “I don’t know. For such a long time now I’ve buried it away, tried to forget it ever happened. But it’s obviously screwed me up big time.”

  “Yeah, no shit,” agreed Lauren sarcastically. “But let’s forget about that douchebag for now. Tell us more about the dweeb – I mean, Dwayne – instead.”

  As it turned out, things were still very casual between Angela and Dwayne, especially since he lived full time in Oregon so he could be near his coach and training partners. Evidently Dwayne had honed his high jumping skills while attending college in Texas, and had been good enough to get sponsored by Nike after graduation. Right now he and Angela were mostly keeping in touch via phone calls, emails and texts, and taking turns flying between Portland and San Francisco to spend weekends together whenever possible.

  Lauren poured herself another shot, far too many now for Julia to have even thought of keeping track of. But, as usual, her twin didn’t seem even the tiniest bit tipsy. Julia, on the other hand, was starting to feel more than a little dizzy and only hoped she wouldn’t face plant when she got up to leave.

  “So, you’re leaving out the most interesting part, Angie,” drawled Lauren. “How is Dweeby – uh, I mean Dwayne – in the sack? Hopefully he’s more coordinated there than he was walking through the halls at school.”

  Angela’s long, tapered fingers picked up a discarded lime wedge, raking her nails over the rind. “Jeez, Lauren, you really have no filter whatsoever, do you?” she asked in exasperation. “Jules, does she quiz you about Nathan this way?”

  Julia nodded wryly. “Of course she does. Insists on details, too. But I don’t tell her much. Some things are best left to the imagination.”

  Lauren hooted. “And it’s not tough to imagine what’s going on in your bed, baby sis. I overheard you and lover boy one day, during one of your multiple times a day make-out sessions when you were home for Christmas. Betcha Mom and Dad wouldn’t think he was such a nice guy if they could hear some of the really filthy stuff he was telling you.”