Free A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr

lucky? Could it be because you can’t live on just love?

Three
    J ulie stopped off in the ladies’ room after lunch before leaving the restaurant. Right before she scrolled off some toilet paper, she prayed, Oh, God, let there be blood! But alas, it was what she knew it would be. She flushed and exited the stall. She met eyes in the mirror with Chelsea.
    â€œWell,” Chelsea said, beaming. “We just keep crossing paths.”
    They gave each other little cheek presses. “What are you doing here?” Julie asked.
    â€œLunch after a sales meeting,” she said. “Our dealership is just a few blocks away.”
    â€œThat’s right—you’re selling cars now,” Julie said.
    â€œWell,” Chelsea said, laughing indulgently, “Hummers. And I’m a sales manager. My dealership won a couple of awards recently.”
    Julie noticed that Chelsea wore a very attractive suit and her shoes were to die for. Julie no longer knew anything about brands—she’d been picking up her duds at Target when she had money to spare—but she knew they were tres expensive. Julie wore a sundress and sandals, each about three years old, the same thing she might wear for a trip to the grocery store. She felt as if she’d been thrown together out of a thrift shop. “Aren’t they kind of hard to sell these days? Hummers?”
    â€œNah,” Chelsea said, shaking her head dismissively. “Even in a down economy, we move a lot of them. People just love them. They think of it as a symbol of affluence—the bigger the better.”
    â€œWith gas prices so high?” Julie asked, noting all the little extras about Chelsea—manicured nails, shaped and waxed brows, highlighted curls, rich-looking makeup that appeared almost professional.
    â€œI don’t think our sales have even dropped. What are you doing here today?”
    â€œLunch with the girls,” she said with a shrug. “It isn’t very often we can drag Beth out.”
    â€œOh. Sure. You’re looking very smart today,” Chelsea said. “Cool and comfortable and pretty.”
    Julie immediately felt as if Chelsea was throwing her a bone. She said, “Thanks, that’s nice of you to say. I just grabbed this at Costco.” Then she thought, Why did I have to say that? Chelsea’s purse was worth Julie’s weekly household allowance. “Why did you leave that company you worked for before? Insurance, wasn’t it?”
    â€œHealth care,” she said, lifting a brow. “It was quite awhile ago, actually. I’m just following the money, Jules. Health care is good, but there are a lot of business degrees in there humping for management. This is better.”
    â€œWasn’t it a hard transition? They don’t seem to have much in common….”
    â€œOn the surface, maybe. In the end, business is business. When I thought I needed a change, I started working weekends at the dealership, and when I’d made enough money to see the potential, I quit Health South and went full-time. Do you have any idea what the commission is on a Hummer? But what I’m really interested in is upper management, eventually a dealership.”
    â€œA Hummer dealership? At twenty-nine?”
    â€œIt’s not going to happen next week,” Chelsea said with a laugh. “Listen, one of these times when you girls get together for lunch, give me a call, huh?”
    â€œSure,” Julie said, thinking, Never gonna happen. “Today was pretty last-minute. I don’t think it was even planned till ten this morning….”
    â€œI’m flexible,” she said. “I have to run. The owner is waiting.”
    â€œSure, go ahead,” Julie said, busying herself at the sink. “Take it easy.” She washed her hands while the door closed behind Chelsea. All that kiss-kiss-call-me bullshit, she thought. They’d stopped fighting like cats in