Rayna Jo shushed her sister and Adaline shrugged.
“It’s the truth.Looking downright peaked if you ask me,” she said, still staring.
Mary Elizabeth had noticed the change as well.Not because Hadley had ever been heavy but because her average frame had gotten noticeably thinner.“I think she’s as beautiful as always.”
“No one’s arguing that,” Rayna Jo said.“Has she been dieting?I heard people lose a lot on that keto one.”
“Or maybe she finally decided to test out Kyle’s office equipment?”Tessa said.“WhereisKyle, anyway?I’ve been wanting to talk to him.”
“Haven’t you had enough lifts and tucks for the time being?You and Cheryl are making the rest of us look bad,” Adaline said with a lift of her Botox-less eyebrow.
“I beg your pardon, but who made you the cosmetic police?”Tessa’s blinged-out earrings flashed despite the dimmed interior of the funeral home.“Besides, if Hadley can use Kyle’s little machines to lose weight, why shouldn’t I take advantage of his expertise as well?”
“Don’t you mean the family discount?”Adaline muttered loud enough for all to hear.
“No one said she’s done any such thing,” Mary Elizabeth chided in a low voice, more than ready to come to Hadley’s defense.
“True.And let’s forget Hadley for a moment.You’re going after number four, aren’t you?”Adaline said to Tessa.“Before every husband, you run off for a ‘retreat’ and come back looking ten years younger.”
Mary Elizabeth watched as the only single Babe shrugged and smiled like the cat who’d swallowed the canary.
Tessa wore a dress twenty years too young for her sixty-two-year-old body, but she pulled it off due to the hours of yoga and running she did on a daily basis.But Tessa and Cheryl were also alike in that they had a whole slew of regimes they performed when it came to skin and hair, not to mention surgical, and would die chasing the fountain of youth.
The tallest and thinnest of the group, Tessa had divorced one husband and buried two, with a child to show for each of them.But after four years as a widow, apparently the tide had turned yet again.
“Look out, Carolina Cove,” Rayna Jo said, smiling as she lifted her champagne flute.
“Is there a particular someone you have in mind?”Adaline asked.
“Does this have anything to do with you and Bruce?”Mary Elizabeth asked.Bruce Holloway was Tessa’s first husband, and the two had been seen hanging out quite a bit lately after Tessa had had a close call with a con artist.
“Perhaps,” Tessa said.
“Really?Why the change of heart?”Mary Elizabeth asked.
“Lord knows why any of us would take on a new man at this age,” Adaline added.
“Technically he’s not new,” Tessa said, earning an eye roll from Adaline.“And I had my doubts as well, but he isn’t the stranger who came back from Viet Nam.Thank God.”
Mary Elizabeth watched how Tessa glanced toward the front of the room, and her expression softened, her gaze saddened.
“Besides, if you really want to know, Ms.Georgia got me thinking.I realized she’s been alone the lastthirtyyears.If I have another thirty to go, I’d like to spend them with someone special.”
Mary Elizabeth managed a smile at her friend’s statement.Tessa had suffered more than her share of heartache.
“Well, I say there are no guarantees.You might feel just as lonely as you do right now,” Adaline said.“Maybe you should focus on simply widening your social circle and going out with friends more?”
Mary Elizabeth’s gaze landed on Rayna Jo before shifting to Adaline.One night not so long ago, Rayna Jo had confided in Mary Elizabeth, sharing her concern that her twin seemed a little too keen on the attention one of their new male clients was doling out.Was Adaline speaking from experience?
“I’m going to go check on the caterers,” Rayna Jo said.
“I need a trip to the ladies’ room before I go track down Hugh.I’ll come with you,” Adaline added.
The sisters walked away and Mary Elizabeth felt Tessa studying her.
“Where’s Adam?”Tessa asked.
“Hmm?Oh, he was here but had to step out.He’ll be back though.”
“Business?”Tessa said.
Mary Elizabeth nodded.It seemed Adam worked longer hours now than he had fresh out of law school.But part of the reason was that their wealthy neighbors knew he worked from home a lot and liked the convenience of an attorney capable of handling their business from the convenience of the beach.
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”Tessa asked.
Mary Elizabeth nodded, her gaze locked on Hadley’s strained features.Her goddaughter was miserably unhappy, and Mary Elizabeth’s mind whirled with possibilities, none of them pleasant.“I’m fine.Just tired.It’s been a long couple of days, hasn’t it?”She linked their arms and gently tugged, ready for a distraction herself.“Let’s go get some champagne and talk more about Bruce, shall we?”