You Had Me at Merlot [ Chaennie ]

Chapter 15: Working On Friendship

Roseanne clicked off the call with the representative from the Hope and Help organization. The event had been a smash success, but she knew that Livingston's could do more and had personally arranged for the department store to partner with the group to outfit the women with the clothes they would need once ready to seek employment. The phone meeting had been beneficial and productive, and now she was ready to fall on the floor of her office and end what had been a long day.

She'd been going hard lately on purpose.

"Who's working late and why?" Roseanne spun around in her chair at the sound of a very familiar voice. She laughed at the silly face her cousin pulled. "Ta-da."

"Courtney. What? You didn't tell me you were coming."

"And miss out on the look on your face right now? Never. I asked Ashley to clear your calendar and keep my secret. I was on a store visit and took a few meetings. Surprise!" Courtney in her high heels and gorgeous tan business suit scurried toward her, arms outstretched. Roseanne stood and moved immediately into them, relishing the embrace, thrilled to see Courtney. In this moment, she realized just how much she missed the concept of family, having a tether. With her mom gone, Courtney served as an important link.

"It's really good to see you, Court." The emotion rose up in her throat.

"We have waited too long to cross the country this time." She grabbed Roseanne's chin the way she used to when they were kids. "I love it when you're caught off guard. It goes against your very serene, thoughtful nature."

"I'm turning into a sap is what's happening."

"Nothing wrong with that. It looks good on you. How's the new coffee investment coming along?" Courtney leaned her chin in her hand from the chair across from Roseanne's desk.

"Amazingly well. I stay in the background, just checking in here and there, but they were scheduled to paint today. Jennie is supervising."

"The Jennie." Courtney bounced her eyebrows. "Back in your life."

"It's not exactly like that." Roseanne let her head drop. "I probably shouldn't have told you about the night of the charity event. I just needed to confide in someone, and you're my person for that kind of thing."

"Are you kidding? Of course you should have. I'm just sorry there weren't more juicy details provided. Did I ever tell you what I once did in the middle of a strawberry farm?" She offered a wink.

"No, but you've certainly sung the praises of life in small towns. Now I know why."

"I'm just saying that if you can find yourself a small town girl, I highly recommend it."

"Oh, I'm not giving up on the city quite yet."

"And we all know why," Courtney said with knowing eyes. On cue, she fluttered her lashes.

"We've actually turned over a new leaf, and it's going well. We're working on an actual friendship, and it feels really good."

"You prefer a friendship to happily ever after?"

Roseanne raised a finger. "You should have been a lawyer. You ask the hard questions."

"Are you going to answer? Either way, I was hoping to take you to dinner. I have reservations at Four Charles."

"Well, well. It really pays to have the Livingston last name, doesn't it?"

"Fancy cheeseburgers will be my downfall." Courtney's blue eyes held regret. "Answer the question."

"There was a time when I wanted more with Jennie. Yes. For a long time. But I think working on our friendship is the right move. For everyone."

"Objection. Nonresponsive."

"The cheeseburger attorney is just gonna have to live with that answer because I do." Roseanne grabbed her bag and came around the desk. Courtney gave her hand a squeeze.

"Just don't lose that hope entirely. There's always someday."

"No. I can't do that." Roseanne squeezed back and let go. She touched her heart briefly. "Too dangerous to think that way. I'll be crushed by a semi if I stand in that road." The night she and Jennie spent together all those weeks ago still hadn't left her brain. She'd had trouble moving on from the feelings it had so intensely ignited, even when her head knew better. Roseanne had spent the following week daydreaming about holding Jennie close, kissing her, and so much more. Turning off those thoughts when they sprang up had been her only recourse. At this point, she was actually getting quite good at keeping Jennie in the friendship box. They'd gotten drinks a couple of times since. Dinner once. It had been really nice. She had no intention of blowing the chance she had. Jennie was too important, and in light of the fact that Jennie didn't want more, she planned to protect what they did have.

Courtney nodded, serious now. "Standing in that road. I know exactly what you mean. Been there myself once."

"I remember. Earned you a marriage that never should have happened."

Courtney sighed. "Don't remind me." A pause. "I love you, you know. And you're going to be okay."

"I believe that, too. I also love you back. Shall we go get those really expensive cheeseburgers?"

"God, yes. I've been counting the hours."

"Ever count cheeseburgers? To get to sleep, I mean."

"What?" Courtney asked, whirling back.

"Nothing," Roseanne said with a laugh.

Thirty minutes later as they waited for their food—the double Wagyu cheeseburger for Courtney and the honey peppered king salmon for Roseanne—she exhaled in happiness. "I'm so excited you're here." In actuality it was more than that. Until laying eyes on Courtney, Roseanne hadn't understood how alone she'd felt lately. This was a startling spotlight. She had friends here and there in the city. Ashley was great, but she had a family of her own. Jennie fit the bill, but theyweren't exactly in that spot. She'd needed to see Courtney, her own family, badly. "How are things? How's Maggie?"

"Tearing up the small town real estate world with her charm. We've been thinking about a family."

Roseanne's heart squeezed. "Soon?"

"It's looking that way. I think I'll carry, and take a little time off. The rest of you can run this little company, right? At least until I'm back."

"I'll do whatever you need me to do as long as I get to hold that little baby for as long as I like."

Courtney's cheeks went pink, a sign that the topic made her both nervous and excited. It was incredibly sweet.

"Enough about my hopes and dreams. Tell me your updates. I need any and all Roseanne news."

She had one distinct one that she hadn't planned on telling anyone. Until this very moment, when she felt the need to release a bit of that burden. "I'm thinking of reaching out to my father. Sending a letter."

"Oh, wow." Courtney's eyes went wide and she sat back in her chair, absorbing. "That's a big move for you."

"I'm a little surprised myself." She'd actually written the letter five different times, throwing the first four away. The fifth, well, the fifth she'd actually addressed and placed in a drawer until she officially decided whether she wanted to send it. "Ever since I moved to New York, I notice myself searching for his face in the crowd. I get angry and wonder if maybe that's the whole reason I moved here, to prove some kind of point. I just don't know. Maybe I need some closure on that front."

Courtney reached for the bread basket. "The last time we touched on the topic of your father, you said you had no interest. Given, that was years ago." She tilted her head. "What do you think changed?"

"My mom died. Something shifted on that front. I was all of a sudden parentless. Yet I'm not. He's here, living his life, celebrating birthdays with his kids, his real family."

"He does know about you, right?"

"Oh, he knows everything. My mother tried to get him to meet me many times when I was young. He refused."

"He sounds wonderful," Courtney said wryly. "Are you sure you want to do this? Sounds like a can of worms you might want to think hard about opening."

Roseanne tapped her chin and took a sip of the wine they'd ordered. Courtney's treat. "I know. I haven't fully decided if I'm going to send it yet."