“I’m a drama queen,” she said dismally. “I only learn things the hard way.”

Winnie came in. “Ryan, I think-”

“No.” He rose from the couch, his good humor fading. “No more. I mean it, Winnie. Either Sugar Beth comes first in your life or I do. Make up your mind.”

“Don’t you dare try to railroad me.”

“You want to have everything your way. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not how it’s going to work.”

“Quit being an ass.”

“If anybody’s acting like an ass-”

“Oh, stop it,” Sugar Beth said. “Wait until you’re alone to start your foreplay.” She rose from the ottoman, took a step toward the middle of the room, and froze. “Gigi!”

They gazed at her.

“Colin said he was going to call Gigi tonight. Hurry!” She raced from Frenchman’s Bride, leaving Ryan, Winnie, and Gordon to follow in her wake.

She stormed into the Galantine house just as Gigi was coming downstairs. She’d abandoned Goth for a pair of cropped cargos that hung way too low on her hips and a sheer, pin-tuck shirt that didn’t cover her rib cage. Yesterday when Sugar Beth had asked her about it, she’d gotten a calculating look in her eye and said she was exploring her sexuality. Even in Sugar Beth’s emotionally impaired state, she’d known when she was being tested, and she hadn’t risen to the bait.

“What did you do to Colin?” Gigi cried, ripping off her headset.

“What are you talking about?”

“He’s gone!”

“How do you know that?”

“He told me.”

Sugar Beth stiffened. “When?”

“A few minutes ago on the phone.”

Sugar Beth sank down on the bottom step and dropped her head into her hands. “You’ve already talked to him.”

“He sounded totally bummed,” Gigi said accusingly. “You dumped him, didn’t you?”

Sugar Beth couldn’t muster a response.

It was one thing for Colin to leave. It was quite another for him to cut off all communication, and Sugar Beth didn’t intend to put up with it. First thing Monday morning, she called his publisher and asked to speak with his publicist. When the woman answered, Sugar Beth adopted her best Yankee accent. “This is Frances Gordon calling. From the Oprah show.”

“Gordon? I don’t recognize the name.”

“I’m new. This is very last minute, but Oprah wants to have Mr. Byrne on her show this week. I need to talk with him about it today if we’re going to make that happen. Stephen King really wants the slot, and you know how pushy he can be.”

“I don’t believe Mr. Byrne is available.”

“Of course, he’s available. It’s Oprah!”

“I’d feel more comfortable talking to my regular contact.”

“Unfortunately, she was in an automobile accident this morning. Nothing too serious, but she’ll be out for a while.”

“Odd. I spoke with him less than ten minutes ago.”

“Must have been while he was waiting for the ambulance.”

The woman hung up.

Winnie had given in to Ryan’s pressure and moved back home on Saturday evening. That didn’t mean, however, that she believed in leaving Sugar Beth to her own devices, and she decided to hold the Reconciliation and Forgiveness Dessert at Frenchman’s Bride. “It’ll be more symbolic that way,” she told her.

Monday evening arrived, and as Winnie stood at the sink rinsing off the chocolate-smeared dessert plates, she told herself she should be happy with the way things were unfolding. Sugar Beth was wound tight as a spring, so things had been a little tense at first, but the Seawillows had been prepared to forgive. Amy’s absolution was a foregone conclusion, and Leeann had already been softened up by Sugar Beth’s affection for Charlie. Heidi succumbed after Sugar Beth enthused over photos of her three-year-old, but Merylinn’s resentment ran deep, and she didn’t give in until Sugar Beth put her arms around her and said, “Either kill me or forgive me.”

As for Colin… They said it was just like Sugar Beth to drive a man to do something like this, but they didn’t turn against her, and Sugar Beth’s manner grew a little less forced. By the time the last piece of Winnie’s double chocolate cake had disappeared, Sugar Beth was once again a Seawillow. The leader of the Seawillows.

Winnie snatched up the last dish and shoved it under the running water. All five of them were clustered in the sunroom, giggling and sharing memories Winnie had no part of. She shouldn’t feel as though they’d deserted her-she was the one who’d insisted on cleaning up the dishes-but she felt like she was sixteen all over again.

She grabbed the dish towel in disgust. She knew how much Sugar Beth had missed the Seawillows, and she should be happy that she’d brought them back together. But they were her friends, too, and Winnie liked being their leader. Until now, she’d been the one who had the final say on when they’d hold their get-togethers and on who’d bring what. She was the one who’d smoothed ruffled feathers and received confidences. And she’d been good at it. Now, however, everything would be different.

Unless Sugar Beth left Parrish.

The possibility brought Winnie to her senses. She didn’t want Sugar Beth to leave. They were sisters now, and she wouldn’t give that up, not even to hold on to her position as leader of the Seawillows. By the time she joined them in the sunroom, she was feeling a little better, but the conversation continued to go on without her.

“… and remember when we were doing the moonwalk in Heidi’s living room and we broke her mother’s lamp?”

“… and when Amy’s dad caught us smoking?”

“What about that night we were out at the point and Ryan’s car wouldn’t start?”

“Remember how we all-”

“No, I don’t!” Winnie said, shocking herself. “I wasn’t a Seawillow then. I’m still not. And I’d appreciate it if you’d show a little sensitivity to my feelings by not spending the rest of the night talking about things I wasn’t part of.”

An awkward silence fell over the group. Merylinn brushed a speck of lint from her slacks. Heidi twisted her wedding ring. Only Sugar Beth seemed comfortable with the situation, and her fine brows arched in phony surprise as she surveyed the others. “You mean you never initiated her?”

“We never thought of it,” Leeann said.

Merylinn tucked her legs under her. “You always took care of initiations.”

“That’s right, I did.” Sugar Beth turned her attention to Winnie, who wasn’t one bit comforted by the guile in those narrowed silver-blue eyes. “Winnie, leave the room while we vote.”

“Vote?”

Sugar Beth regarded her haughtily. “Do you want to be a Seawillow or not?”

Winnie haughtied her right back. “Don’t you think we’re a little old for this?”

No, they didn’t.

Winnie finally gave up arguing, partly because it wasn’t doing any good, and partly because Sugar Beth was finally showing some of her old spirit. Besides, Winnie really wanted to be a Seawillow.

They bundled her off to the living room. Where she waited.

And waited.

The minutes ticked by. Finally, she got fed up and stormed back to the sunroom. “Do you mind telling me what’s taking so darned long?”

Merylinn pointed toward Amy, who was sprawled on the floor. “Oh, we voted a long time ago, but Amy wanted to show us her new sit-ups, and we forgot to call you.”

That got Winnie upset all over again. “I won’t be forgotten, do y’all hear me? Just because Miss High and Mighty’s back in everybody’s good graces doesn’t mean I’m going to let any of you start walkin’ all over me.”

Sugar Beth sniffed. “Touchy.”

“Always was,” Merylinn agreed.

Leeann regarded Winnie smugly. “You’d better watch how you talk to us. You haven’t gone through the initiation ceremony yet, so we can withdraw your invitation any time we want.”

Winnie crossed her arms over her breasts and tapped her foot. “Initiation ceremony?”

That was all it took to set off a big debate, because nobody could remember exactly how the initiation ceremony went, except they all agreed on one thing. They needed a photograph of George Michael.

“For what?” Winnie asked with exaggerated patience.

Leeann tugged on her bra strap. “You have to swear to love him forever.”

“That is so not going to happen.”

“You have to,” Merylinn said. “It’s a Seawillow ritual.”

“Except we don’t have a photo,” Heidi pointed out.

Amy reached inside her purse and pulled out her Bible. “I’ve got an idea.”

“We are not using a picture of Jesus!” Merylinn exclaimed.

Amy looked disappointed but gracefully gave in to group pressure. The discussion continued, but went nowhere. Finally, Leeann took it upon herself to investigate Colin’s CD collection. “Look! Here’s the new U2 album. Winnie can swear allegiance to Bono instead.”

Heidi studied the album. “It just doesn’t seem the same.”

Sugar Beth passed the album over to Winnie with a grin that nearly made it to her eyes. “Kiss Bono’s picture and swear to love him forever.”

Winnie regarded her loftily. “Only because of his dedication to good causes.”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. Apparently they had a secret handshake, but nobody could remember what it was. They also used to sit in a circle and pass around some kind of necklace, but it had been lost years before.

“I remember one thing for sure,” Merylinn said. “You have to tell what boy you like.”

“Gosh, I’ll have to think about it,” Winnie said sarcastically.

“She’s not displaying proper Seawillow spirit,” Heidi pointed out.

“She also has to tell a sex secret,” Leeann said.

“Sex secret?” Winnie rolled her eyes. “You guys were eleven. How many sex secrets could you have had?”

“Quite a few. Merylinn found her mom’s copy of Joy of Sex.”

Winnie threw up her hands. “All right. A couple of nights ago I had an erotic dream about Edward Norton.”