Engaging Men (39 page)

From where I sat on the desk, it looked to me some sort of diagram of a…diamond.

“Kirk,” I said, lifting my head, my eyes narrowing as I realized it was, in fact, a photo of a diamond, with all sorts of lines drawn to it that led to some sort of explanatory text.

“Hmm?” he muttered into my neck, where he had half gone to sleep out of sheer exhaustion.

“What…what is that?”

He turned and looked down to where I was pointing at the floor somewhat frantically.

“Oh, that.” He looked up at me with a smile that was somewhat rueful before he disentangled himself from me and leaned over to pick it up. “Well, I guess it’s no big secret, but I did have some idea of surprising you.”

My heart started beating so fast, I thought it would rip right out of my chest.

“I figured since we were talking marriage and everything, I ought to do a little research before I, you know, went…shopping. Turns out there’s a lot more to this diamond business than I realized. I mean, look at this,” he said, pointing to the photo, which had arrows arching down to it with text indicating the various aspects of cut, clarity and weight that determined a stone’s value. “There’s a lot you gotta know before you invest that kind of money.”

“Yes, there is,” I said, looking up from that paper and into those gray eyes. There was a lot you needed to know before you made that kind of investment in a diamond. Or a person…

While I sat quietly listening as he regaled me with all he’d learned so far about cut, clarity and weight, I realized I did know Kirk, probably better now than I ever had before. I mean, this was so like him, to act prudently and get all the facts, even before making the most romantic gesture he’d probably ever make. Though I took comfort in this strong sense of knowing another human being, I was suddenly failing to see the romance of it all. And that scared me.

“So I was thinking, you know, that maybe we should go shopping together—-just to look around. Get an idea of what you wanted before, you know…” He broke off, smiled. “Maybe Friday? I have to meet with a client until five, but we could go afterward…”

“ This Friday?” I said, panic taking hold. “But Justin’s show is this weekend,” I continued, latching on to any excuse I could come up with.

“Justin’s show?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you yet—Justin’s doing a solo show Friday night at the Back Fence.”

“Ange, you know how I hate sitting around in a smoky bar,” he hedged.

“C’mon, Kirk, you have to come. Justin needs the support. I mean, we don’t want the club owner to think he can’t attract a crowd. And who knows, there may be some talent scouts in the audience we need to impress with loud cheers,” I finished, though I highly doubted Justin would get that lucky at this late date.

“Well, my flight’s not leaving until nine o’clock on Saturday.

Maybe we can meet up when you get off from work and go then?“

“I don’t understand what the big hurry is,” I said, looking into his eager eyes.

He smiled. “Now my girl’s not in a hurry?” He chuckled. “The truth is, I’m gonna be pretty busy over the coming weeks if Norwood assigns me the rest of their offices. I’d like to get this over with before I go to Chicago.”

Get it over with? I thought, suddenly realizing that yes, I did know this man I was marrying a little too well. Even something as big as getting engaged was just an item on his to-do list. The thought made me feel sad.

But still I found myself agreeing, somewhat sullenly, to this little spree. Even told him I knew a place we could go that was open till seven Saturday, saying that I had gone shopping there with Michelle, who had been looking for tennis bracelets. He didn’t question this, only seemed happy that we had a destination in mind, that our little venture to the Diamond District would be quick and efficient.

I felt a moment of relief. Even managed a small smile when I remembered Rudy. And that ring.

God, it seemed so easy. Almost too easy…

Friday night came, and I managed to drag a reluctant Kirk to the Back Fence, along with whomever else I could get there at last minute’s notice. Of course, I hadn’t been able to invite Josh, because of the Kirk factor, and Michelle was off-limits due to the man factor. There were just too many temptations in this room for her.

Colin, of course, was there, dressed in a crisp blue button -down that made his blue eyes positively sparkle. He had a bit of a crush on Justin, not that his intended target would ever notice, swamped as Justin had been from the moment we’d arrived by the horde of twenty-somethings Jenna had managed to dredge up for the big event and who took up the two front tables. I was desperately glad when Grace arrived, managing to look stunning even in jeans and a black halter that showed off her shoulders and always-fabulous decollete. Of course in her wake came Claudia, who stepped through the door just behind Grace, draped in her usual black garb and looking around the dark, smoky room, which was decorated in Miller Lite signs and littered with a mostly college-age crowd, as if she’d stepped into the Twilight Zone. I have to say, I was even grateful to see her, as our cheering section was looking a bit meager.

After I introduced Claudia to everyone at the table and Grace had greeted both Colin and Kirk, they took seats to my right and immediately began trolling the crowd, ogling the more manly specimens sprinkled among the twenty-somethings. Didn’t these two ever give it a rest? I thought, turning my attention to Colin, who was babbling merrily to Kirk about the impending contract. Colin had already met with his agent this morning, and though he had taken the weekend to think about it, I knew he was more than ready to sign on the dotted line. I made a mental note to call him tomorrow to get as many details as I could before my own meeting.

“1 know Angie’s excited,” Kirk said, reaching around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze that almost made me spit half the margarita I was attempting to gulp down.

But I was distracted from this conversation by the sound of Claudia’s voice as she said to Grace, “Is that him?” and gestured to Justin, who had just disentangled himself from the brat pack to climb up on stage and set up.

“That’s Justin,” Grace replied.

“He’s delish,” Claudia said, her eyes raking over the oblivious Justin as if she were mentally undressing him. “Where, on God’s earth, have you been hiding him?”

A stab of heat went through my gut, which I feared had little to do with the tequila I’d just swallowed. Grace eyed my discomfort speculatively and said, “I haven’t been hiding him. Angie has. He’s her roommate.”

“Angela, darling, how greedy of you. Not only have you got one gorgeous man by your side,” she said, waving the cigarette she held toward Kirk, who was—thank God—still engrossed in a conversation with Colin, “but you’ve got another waiting at home? Didn’t your mother teach you to share and share alike?”

I was fortunately saved from the biting response I wanted to make when Justin himself finally showed up at our table. “Hey, everyone. I’m so glad you all could make it on such short notice,” he said, beaming that beautiful set of teeth at us.

“Hell, I’d get myself a pager for this guy,” I heard Claudia whisper gleefully to Grace. “Beep me anytime, baby. Harder, harder.“ Grace slid a glance at me, as if looking for some kind of reaction.

I, of course, was trying hard not to react, so I simply watched as Colin stood and threw his arms around Justin in greeting. “How you doing, buddy?” Justin said, patting Colin on the back in his usual friendly manner and probably sending Colin into near cardiac arrest.

“Captain Kirk,” Justin said, rounding to the back of Kirk’s chair and grasping his hand. “Thanks for coming, man.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it,” Kirk said. I tried not to glare at him (it wasn’t easy).

“Hey, Grace!” Justin said then, completely bypassing me as Grace stood to give him a hug. “You look great,” he said, leaning away from the hug and taking her in. “God, when was the last time I saw you? You gotta get downtown more often.”

“It really is surprising she doesn’t, considering how much Grace loves getting downtown,” I said, gazing pointedly up at her.

Grace ignored me, turning to Claudia. “Justin, this is Claudia, my boss at Roxanne Dubrow.”

“How do you do?” Claudia gushed. Then she actually held out a hand to be kissed, like some sort of countess. Where did she think we were, Spectrum Lounge?

Justin, of course, missed the cue, and awkwardly shook the hand she held out, palm down.

As I watched him lope over to a nearby table where he greeted a couple of other people he knew—I recognized at least one of them, a voluptuous redhead whom he’d done a few production gigs with—I remembered how I felt the first time I had met Justin. Scared. Then he was the good-looking stranger who, I was so sure, could charm a woman’s heart just as easily as he could break it. The kind of man I would have avoided like the plague, if our improv teacher hadn’t paired us together. It was almost comical to think of it now that I knew Justin to be the goofy sofa-hoarding roommate that he was. But as I watched him charm the room, he was that stranger again. And though it didn’t scare me this time, it bothered me somehow

Bothered me even more when it looked like he was about to bound up on that stage without even saying hello to me. I turned to Grace, hoping to start a conversation to show I didn’t care what he did or didn’t do, when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned, to find not the charming stranger but the man I knew better than I even knew myself sometimes crouched down beside my chair, those green eyes turned full force on mine.

“Thanks, Angie.”

“For what?”

“For getting everyone down here. I know I didn’t give you much notice and all…”

“Hey, what are friends for?” I said, looking into his eyes and seeing something else there—something indefinable. Something that looked like it might have been…fear. “You gonna be okay up there?” I asked, suddenly worried for him.

“Ah, I’ll be fine,” he said. “Besides, it doesn’t look like any big music industry execs are sitting out in the audience anyway,” he continued, glancing around at the tattered-T-shirt-and-jeans crowd that surrounded us.