“Thank you. You know, I was just thinking how much has changed since last year. This time last year, I couldn’t decide if I even wanted to take the culinary classes.” She shook her head.
“And Renee was terrorizing her neighbors,” Jackie quipped.
Renee giggled. “I’m going to let you have that, because I’m in a better place now where I can admit that I was a bit of a bitch. I’m a new person.”
“Thank goodness for Clive. Are you ever going to marry that man?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Renee sipped her wine.
“After a while he’ll stop asking,” Jackie said.
“No, he won’t,” Renee said confidently. “And believe me, I know how lucky I am. But for now, I’ll wait. We’re in no rush, and he’s still taking his classes.”
“How are those going?” Adelaide asked.
“Really well. He’s come a long way, and he even texts me now. I’m so proud of him. But while you’re talking about me, Jackie, have you and Tyson picked a date yet?”
A humungous diamond solitaire sparkled on Jackie’s left hand.
“No,” her friend said with a shake of her head. “We can’t decide if we want to wait for the fall or put it off until next year. Right now I’m so busy with the kids, I don’t have time to plan a wedding. He’s keeping busy, too. He’s going to New York to spend time with Kendrick again, and ever since he took JC surfing, he’s been obsessed and I swear they’re like two fish—always in the water. Brenda loves her martial arts class, so I’ve enrolled her in classes for the summer, and she mentioned wanting to take dance lessons with her best friend, so that’ll be another activity to add along with everything else they get into this summer.”
In typical Jackie fashion, she’d cruised into motherhood and didn’t need much help—at least now, she didn’t. The first few months had been quite an adjustment period for her and the kids, and there had been a few panic-stricken late night phone calls where she didn’t know how to handle a temper tantrum or an argument that involved tossed dolls and slammed doors.
Adelaide had calmed her down and reminded Jackie that she was doing a great job and gave advice on how to proceed. Like all families, they still had their moments of friction, but Jackie was better equipped to handle those problems now.
“Next week I’m going to apply for my catering license. Soon I’ll officially be in business,” Adelaide said.
“I’m sure Eleanor is glad,” Renee said.
“She is. She already has me lined up for her big birthday bash coming up next month.”
“Get those business cards printed up, because I have a feeling after that party, you’re going to be very busy,” Jackie said.
“I love that idea.”
The sun crept toward the horizon, and the three of them fell quiet.
They sat on the beach, sipping wine, listening to the waves wash up on the shore. The sun continued its descent, splashing the evening sky with red and orange and yellow, before dipping behind the ocean.
Also by Delaney Diamond
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Still in Love. Cortez Alesini long ago accepted that his music career aided in the demise of his marriage. So he didn’t expect that he and Nadine would spend passionate nights together while she’s back in his home country of Argentina, causing them to question if they gave up too soon.
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About the Author
Delaney Diamond is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sweet, sensual, passionate romance novels. Originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She reads romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, and a fair amount of nonfiction. When she’s not busy reading or writing, she’s in the kitchen trying out new recipes, dining at one of her favorite restaurants, or traveling to an interesting locale.
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