Lia loved gossip. In high school, she knew everything about everyone and had no problem sharing her knowledge. She’d even started a gossip rag in junior high and used the printer in the school library to circulate copies of her newsworthy headlines like Who Wore the Same Dress to the Fall Dance and Who is Crushing on Whom…until the school shut her down, thanks to Sarah’s anonymous tip. She’d caught a glimpse of the upcoming issue while Lia was working on it in the school computer lab, and Sarah refused to have her secret crush on Wes revealed to the entire school.

Of course, she hadn’t been able to shut down Lia’s loud mouth.

“Didn’t I promise you the place would look amazing?” Whitney asked Lia, standing back to take in all the renovations herself. She nodded her approval. “The pictures you sent don’t even do it justice,” she told Sarah.

The praise from her friend lifted Sarah’s spirits. Whitney wasn’t one to dole it out at random.

“There’s still some work to finish up,” Lia said, because of course she had to throw in her two cents. She moved past Sarah to take a bottle of wine from Jessica. “Oh…this isn’t chilled to the right temperature for a Shiraz.”

“I thought red wine was supposed to be room temperature,” Sarah said.

“No, Sarah… Red needs to be chilled to exactly sixty-two degrees to bring out the best variations in flavor… Do you have a wine chiller?”

Thank God her grandmother did have one. “In the dining room,” Sarah said, then waited until Lia disappeared before turning to Jessica and Whitney. “Let’s go out. Hurry, before she comes back.”

Jessica laughed. “We can’t do that.”

“She’s your client, remember?” Whitney said.

“It’s the only thing keeping me from killing her. At least until after she pays the invoice,” Sarah muttered as Lia reappeared.

“Deck?” Jessica asked.

“Definitely. I need to enjoy the ocean sunsets as much as possible. We don’t get these in New York,” Lia said. “Though the views of Central Park and the city skyline from the penthouse are pretty spectacular.”

She had to throw that penthouse part in.

“So, Lia, when will your husband be flying in?” Jessica asked, taking a seat on the new large porch swing as Whitney opted for the large, comfy plush chair.

Sarah sat on the other side of the swing…and Lia wedged her ass right in the middle of her and Jessica, instead of taking the other available chair.

Oh my God! The woman had no sense of personal space. Sarah shifted as far to the edge as possible.

“Oh, he has back-to-back cases right up until next week, and then he’s flying to Napa to see his parents. I’m actually planning to meet him there for a few days, and then we’ll be back for the reunion.”