Tangled Destinies

“So you came,” he said to Gaby, his face giving nothing away even as his eyes narrowed and stared at her.

“I was invited,” she said.

He laughed coolly. “So I understand. Well, I don’t mind showing the hired help a good time if it doesn’t become a habit.”

“Hey, Marc!” Joe began hotly, half rising out of his chaise lounge.

“Don’t start World War Three on my account, Joe,” Gaby told Joe. She leaned back, stretched and smiled at Marc. “You and I understand each other very well. Don’t we, Marcus?”

“Do we?” he returned.

“I can think of five thousand reasons that we should,” she said sweetly, and watched his eyelids flicker with understanding. It made him even more rigid.

Joe frowned. “What is going on between you two?” he demanded.

“Mutual aid,” Gaby said innocently. “If Marc will mind his manners, I’ll mind mine.”

Marc looked near an explosion. He’d only started to speak when Lana came out the door, looking exquisite in a floral-print sundress. She stretched, ruffling her long blond hair. “Hi, everyone,” she called gaily, smiling at all three of them. “Oh, what a gorgeous place! Don’t you love it, Gaby?”

“It’s beautiful,” Gaby agreed, holding her tongue. “Joe and I have been swimming already.”

“You’ll have to try the seafood at La Mer, down the road,” Lana continued, dropping down onto a lounge. “They have it fresh daily. And there are truck farms galore. Historical points of interest... Joe will have to show you around, it’s just magic here.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing it,” she replied, forcing a smile of her own. “You look very pretty.”

“The dress is old,” Lana confided. “I bought it in London last year, but it wears so well that I can’t bear to part with it.”

Gaby did laugh then, despite herself. “I know what you mean. I have a pair of jeans that I’ve worn to death, but I’ve only just got them broken in.”

“Isn’t it just awful, trying to make things stretch enough?” Lana sighed, glancing at her full hips and rather wide thighs. “I guess you’ll never have that problem, you’re so delightfully thin—”