"You shouldn't have." Hands brisk and competent, she affixed a shiny silver bow to the box. "If you don't want to tell us what happened between you and Josh, fine. But you can't expect us to sit around quietly while you mope."
"I have not been moping."
"We've been cleaning up the blood spilling out of your heart for weeks." Kate passed Laura her credit card. "Face it, pal, you're just no fun anymore."
"And that's all this friendship is about? Fun? I thought I might get a little support, a little sympathy, a little compassion."
"Sorry," Laura imprinted the card with a steady sweep. "Fresh out."
"Well, the hell with you." She snatched up her purse. "The hell with both of you."
"We love you, Margo."
That stopped her. She whirled back to glare at Kate. "That's a lousy thing to say. Bitch." When Kate grinned, she tried to grin back. Instead she dropped her purse back behind the counter and burst into tears.
"Oh, shit." Shocked, Kate leaped forward to gather her close. "Oh, hell. Oh, shit. Lock the door, Laura. I'm sorry, Margo. I'm sorry. Bad plan. I thought you'd just get mad and go tearing off to fix his butt. What did the bastard do to you, honey? I'll fix his butt for you."
"He dumped me." Thoroughly ashamed, she sobbed wretchedly on Kate's shoulder. "He hates me. I wish he were dead. I wish I had slept with Claudio."
"Wait. Whoa." Firmly, Kate drew her back while Laura brought over a cup of tea. "Who's Claudio and when didn't you sleep with him?"
"He's a friend, just a friend. And I never slept with him." The tears were so hot it felt as though her eyes were on fire. "Especially not when Josh found us in the bedroom."
"Uh-oh." Kate rolled her eyes at Laura. "Is it a French farce or a Greek tragedy? You be the judge."
"Shut up, Kate. Come on, Margo. Let's sit down. This time you tell us everything."
"Christ, I feel like a fool." Now that everything had poured out, she felt not only foolish but empty.
"He's the fool," Laura corrected. "For jumping to conclusions."
"Give the guy a break." Kate handed Margo another tissue. "The evidence was pretty damning. Not that he should have taken off before he listened," she added quickly when Margo sniffled. "But you have to look at it from his side a little."
"I have looked at it from his side." And she was finished weeping. "I really can't blame him."
"I wouldn't go that far," Kate began.
"No, I can't. The history was there. Why should he trust me?"
"Because he loves you," Laura put in. "Because he knows you."
"That's what I told myself when I was busy hating him. But now, saying it all out loud, it's hard for me to believe me. He thinks I look at him and the whole relationship as one more exciting amusement. And it's probably better that it happened before I…"
"Before you…?" Kate prompted.
"Before I asked him to marry me." Suddenly she covered her face with her hands, but this time it was laughter that poured out. "Can you believe it? I was going to propose. I was going to set the scene—candlelight, wine, music—and when I had him wrapped around my finger, I was going to pop the question. What a brainstorm!"
"I think it's wonderful! I think it's perfect." This time it was Laura's eyes that overflowed.
Kate tugged a tissue free for herself. "And I think you should go get him."
"Go get him." Margo snorted. "He can't even look at me."
"Pal, you go fix your face, get yourself back in gear, and he won't have a chance."
It was such a huge risk. Margo told herself he wouldn't even come, and if he did he wouldn't listen. But she was willing to dream, one more time. Fingering the gold coin in her pocket, she wandered the sloped lawn in front of the house.
/> It was everything Kate had said, a magnificent example of California Spanish at its best, with the elegant arched windows, the dull red of hand-rolled tile on the roof. The recessed doorway of the entrance tower was framed in floral tiles. Bougainvillea climbed riotously.