Page 57 of Happily Never After

“It’s not a big deal. I’m doing my cardio and meditation.” Claire kept her eyes on Luke’s second car, a 2000 Porsche 911. It wouldn’t be great for hauling proposal stuff, but at least a smaller car would be harder for other vehicles to hit.

“Did you talk to Bernice about it?”

Claire waved one hand. “I will when we get back. I have a session on the books. Don’t judge me. By the way, you’re driving.”

“Obviously.” Mindy accepted the keys and slid into the driver’s seat. “By the way, why does Luke keep two cars at a house he doesn’t even live in full time?”

Claire patted the dashboard. “This was his dad’s favorite car. Luke drove it cross-country when he was discharged from the Navy.”

Mindy froze. “And he’s okay with us taking it out into the absolute zoo of LA traffic?”

Claire shrugged.

“He must really love you,” Mindy mused as she buckled her seatbelt.

Claire smiled. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. Does Dr. Goulding try to psychoanalyze you at family dinners?”

Luke and Olivia’s interaction was still buzzing in her mind, but it was time to discreetly question Mindy about her decision to marry Sawyer. In-laws were a key section of their Ready To Marry questionnaire, so Mindy’s response should be telling.

Mindy thought for a moment, then turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, and angry metal music blared from the speaker. “Ugh, let’s find something a little happier, shall we?” She twiddled the dial until she found a song by Big Z.

It felt kind of gross to listen to his music after what they had learned, but apparently it didn’t bother Mindy.

“Sorry, what did you ask?” Mindy asked as she adjusted the rearview mirror. “Does Bernice psychoanalyze me? Probably. But if she does, she at least keeps her opinions to herself. That lasagna recipe you gave me was a huge hit at dinner two weekends ago.”

“Oh good. It’s my—well, it’s Jack’s.” Until nine months ago, she had assumed that her legendary family lasagna recipe had come from a friend of her mother’s, probably because that was what her mom had always told her. As it turned out, it was her father’s signature dish. Alice loathed the man, but let the lasagna live on.

Mindy hummed noncommittally. She wasn’t the biggest fan of Jack either.

“Let me just find a coffee place close to the studio. Ah, here’s one.” Claire pulled up the driving directions and mounted her phone to the built-in holder on the dashboard. “Brad seems like a black coffee kind of guy, don’t you think?”

“Probably. Okay, enough small talk,” Mindy said as they pulled out of the driveway and went west. “What the fuck is happening with Luke and Olivia?”

Claire slapped both hands on the dash and turned to look at Mindy. “I know! He proposed? No wonder he’s such a fucking grump about our business.”

“Right? I was ready to stab that bitch myself. She’s such a gold digger, you could just tell. He totally called her out.”

“I’ve never once heard him mention her name.” Claire crossed her arms and surveyed the palm tree-lined street as though expecting to find the cake-making harlot doing naked jumping jacks on the sidewalk. “What do you think she does for a living?”

“Professional boyfriend stealer?” Mindy guessed, making a left-hand turn at the stop sign.

“If she can afford a house anywhere in Los Angeles, it must be something big.”

“Don’t internet stalk her,” Mindy said, waggling a finger in Claire’s direction. “That won’t help anything.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Claire said, even though she had been reaching for her phone.

“I know you will. We’ll do it together later, after the meeting if Luke’s not back.”

“I have a feeling he won’t be.” Claire sighed. The more stressed out he was, the more deeply he tended to dive into work. “Okay, enough about Olivia. Let’s focus. Today is a super important day. We need to make sure Brad’s not a serial killer, ensure that his feelings for Karen are genuine, and confirm that he hasn’t tried to change anything else last minute.”

“If he has, we’ll figure it out.” Mindy pulled to a stop at a red light.

How many red lights were in this damn town? Would they make it on time for the meeting? Maybe they should skip the coffee run.

“Don’t worry,” Mindy said as she accelerated through the intersection. “We can handle this. Remember the fake event you threw together in twenty-four hours so we could draw out ESA? The girls in the historical society still talk about that event. I think they’re making it a thing again this year.”

“Only because the mayor throat-punched an attempted murderer,” Claire admitted.

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