Page 61 of Happily Never After

Mindy nodded. “Business first. Then we squash the assholes.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

To Do:

- Resist the urge to strangle Brad

- Call Mom back

- Maybe just a low-level Google search of Olivia

“Have you heard from Bri?”Mindy asked as they swung into the parking lot of Solar Flare, the restaurant in East Malibu where Brad and Karen had their first date.

“Not today.” Claire climbed out of the car and stepped onto the parking lot, which was made out of crushed seashells. “She’s been doing night shoots for her next movie. It’s a drama based on a true crime story.”

“Don’t try to distract me with true crime,” Mindy said as she locked her car door. She was obsessed with the showMysterious Murders. “Aren’t you supposed to have lunch with her tomorrow? And Charlie?”

“Charlie doesn’t exactly know that it’s the three of us.” The only way to get the three Hartley sisters together was to ambushCharlie. Claire stepped up to the fence that lined the parking lot. “Oh, wow.”

To their right, a stamped concrete patio littered with tables had flawless ocean views. A steep cliff dropped off not far from the last tables. Weird choice for a restaurant that served alcohol.

“Hell of a place for a first date.” Mindy leaned on the fence. Her dark hair shone in the afternoon sun. “So, lunch here at noon.”

“The whole patio is reserved for them. Nicole will get some candids while we’re here. We’ll give them an hour, hour and fifteen at most to eat.”

“We should probably have lunch here one day. You know, to make sure that timeline is doable.”

Claire nodded and took a deep breath. The salt spray misted her face. She closed her eyes. “You’re absolutely right. A business lunch. It would be the most responsible thing to do.”

“Okay,” Mindy said, turning away from the view. “Next stop. Santa Monica Pier. You have the stopwatch?”

“Just another second.” The beach was Claire’s favorite place, and she rarely had an opportunity to visit.

Mindy nodded. “Fair enough.”

They stood next to each other in silence. The sun beat down above, warming Claire’s skin. Waves crashed somewhere below them and a seagull cawed a few yards away. For a moment, she allowed herself to get lost in the present, to enjoy the tickle of salt spray on her face and inhale the earthy spice of basil drifting from the restaurant. Dr. Goulding would have been proud.

“Okay,” she said after a minute of silence. “I’m ready.” She pulled a stopwatch from her purse. Sure, she could have just used the app on her phone. But this was so much more official.

They climbed back into the car, and Mindy backed out of her parking spot. “And…go!”

Claire hit the stopwatch as they pulled back out onto the Pacific Coast Highway. California may have entirely too many vegan restaurants and more expensive gas than she’d ever seen in her life, but there was no denying it was beautiful.

“This is not an excuse for you to drive like a maniac, by the way.” Claire held onto the oh shit bar as Mindy took a turn way too fast.

“I’m not.” Mindy shot her a dirty look. “Out of the two people in this car, who owns a vehicle that exploded in the last year?”

“Not because I crashed it off a cliff into the ocean.” Claire threw her hands up. “Also, I made a minor addendum to the schedule.”

Mindy raised her eyebrows.

“Mandatory three-minute excursion to the beach once we’re done. I can’t come that close to a new ocean and not put my toes in.”

“I’ll allow it,” Mindy said. They drove in silence for a few minutes.

Claire glanced in the rearview mirror. “That car’s been following us for a couple miles.”

“It’s the Pacific Coast Highway, Claire. Unless they’re headed to Tuna Canyon,” Mindy said, gesturing at a sign with one hand, “there’s literally nowhere else to go.”

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