She blinked, realized that I was about to marry a man, and shook her head.
“I guess you could still visit,” she said. “For a vacation, or whatever.”
“I might still get out there,” I said. “Gavin seemed to like the idea, at least. We talked about California a lot. He doesn’t really have too many attachments here.”
“What about his family?” she asked. “Well, I know his mom won’t last much longer, but there’s no one else?”
I frowned as she talked about Mona’s illness so casually. Mona was everything to Gavin; it didn’t take a fool to realize it.
“No one, really,” I said. “So who knows, we might still end up in California. He’s a writer, so it would be good for both of us. Maybe getting away from the life he’s used to will help get him back into the swing of things. I’d love to be there with you, but I’m about to be tied down to him. You know, in the best of ways.”
“Well I hope you do,” she said and finished her smoothie bowl. “I have plenty of gigs lined up for you when you do. And married or not, you’re still too talented to just waste away as a housewife taking care of little Gavins. You deserve your own life.”
“Like an actress?” I asked. “Do you know any acting agencies?” Modeling was where I wanted to get my start, but I prayed like hell that I could move into acting too. It was the ultimate dream.
Nancie nodded. “I talked to a few, and told them all about you. They can’t wait to meet you.”
I paled and gasped. It’s all I’d wanted since I could remember realizing that I could have a life one day. Like a grown-up life. “Then count me in,” I said. “One way or another, I’ll make it there.”
Nancie smiled as I paid the bill. She was hesitant to let me cover it, which I couldn’t blame her. She was still used to me being the poor friend. But there was no way I’d let her know that I had a few hundred thousand dollars in my account. At least, not yet.
“Now where to?” Nancie asked.
“We’re getting ready at Gavin’s house,” I said. “You knew that. You had your dress sent to his place in advanced, remember?”
“Ugh, I know,” she said. “I was just hoping you’d change your mind last minute and tell me we were running away to Vegas.”
“Better luck next time,” I said with a small laugh. “You’ll like him; Nancie, just give him a chance.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try.” We walked back to my car. “As long as he makes you happy and you don’t give up on your dreams, then I won’t hate him.”
“No one’s giving up on any dreams,” I said and shrugged. “This is just a small detour, and it might be nice to have someone out there with me, besides you. You get so damn busy all the time. Who’s going to hold me when things fall apart? Because you know this business well enough. Things fall apart all the damn time.” I gave her a knowing look.
“True dat!” She got into her side of the car and leaned back. “Tell me about the dress, seeing that you didn’t send me any pictures!”
“I didn’t want Gavin to get on my phone and see them before the ceremony today. You know it’s supposed to be bad luck if your groom sees you in your dress before the wedding.”
“Really?” She glanced over at me, looking suspicious. “That’s bullshit. You’re making that up.”
“You’re dumb. You knew that.” I pulled out into traffic and hit the freeway as we chatted a little more about her experience thus far in Cali. She was living the dream, moving into the high life, and loving it.
It was easy to love life when you weren’t completely broke. Now that I had some money in my bank account, I would wrap up the deal with Gavin and be on my way to the sunny state.
Sadness raced through me at the idea of not seeing him again. Could I really do that? It was what we both expected, but thinking about on our last night together, I was unsure of myself. He hadn’t been welcoming in the bed, but sometime during the night, he’d rolled over and snuggled up to the back of me. We fit so damn good together. Maybe not in life, but in lust.
“Hey, dreamer. You still awake?” She patted my shoulder and pointed to an exit up ahead. “Don’t miss our turn off, or we’ll be late. No one likes to wait at a wedding. It makes you think about the asshole you married beside you, or if you’re not married, you start to ponder the great mystery of life known as love.”
I laughed and pulled off the freeway as butterflies danced in my tummy. “You should seriously think about switching from modeling to acting. You’re so dramatic.”
“I’m multi-talented, darling.” She used a funny accent and wagged her eyebrows before letting out a long huff. “Are we really doing this? You’re getting hitched to this guy?”
“Yeah. I’m really doing it.” I tugged at my seatbelt, hating that I had to lie to her. She was my closest friend. Hell, she was my only friend. “He’s worth it.”
“I sure hope so.” She leaned back and turned her face toward me. “I do think it’s cool you guys are trying to get this done before his mother passes. I’m down with that.”
I smiled and turned down the road that led to Gavin’s estate. “Me too. She’s pretty excited about it.”
“And you are too, right?” She sat up and cleared her throat, turning to look at his property. “Wowzer.”