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Leo shrugged. It ran its course. She didn t really want to
be tied down, which is another way of saying she wanted to see
other people too. I tried to be blasé about it, but I guess I m not
cut out for the casual romance thing. After I realized she d been
with somebody else& She shuddered and shook her head. It
wasn t special anymore. I figure either it s serious, or why bother
at all?
I hear you.
On Leo s signal, the waiter dropped off another round of
drinks. When he disappeared, she pointed to Claudia s diamond
ring. It looks like you re serious. When s your wedding?
Who knows? We can t even figure out how to be in the same
country for more than a week or two at a time.
You lost me.
My fiancé, Mike. His family owns this enormous international
development corporation. And unlike my family, they really are
neighbors of Hearst. She lapsed into an exaggerated haughty
tone. In fact, Mike s grandfather used to go to parties at the
Hearst Castle with all the Hollywood stars. What my mother
wouldn t give just to live in their guest house. They have this
gigantic mansion right on the ocean in San Simeon.
I didn t realize I was in the presence of such a celebrity.
Claudia swatted her hand playfully. Believe me, there s
nothing about my life that says celebrity. I m about as plain as
they get. Anyway, Mike s in Taiwan right now building a mall.
I think this ring was his way of apologizing for being gone so
long.
It must be tough being so far apart.
Lots of people said that, and they probably found her response
peculiar. You know, it s really not so bad right now. I need to be
concentrating on finishing my degree and that s a whole lot easier
with him halfway around the world. And he needs to concentrate
on finishing his project too, so he can come home for good. He s
only been back to the states about six times in the last year and a
34
half. And before Taiwan he was in Bangkok for two years.
Wow, it s a wonder you ever met.
I ve known him forever. Our mothers play bridge together,
and they re both on some committee for historic preservation.
She leaned over and lowered her voice. My dad says their main
objective is keeping the so-called wrong people out of the county.
It makes him nuts the way they go on about the Mexicans or the
Vietnamese. Anyway, the first time I saw Mike was at a Christmas
party at the country club when I was thirteen years old. He was
an absolute dreamboat, home from college at Southern Cal, all
suave and handsome. You know how it is when you re thirteen
years old.
Leo scrunched her lips and tipped her head thoughtfully.
Does having a crush on Susan Saint James count?
Same thing, she said with a chuckle, appreciating that Leo
trusted her enough to make a joke about her sexuality. I liked
her too, but I wanted to be like Lindsay Wagner.
Didn t we all? But I interrupted your story. You met Mike
when you were thirteen?
Right, and I fell in love at first sight, but I didn t see him
again for six years. Same Christmas party, but then it was my
turn to be coming home from college. The first thing he said was
Let s get out of here, and we did. We ended up spending the
entire holiday together and then I went to Bangkok for spring
break and again for the whole summer.
Sounds like you got swept off your feet.
That s what it felt like. Never in my life had anything hit
me like that. Mike has this uncanny ability to focus. Not like you
focus& because you really focus. They both chuckled. When
he s working, that s all he thinks about. But when he turns his
attention to me& wow. It s like I m the only person in the whole
universe. It s such a powerful feeling.
Sounds like love.
I guess that s how I knew Mike was different from all the
rest.
Leo raised her glass in another toast. Good for you. How
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long is he going to be overseas?
Claudia smirked. Believe me, we ve had that conversation
more than once and it hasn t been pretty. At first he said he just
needed to get some on-site experience. It was only supposed to
be that job in Bangkok, but then his father had a small stroke
last year. That worries me because Mike and his dad are so
much alike. They re both big and barrel-chested, and they have
the exact same personality. Anyway, now he says he ll have to
shoulder more of the load. In other words, he ll probably work
abroad a couple more years. But I figure that gives me time to get
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