Page 25 of Switching Places

“Thanks a lot, cupcake.” He shrugged. “Once burned.”

“Honey, don’t let that stop you,” Sally said, leaning across the table. “You look good enough to eat, and I bet the women would love to help you get over your divorce any way you’d like.”

“Mostly by spending my money,” he said easily. But there was a lingering touch of anger in the depth of his eyes.

“Prenupts. Solves everything.” Sally waved her hand. “I did it the last time and when we broke up, no hard feelings.”

“Sounds like you make a habit of marriage,” Emma murmured before she could stop herself.

Sally laughed. “Twice, as you know. Now I’m looking for the charm.” She slid a seductive glance to Toby. “Right, Toby, love?”

“Don’t look at me, Sally. Logan’s got the right idea. Women want a man’s money, and maybe something in the sack. Where’s the loyalty and devotion that’s supposed to go with marriage?”

The waitress interrupted, delivering the plates, warning everyone that they were hot. She refilled drinks, and the basket of chips, and left them to their dinners.

“I don’t know why we’re talking about marriage—none of us wants to get married anytime soon. I’m only twenty-six, I don’t want to even think about it before I’m thirty,” Dolly said, cutting into a huge burrito that covered most of her plate.

“What about a family?” Emma asked.

Having just made her decision about David, she had a lot of time to find a husband. But she wanted children and if she waited until she turned thirty, it would be that much longer before she had a baby.

Sally turned to look at her.

“Thought you didn’t want to have kids.”

Emma shrugged. Had Lily said that? They’d never discussed getting married or having children. Why would her sister resist a family? Emma thought Lily would want one more than most, having lived a rather disjointed existence with their father. Emma knew she wanted a nice home and a loving family forherself, just like her mother and Gerald shared—complete with rambunctious boys and tomboy little girls.

“One day,” Emma hedged.

“Not me,” Logan said.

“No children?”

He shook his head.

“Too much can go wrong and the child ends up with just one parent. Or if there are financial problems, the kid suffers.”

“With your setup, there’d never be financial problems,” Emma defended.

Why should she care if Logan wanted children? They were just sharing dinner.

“Too risky. We can’t predict the future, so how do we know?”

“Hey, I heard that Judee Falmouth landed that role on the soap she tried out for,” Dolly said, changing the subject.

Emma let the conversation swirl around, listening with interest to the gossip about mutual friends of her sister’s. She felt a bit disoriented with the recent discussion. Didn’t her sister want to marry, share her life with someone, and have a family?

For an instant Emma reflected that her upbringing in the picturesque town of Charlottesville had influenced her desire for a traditional life. Lily hadn’t know the stability or friendly neighborhoods, or school activities that all centered around family life.

Maybe it was a good thing she’d come to California. Having a chance to see how the other side lived might alter her own view of the future.

And if nothing else, her visit had clarified her thoughts for a marriage partner.

Chapter Eight

When they all finished eating, Sally and Dolly urged Emma to reconsider and come dancing, but she was firm in her refusal. They chatted as they walked to the parking lot, saying goodbye with promises to get together soon.

Slipping into the Mercedes, Emma welcomed the silence. The restaurant had been noisy, their conversation light and fast, and the quiet of the car seemed so peaceful. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

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