Page 19 of The Kissing Part
“Welcome to Chez Adler!” I say, letting Harper and Mackenzie into my suite. It’s Saturday afternoon. Owen met them at the private elevator and then rode it down to the lobby.
“Fancy!” Harper says, looking over my shoulder at the suite. “Just like you, Miss Fancy Pants.” She kisses my cheek and steps into the living room.
Mackenzie hugs me. “It’s been too long, woman.”
I beam at them. The pair are cousins, but could pass as sisters, something about their facial features. Probably because their dads—Jake and Josh—are identical twins. Their coloring is different, though. Harper has long honey-brown hair and hazel eyes while Mackenzie has brown hair and blue eyes. “I missed you ladies. Who wants champagne?”
“You have to ask?” Harper says, flopping in the center of the sofa. “Wow, I feel like this sofa could swallow me whole. It’s so squishy. Awesome hotel, by the way. The bar and lounge look so retro.”
Mackenzie takes a seat next to Harper and crosses her legs. “I prefer B&Bs. You get to stay in a house.”
Harper wrinkles her nose. “Yeah, but then you have to eat breakfast with random strangers.”
“Who could one day lead to potential clients,” Mackenzie returns.
Harper gives Mackenzie’s hair a tug. “Always be networking, huh, cuz?” She turns toward the terrace and whistles. “Fantastic view, too. Can we go out there?”
I head to the kitchen for the champagne. “Owen doesn’t want me on the terrace with my stalker situation.”
“But if your stalker shoots you, what would he do with all his time?” Harper quips.
“Harper!” Mackenzie exclaims.
She lifts her palms. “Sorry, Shay, that was in poor taste. Sometimes things sound funnier in my head than out loud.”
“I’ll let you know when you finally achieve funny.” I don’t take offense. Harper’s grown up with her mom’s stalkers and paparazzi, so she takes it in stride.
“Like never,” Mackenzie says.
I open the champagne.Pop!
“Woot! Party time!” Harper exclaims.
I pour us each a glass and sit on the end of the sofa next to Harper. Mackenzie’s on her other side. “A toast to old friends. I missed you.”
“Who’re you calling old?” Harper asks.
“I’m the youngest,” Mackenzie says, preening. “When you ladies turn thirty, I’ll still be in my twenties.”
“Please, you’ll be twenty-nine,” I say. “Can we toast now?”
“To good friends,” Harper says, lifting her glass.
We clink glasses and drink to that.
“So tell us what’s new in Hollywood,” Mackenzie says. “What’s Collin Quincy like in real life?”
“God, Mac, you’re obsessed with him,” Harper says. “You realize he’s not actually a Scottish warrior, right?”
Mackenzie sighs. “Mac is a truck or a trucker. It’s Mackenzie.” She turns to me expectantly. “So?”
I smile. “He’s very nice and professional. His wife and twin daughters frequently visited the set.”
Mackenzie smiles dreamily. “That just makes him more irresistible. A family man. Not that I’m looking for that any time soon. Now is the time for fun.”
Harper nudges Mackenzie. “You’re killing your mom with that attitude.”
“She’ll live.” Mackenzie turns to me. “Anyway, how are you?”
