Eight

Kendall

“You expect me to believe that you actually slept with Matthew Harmon?” Amelia looked skeptical as she blew the steam off her latte. “Come on, girl. In your dreams.”

“I did,” protested Kendall. “Just ask Lelani if you don’t believe me. She went to the wrap party too.”

“Right. Like I’m going to call someone I barely know and ask her if my best friend is lying to me.”

“Fine, then don’t believe me.” Kendall held her head high, glancing across the crowded coffee shop. She was curious as to whether anyone had overheard her confession about Matthew. Not that she cared, since she was rather proud of the fact that she was involved with Matthew Harmon. But everyone seemed to be engaged in their own conversations or reading the Sunday paper.

“Furthermore,” said Amelia indignantly, “why did you ask Lelani to the wrap party and not me?”

“Because you’re married.”

Amelia rolled her eyes. “So?”

“So, I wanted to take a single friend.”

“You wanted to take a single friend, but then you end up going to bed with a married guy?”

“I didn’t know he was married.”

“Everyone knows he’s married, Kendall. Have you not heard of Heidi Hardwick? Get real.”

“Okay, I sort of knew who she was, but I honestly didn’t know they were married. Or maybe it was some kind of Freudian trick, like I knew on some level of consciousness, but I simply forgot.”

Amelia laughed. “Yes, obviously it was some kind of Freudian trick.”

“Anyway, he’s not happily married.”

“How do you know that?”

“He told me.”

“Before or after you slept with him? That is if you actually slept with him.”

“After.” Kendall frowned now. “Well, to be honest, it might’ve been before, too. The night we met is still kind of blurry.”

“You were drinking, obviously.”

“It was a party.”

“Just how drunk were you?”

Kendall gave her a sheepish smile. “Pretty wasted.”

“So how can you be sure you actually slept with him then? Maybe you hallucinated or imagined the whole thing.”

“Because I was in his room the next day. With him.”

Amelia seemed to be coming on board now. And when she asked for specifics, Kendall was glad to give them to her. Sure, it was possible that Kendall was fabricating some of the details, since she really couldn’t remember that much about the actual event, but she knew how to make it sound good.

Amelia shook her head. “Well, you are a piece of work, Kendall.”

“A good piece of work?”

Amelia laughed. “Let’s just say an interesting piece.”

“But there’s a problem now,” said Kendall sadly.

“What?”

“I think I’m in love.”

“In love or infatuated?”

“In love.”

“How can you be so sure? I mean you admit it was a one-night thing, right?”

“Yes. But he’s such a cool guy. And he liked me. And I’m sure if he wasn’t married, well, I might have a real chance.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“It’s hard to describe. But something about the way he held me, the way he spoke to me, I could tell he really cared about me.”

“Maybe he was just appreciative of the free sex.”

“Amelia!” Kendall frowned.

“Get serious, Kendall. A guy like Matthew Harmon can have practically any girl he wants—or at least any girl who’s giving it away. I mean he’s obviously not faithful to his wife. You were simply at the right place at the right time. You were drunk. And you’re easy.”

“Thanks a lot.” Kendall felt like walking out on Amelia right now. What kind of friend was she anyway?

“Come on, Kendall, you know that guys are like that. Easy come, easy go. Use her then lose her.”

“Not all guys.”

“No,” said Amelia with cutting sarcasm. “Guys like Matthew Harmon, the ones who cheat on their wives, they’re definitely different.”

“He was different.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Amelia was checking her cell phone now, always a sign that she was bored with the conversation. For that matter, Kendall was fed up with her “friend’s” criticism. When Amelia got married she turned into some kind of moral snob, like she’d never partied or slept around before. It was getting pretty aggravating, too. And here Kendall thought Amelia would be so impressed, and that she’d be fascinated to hear about Kendall’s amazing encounter with a real film star.

“Are you jealous?” asked Kendall suddenly.

“Jealous?” Amelia laughed in an unconvincing way.

“You know, because I’m still single. And because I took Lelani, not you, to this really great wrap party, and we hung out with famous people, and I slept with a great-looking celebrity?”

“Why on earth would I be jealous of that?”

“Because you’re a boring old married lady,” teased Kendall. “And your days of fun are over and gone.”

“And you’re insane.”

“And you’re jealous.”

“Puh-leeze.” Amelia snapped her phone closed. “Arden and I are fabulously happy and I am not jealous.” She stood now. “But here’s a word of advice for you, Kendall.”

“What?” Kendall stood too, hooking the strap of her Hermès bag over her arm.

“Do not get involved with a married guy.”

Kendall frowned.

“I’m serious, Kendall. It never works.”

“What makes you such an expert?” asked Kendall as they exited the coffee shop together.

“A mutual friend.”

“Who?”

“Laura.”

“Laura Stein?”

“Yes.”

“She’s involved with a married guy?”

“Yes. And she’d kill me if she knew I told you.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because I’m making a point. Laura is miserable.”

“She never looks miserable to me.” Kendall paused by her car now.

“She’s good at hiding it, but trust me, she’s miserable.”

“Why?”

“Because the guy keeps promising to leave his wife.”

“And?”

“And he never does.”

“Maybe he’s going to.”

“No. He’s not. They never do.”

“Never?”

“I saw it on Oprah.”

“Yeah, right.” Kendall shook her head and unlocked her car.

“I’m just warning you. A married guy who’s cheating on his wife will say anything to get what he wants and, believe me, he wants it both ways. It’s a lose-lose situation, Kendall. And you’ll be the big loser.”

“Thanks a lot.” Kendall made a face. “But just so you don’t stay up nights worrying about me, I am not going to be having an affair with Matthew.”

“Good.”

Kendall told Amelia good-bye and got into her car, slamming the door a little too loudly. “Amelia is such an idiot.” Of course, she smiled as she said this, giving a dainty little finger wave to Amelia as they drove in opposite directions down the street.

Kendall continued talking to herself as she turned down Bloomberg Place. “Like I’m really going to have an affair with Matthew Harmon. Like that’s even possible.”

But as she drove down the street, she wondered, what if it was possible? Seriously, maybe she had given up on this guy too easily. What if she gave this her best shot? What if she went down to LA and surprised sweet Matthew with a little visit? Naturally, she’d make sure that she looked absolutely stunning. She’d get the hottest outfits together, and her hair and nails and everything would be total perfection. She’d book a room in a great hotel and then she’d just “happen to run into him.” And who knew what might happen after that? Anything was possible.

As she pulled into her driveway, she felt extremely hopeful. Seriously, why couldn’t she win Matthew away from that stupid Heidi Hardwick, a selfish woman who cared more about her career than she did for her husband?

Kendall hurried straight to her room and got online, and before long she was convinced that Matthew’s marriage was doomed.

She spent the next couple of hours reading everything she could find about both Matthew and Heidi. It was an established fact that they’d had marriage troubles the past several years, although, according to one source, the couple had been trying to fix them lately. Allegedly, anyway. Who knew what was really true and what wasn’t? Still, if Heidi’s career was taking off like everyone seemed to be predicting, she might become a bigger star than poor Matthew before long. And in that case, Matthew might need someone in his corner to encourage him. He might need someone like Kendall to come home to.

Kendall closed her laptop and smiled. This might not be as impossible as she’d assumed. Even if it was difficult, it could be well worth the trouble. Besides, Kendall liked a challenge.

It was time to go shopping. The only problem was that Kendall was broke. She’d taken Megan’s advice and used December’s rent money, recently collected from her housemates, to pay the minimum balance on her credit cards. She’d known it was a bad idea, but Megan had been insistent. “You need to get your finances under control,” she’d urged. Megan had also encouraged her to cut up all of her charge cards, but that’s where Kendall had drawn the line. Instead, she had promised to seal them in an envelope and stick them in a drawer and forget about them.

It was time to get those plastic cards out. And, she told herself, this was different from just careless spending or being a “shopaholic” as her housemates liked to say. This was a serious mission and an investment in her future. Winning Matthew Harmon could change things for Kendall, permanently and wonderfully.

Kendall drove straight to the mall and hit her favorite stores, but she soon realized that this mission would be a bigger challenge than she’d expected. It was December and she wanted to find cool clothes that would work in sunny Southern California. Finally, she went to a boutique that specialized in cruise and vacation clothes.

“Kendall,” said a female voice from behind her.

Kendall had been standing in front of a three-way mirror, checking herself out in a turquoise blue Gucci bikini. Surprised, she turned to see that it was none other than Laura Stein trying on a coral-colored sundress.

“Laura,” said Kendall happily. “How are you?”

“Great,” said Laura. “What do you think of this dress?”

“Nice.” Kendall nodded. “And it looks like you’ve been tanning, too.”

“Yes, I’m going on a Caribbean cruise next week.”

“Ooh, that sounds wonderful.”

“How about you?” asked Laura.

“I’m going down to LA.” Kendall frowned. “But, obviously, I haven’t been tanning. The salesgirl said this color might make me look tanner, but I’m not seeing it.”

“You can get a spray-on tan,” suggested Laura.

“Really? Does that work? Or do you end up looking all drippy and orange?”

“No, it works. I’ve done it before. You know, when something comes up short notice and you want to look good.”

“I’ll check it out.” Kendall did another turn to examine her backside. “Do you think this cut makes my thighs look fat?” she asked Laura.

Laura laughed. “Yeah, what are you, like a size two?”

“Actually, this bikini is a size four.” Kendall frowned.

“No, you look awesome.” Laura ducked back into the dressing room cubicle.

“Thanks.” Kendall returned to her cubicle and took off the bikini and decided it really did look good. But as she tugged on her jeans, she got an idea.

“I wouldn’t dare wear a bikini like that,” Laura called over the divider. “I stick with one-piece suits these days. Much more slimming for my kind of figure.”

“I thought you were looking really good,” called Kendall.

“Thanks, you’re sweet.”

With her bikini in hand, Kendall waited for Laura to emerge from the dressing rooms. “Do you feel like grabbing some lunch?” Kendall asked. “I just realized that I haven’t eaten a thing today and I’m starving.”

“Sounds great.”

So they both finished up their purchases, and before long Kendall was sitting across from Laura Stein and confessing the whole thing about Matthew Harmon.

“Wow,” said Laura. “That’s wild.”

“Do you think I’m crazy?” Kendall set her spoon back in her bowl of half-eaten soup.

“I, uh, I don’t know.”

“Because there’s more to my story,” said Kendall.

“What?”

“Well, the reason I’m going down to LA is to visit Matthew.”

“Really?” Laura’s brows lifted.

“I feel certain that his marriage is just about history. And I’m afraid if I wait too long someone else will jump in ahead of me.”

“What makes you think his marriage is in trouble?”

So Kendall filled Laura in on all she’d read and heard. “Really,” she said finally, “I think it’s just a matter of time.”

“And timing …”

“Exactly.” Kendall leaned forward expectantly. She hoped that Laura would give her some little jewels of advice.

“I assume that you know about me.” Laura looked evenly at Kendall.

Kendall kind of shrugged, then nodded.

“I figured that’s why you told me about you and, uh, Matthew.”

“I thought you’d understand.” Kendall smiled. “And it just seemed meant to be. I mean, who would’ve thought I’d run into you today? And here we’re both kind of involved in the same thing. Cool, huh?”

Laura pressed her lips together as if she wasn’t sure whether to speak or not.

“Go ahead,” Kendall urged her. “You can tell me anything.”

“Well, I’ll tell you this, Kendall. It’s not easy being involved with a married man.”

Kendall frowned. “Then why do you do it?”

Laura sort of laughed. “I suppose it’s because I’m in love.”

“So am I.”

“And I think … in time … my situation will work out. But it’s not for everyone.”

“Are you saying I can’t handle it?” Kendall felt defensive.

“I’m saying you have to be patient.”

“I can be patient.”

“I mean really, really patient. Most guys in this situation do not want to be rushed or pushed, you know what I mean?”

Kendall nodded. “I get that.”

“And the very worst thing you can do …”

“What?” demanded Kendall.

“The way to ruin everything … is to tell the wife.”

“Tell the wife? Why would anyone do that?”

“I’m just warning you. It’s like a death sentence. A friend of mine was in a similar situation and time went by and she got fed up, you know, impatient. And she told the wife.”

“Why?”

“She thought it would end the marriage and she’d get her man.”

“What happened?”

“Well, the guy got really ticked. He broke off the affair and he and his wife got marriage counseling and they’re doing fine now.”

“And your friend?”

“She’s not doing fine.”

“Oh.”

“So, be forewarned, Kendall.”

Kendall held up a thumb. “Gotcha.”

“And here’s another bit of advice.”

“Okay?”

“It’s best to not even think about the wife, and don’t ever talk about her to, uh, your lover. Just pretend like she doesn’t exist.”

Kendall nodded. “Well, I guess that makes sense. I don’t think I’d want to talk about her anyway.”

“You think that now, but things change. Most of all you just need to remember to be patient.”

“And that’s working for you?” asked Kendall eagerly.

Laura gave her what seemed a halfhearted smile. “Mostly.”

“But you’re going on this great cruise with him, right?”

Now Laura brightened. “Right.”

“Cool.”

“Well, I hope it goes well for you, Kendall. Let’s stay in touch, okay?”

“For sure.” Then Kendall thanked her and hugged her. “Bon voyage,” she called out cheerfully as she and Laura parted ways.