All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [51]
"I was afraid I'd still be shopping when I was thirty."
"Ouch," Madison said. "I think she's referring to us, Natalie."
"I wasn't," Laura said hastily. "Please, don't think that. I actually look at the two of you and feel incredibly jealous. You both have great careers. You're making something of yourselves. Your lives matter."
"So does yours," Natalie interjected. "You're raising two daughters. That's the most important job on earth. Believe me, not everyone can do it," she added, thinking of her own mother. "Don't sell yourself short."
"My girls are great," Laura said with a proud smile. "I want you to meet them someday. They're beautiful and special and smart, too. I'm determined to raise them to believe in themselves and not to take shit from anyone."
"That's great," Natalie said. "Now, can I get anyone anything?"
"Not so fast, Dr. Bishop." Madison turned to her with purpose in her eyes. "We haven't heard about your love life yet."
Natalie shook her head. "I have no love life. I spend all my time at the hospital."
"Not all your time. Some of it you spend with Cole," Madison said.
"I told you earlier today that we're just together because of the book."
"And the old feelings aren't coming back?" Laura asked. "Because he is one good-looking man, and he's still single. Maybe this is your second chance."
Natalie refused to admit that the same thought had crossed her mind. "Cole broke my heart once. I'd be a fool to put myself out there again. I don't think I could live through it." She looked at Madison and Laura and confessed something she'd never said to another soul. "It almost killed me to lose him before, especially after losing Emily. The pain was excruciating." She paused, taking a deep breath. "And I can't believe I just said that out loud, either," she added, repeating Laura's earlier comment.
"Especially without any wine," Madison said lightly. "Speaking of which, I think I'll have another glass. All this baring of souls is making me thirsty."
Natalie kicked her feet up on the coffee table crates and rested her head on the back of her chair, wondering if she'd just lost her mind, confiding in two women she hadn't seen in a decade. Maybe she was giving one of them more fodder for a second book, the sequel to Fallen Angel, probably to be titled, Natalie Bishop Loses Everything.
"We should talk about Emily and the book," Laura said as Madison returned, her glass of red wine filled to the brim. "Although I have to tell you that Drew gave me orders not to discuss it with either of you."
"Why not?" Natalie asked.
"I'm not sure. He doesn't like to explain his orders. It was all about legal ramifications and stuff. He wants to protect me."
"And himself," Madison said.
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked.
"Yes, what do you mean?" Laura echoed. "Drew wasn't even mentioned in the book. He doesn't have anything to protect besides my reputation."
"Drew was in Emily's room that night." Madison took a sip of wine before adding, "Did he ever tell you that?"
Natalie was as shocked by Madison's words as Laura was.
"He wasn't anywhere near Emily's room," Laura replied. "He was in our room, setting up a private party for us. You know that. He said you helped him with the candles and the wine." She paused. "We were going to make love that night. It was going to be our first time."
Natalie hadn't known that. "In the sorority house? You were going to do it in your room in the sorority house?" She'd known Drew was pressuring Laura to have sex, but doing it right there in the sorority house was something Madison would have done, not Laura.
"Madison said we'd have complete privacy. It would be better and safer than Drew's apartment where there was always a party going on," Laura said defensively. "I thought she was right. I wouldn't have felt comfortable using the guys' bathroom."
"Oh, don't look so judgmental," Madison said to Natalie. "It's what Laura wanted. I wasn't talking her into anything."
"You weren't talking her out of it, either. And you were always telling her to loosen