“It’s past time some of them were pushed.” But Margo sighed before sipping her wine. “I don’t mind making her angry, but I didn’t mean to make her unhappy. I just hoped that she’d enjoy herself, let Michael entertain her. And eventually screw her brains out.”

Kate chuckled. “You’re a considerate friend, Margo. Hell, are we smug?”

“I’m afraid so.”

A few minutes in the ladies’ lounge cooled Laura off. She sat on one of the dainty padded stools at the long, mirrored counter and meticulously reapplied her lipstick.

Was she frustrated? Was she becoming difficult to be around? She didn’t like to think so. What she was was busy, focused, committed to her family and work.

What was so wrong with that? Then she sighed, propped her elbows on the counter, her head in the vee of her hands. No, it was she who had blown a simple evening out of proportion, she admitted. Because she hadn’t had a simple evening in too long.

And because, she could admit privately, she didn’t know how to behave with a man, especially one like Michael Fury.

She’d been seventeen when she fell in love with Peter. Eighteen when she married him. Her dating record beforehand had been brief and uncomplicated.

She’d been married for ten years and had indulged in no flirtations, much less affairs. The men she knew were relatives or old family friends. They were casual acquaintances, the husbands of women she knew, or business contacts.

She was thirty years old, she thought miserably, and she didn’t know how to date. Even when it wasn’t a bona fide date.

When the door to the lounge opened, she straightened quickly and took out her comb.

“Hi, Laura.”

“Judy.” Her smile warmed. Judy Prentice was a friend and a regular customer at Pretenses. “It’s good to see you. You look wonderful.”

“Holding my own.” Always ready for a chat or a quick gossip, Judy sat down beside her. “Did you see Maddie Greene? She had a boob job last month.”

She simply couldn’t be overly dignified with Judy. “It was a little hard to miss her with those twin soldiers.”

“Well, watch yourself. I made the polite comment when she brought it up. I think I said something about them looking very perky.” She grinned when Laura snorted. “Next thing I knew, she’d dragged me in here and stripped to the waist to show them off. Up close, my dear, and much too personal.”

“Oh, God, thanks for the warning.”

“I have to admit, they’re beauties. Speaking of which.” Judy set down her jeweled compact. “I didn’t recognize that incredibly gorgeous specimen you’re with tonight. Is he from around here?”

“He’s an old friend.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “We should all have such old friends.”