Read Dumping Billy for Free Online

plunge their feet into the fragrant Jacuzzis in preparation for the pedicure. Bina looked across at Kate in amazement. Kate merely smiled at her. The air smelled of freesia, and Kate took a deep, appreciative breath. If she had to pay half her salary check for the “ambience, schmambience,” it was
so
worth it. The second beautiful Asian woman came back into their blue heaven and asked the pair, “Would you like bottled water, coffee, tea, juice, or champagne?”
    “You’re kidding!” Bina almost squealed.
    “Champagne, I think,” Kate replied as if Bina hadn’t reacted. Bina didn’t usually drink, but, “This is a big celebration,” Kate told her.
    In the moment of silence that followed, Kate closed her eyes, and the image that came to her, unbidden, was the long, lean jeans-clad guy whom Bina had pointed out. She must have been wrong. Bunny could never have dated someone like that. She mused about it for a moment or two and, guiltily, compared what she had seen to Michael. Michael was just a little too broad in the beam, and there was something about his walk. . . . Kate shook the thoughts from her head as unworthy. “What’s his name?” she asked Bina.
    “Whose name? Jack? His name is Jack.” Bina gave her a look, then laughed. “You’re so funny.” Kate blushed and decided to forget about the guy on the corner.
    “Kate, this is so nice of you,” Bina began as one of the two pedicurists began to massage her feet. She giggled, pulled them away, and giggled again.
    “Oh, just relax, Bina,” Kate told her. “Breathe.” For a moment the two were silent. Kate closed her eyes and let herself feel the strong hands work her heels and instep.
    Bina leaned forward to whisper across the small room, “Is this really where Sandra Bullock, Giselle, and Gwen Stefani get their manicures?”
    “Yup,” Kate said. “And it’s where Kate Jameson and Bina Horowitz have their manicures, too.”
    “Soon to be Bina Horowitz Weintraub,” Bina reminded her. “Oh, Kate, I love Jack so much. I’m just so . . . so happy today, and so glad I’m sharing part of it with you. I just want you to find your Jack and be as happy as I am.”
    Kate laughed. “As your mother would say, ‘From your lips to God’s ears.’” Before Bina could speak, the door opened and the woman entered with a tray holding two flutes of champagne. She offered one to Kate and one to Bina.
    “Enjoy!” she said as she glided from the room.
    Kate felt a slight change in her emotional landscape. There was a time when she thought she might be drinking champagne to celebrate something with Steven, but she had been very wrong. She wondered if the time would come when she and Michael . . . She pulled her thoughts away and focused on the moment.
    Bina looked at her glass. “I don’t think I should start drinking this early in the afternoon.”
    Kate rolled her eyes. Bina never wanted to drink. “Oh, come on, Bina. Live a little,” she said, lifting her own flute. “To your wedding!”
    “Oh, Kate!” Bina was clearly touched. Both girls took a sip of their champagne. Then Kate started looking through the polishes. “Boy, I bet Bunny wishes she were in my chair,” Bina said, leaning back.
    “How
is
Bunny?” Kate asked. Bunny was a dental hygienist whose record with men was admittedly poor. Again Kate thought of the delicious-looking man they had seen outside. Bunny’s ex? It was hard to believe.
    “You don’t want to know,” replied Bina.
    Bina was right. Kate
didn’t
want to know. Bunny was really more Bina’s friend. She’d entered Kate’s life in junior high, taking the Bitches to five and changing her name—Patricia—to begin with B so she’d fit in with the gang. Kate had drifted from the group by then. She spent more time studying and reading. While the others were worrying almost exclusively about hair, makeup, and boys, Kate was focused on SAT scores and college scholarships. And when graduation day came, the other Bitches