His Perfect Woman (Urban Hearts Series Book 1) (15 page)

Az smiled.  “You should hear his rendition
of It’s Getting Hot in Here
. It’s hilariously bad.”             

A couple months earlier, there had been a Chicago workshop that he couldn’t miss, but was reluctant to attend because it was hosted by CTC. After driving himself crazy with every scenario possible if he ran into Azure, he needn’t have worried. She’d sent her assistant, Rachel Jarvis, a leggy business school grad with long blonde tresses and a penchant for fast food. Rachel turned out to be a perfect match for his brother, Ben. He and Ben had met for dinner at the hotel bar and Rachel had come in to request nachos to go. Ben convinced her to stay and join them for dinner. 

It was a match that quickly caught fire. Ben even took time off to fly with him to Milwaukee for a weekend panel just to meet up with Rachel. Seeing them together, holding hands, or Ben opening the door and Rachel ducking under his arm, Ross felt the loss of Azure even more acutely. He tried to be happy for his brother, and he was. He was happy, but when Ben spoke of Rachel, something he did often, Ross couldn’t help but think of her boss.  Some days, he’d only think of her ten or twenty times. 

The MacKenzie Lehrman contract made other companies take notice of him and he’d gotten very good reviews from Conway Titensor Consulting, (he was sure that was Azure Worth’s doing, in spite of what happened between them). Suddenly, his email was full of offers and jobs as far away as California and he could practically name his price. It was because of those offers that he’d decided to follow Dani to the coast.

He waved at his neighbor with the dog as he walked down the hall in his building.  Since Dani had left, he’d actually gotten to know the man. His name was Leonard Smith and he worked as an editor for a non-fiction publisher. The little Schnauzer’s name was Oscar.  Ross had been thinking of inviting him over for a drink for awhile so he could pitch his book idea. He stopped at his apartment door, about to say something when a tinny version of Aerosmith’s
Dream On
piped on his phone. With a look of apology to Leonard, he answered as he let himself into the apartment.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” Since she’d been gone, he’d found himself smiling when he heard her voice, something he hadn’t done in a very long while.

“I booked another commercial.” Her voice rose in its little girl squeak. “I have lines, I’m so excited.”

“That’s great Hon, what’s it for?”

“Insurance, nothing exciting, I’m the girl whose car gets crunched by space junk.”

“Like a good neighbor?” Ross closed the door behind him. The apartment sparkled. With his increased income, he’d been able to hire a cleaning service and they’d come today. The faint smell of furniture polish tickled his nose as he crossed to the window. The drapes were pulled back, letting the sun in. He smiled at the view of Chicago. A view he’d miss when he was gone.

“My character’s name is Natalie, I mean, no one actually says that, but that’s what I’m calling her. We’re filming next week.” Dani spoke again.

“Good luck, or do I say break a leg?”

“I think leg breaking is only for the theater.”

The lease on the Chicago apartment wasn’t up until August. He had until then. He and Dani had agreed she’d move ahead to book some auditions and settle in. With the ever present Simon’s help, she’d found herself a bungalow in a suburb with a Spanish name. Something vista or vista something. Ross thought that the only vista they’d get in LA would be obscured by smog, yet several towns had the vista moniker. He hung up his jacket–a new lightweight cashmere by Brioni.

“You are coming home this weekend, right?” He didn’t mention the family dinner on Sunday. Dani hadn’t been to his parents’ house since the holidays, and after the third missed dinner, his mom had asked about her. It was if she sensed his reluctance, his uncertainty for the move, for the life with Dani. He’d evaded her questions.  

Dani’s voice held just a trace of exasperation. He must have asked her this before.

“Yes, just had to call and tell you the good news.”

“I’m happy for you, babe. Good job.”

“Thanks, I love you.”

“Love you too.”  He set his phone down and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirrored closet. His face looked pale above the dark blue shirt, he smiled ruefully and the ever present crinkles at the corners of his eyes had deepened over the last year. He looked away and continued to undress.

It had been over a year since he booked that first speech in St. Louis. The image of Azure walking down the hall with him catapulted into his brain, her laugh, the pixie hair cut that was more sexy than cute.  The memory of her vanilla scent assaulted his nostrils and he sat down heavily on the bed. Just when he’d get into the groove of his new old life, a thought of her would come up and slap him in the face

His phone rang again, pulling him out of his thoughts. He stepped into a pair of well worn jeans and grabbed the phone before it went to voice mail.

“Hey little brother. You and Dani coming for dinner this Sunday?” Ben’s voice boomed over the line.

“Yes, you’ve only asked three times, what’s going on with you?” Ross laughed into the phone. He padded into the kitchen, shirtless and barefoot and started pulling out salad fixings from the vegetable drawer. He selected a Cabernet from the new wine cooler they’d gotten and opened the bottle.

“Rachel’s coming in, and I, ah, wanted to make sure-”

“Dude, I know. You’ve only said it–wait, what’s going on? Are you guys making some big announcement or something?”

There was a happy silence on the other end.

“Ben?”

“She’s gonna move here in the fall. I’m getting married bro.”

--------

Ross no longer avoided the conferences that CTC sponsored. He’d worked a couple of panels they’d presented, and after the mixed joy and disappointment of seeing Rachel there instead of Az, he’d gotten used to not running into her. Ben and Rachel’s announcement at the family dinner had taken the focus off him and Dani, but Dani’s tone was off as she admired Rachel’s ring. His parents were quietly pleased at Ben’s news and his mother’s reserve faded into fondness when she spoke to Rachel. It was a severe contrast to her worried smile whenever she watched him and Dani together.

The plan was for him to fly out and spend the Fourth of July weekend in Hollywood with Dani. He’d figured now was as good a time as any to pop the question. Azure’s continued silence and then absence had finally convinced him that he’d needed to get on with his life. Ben recommended a diamond warehouse on Michigan Avenue and he’d picked out a square cut diamond, with a hint of blue in its brilliance. The black velvet box sat on the coffee table as he packed for one last gig before the holiday. A quick speech in Omaha for his Mac-Lehrman clients.

Azure

Since Rachel came onboard at CTC, Azure spent more time in Denver, but even less time at home. Things with Jonathan had gotten so tense, she felt like a combatant walking into an enemy camp just entering the front door. Letting herself into a dark house after a typical late night at work, she startled when she found Jonathan sitting alone in the kitchen, waiting for her.

“It’s about time,” he spoke quietly and she jumped, but managed to keep her cool. Tree filtered moonlight cast odd shadows through their kitchen window. Clicking on the light over the stove, she brushed the ominous feeling away.
What now?

“I didn’t think anyone was up. Why are you sitting here in the dark? Is Eli okay?”

“He’s fine—asleep hours ago.” He sighed and sipped at a coffee cup. Azure wondered if the cup actually contained coffee at this hour, or perhaps something stronger. There had been a bit of that lately.  “Do you want some tea?” Gravitating toward the single light, Jonathan moved to turn a burner on. At least, he wasn’t drinking. 

“Ah, no. I’m just tired.” She longed to make an escape up to their room. They were back to sleeping in the same bed, though they were more recalcitrant roommates than anything.

“We need to talk, Azure.”

Azure. He never used her full name, always using the shortened version, except in cases of extreme emergency or stress. When she’d awakened in the hospital after delivering Eli, he’d called her Azure then. She sighed.

“Now? It’s late. I have tomorrow off.”

The tea kettle slammed onto the burner of the stove with a sharp crack.

“There’ll be something else tomorrow. We need to talk now.” He walked behind her and paused. She stilled, waiting for a touch or some softening of tension. He didn’t touch her, but slipped past her to sit down again.  “Please.” Exhaustion came through the single word.

When she had settled across from him, he laid out his plan carefully. He wanted to go home, to England. His parents had lent them the money for a visit and he wanted them to go as a family. It was one more last ditch effort to save their marriage. She didn’t see the point. A weekend in Vail or two weeks in the UK, it didn’t matter. At this point, a trip into space wouldn’t repair the damage in the relationship. But, in his usual stubborn, infuriatingly patient and logical way, he convinced her to take some time. He’d made it sound so easy.
Just give it a go, Az
.              Almost before she knew it, she was putting in for two weeks vacation.

“I want to sit by the window, can I?” Eli’s four-year old enthusiasm for his first airplane ride overruled his customary shyness. At least the first one he was old enough to remember. 

“Of course you can.” The flight attendant’s eyes smiled at Az’s son, glanced at her and lingered over her husband’s tall frame.

Jonathan abandoned the terseness he’d had in the airport with Az and asked the attendant if he could retrieve his laptop prior to stowing his bag. At the sound of his West Kent accent, the flight attendant—not a young woman by any means, babbled like some teenager that he could take his sweet time. She stood by in case he needed even more assistance, never mind the glowering looks from the line of passengers in the aisle behind them. It was going to be a long flight.  Az folded herself in half as she struggled to shove her bag under the seat in front of Eli.

“Look, Mama, there’s my suitcase.” She leaned over to see that it was indeed a child’s bright blue suitcase on the luggage truck.

“See, he’s loading it onto the plane. We’ll pick it up when we land.”

Eli’s face crinkled in a brief frown.

“I hope Elwood won’t be scared by himself.”

“I’m sure Elwood will be fine, buddy. But we’ll ask the nice lady to check on him later, okay?” Jonathan spoke from the aisle seat.

His laptop stowed on its side under the seat in front of him, Jonathan’s legs were tucked gracefully into the tiny space. She was the one who flew a lot, yet Az was disorganized and ungainly, squished into the center seat, with nothing but her cell phone within reach. She was cramped and uncomfortably warm, but some stubborn part of her refused to move. She sat there like a contrary cactus, prickly and untouchable.

Az wore her new business suit, a red Ponte knit with black trim, so sure it would meet with approval across the pond. Too late, the realization came that after seven hours on a plane, she would emerge wrinkled, crinkled and frayed. Jonathan wore comfy faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt, his leather jacket stowed above them.  Unlike her, he’d already turned off his cell phone and had the in-flight magazine open on his lap.

“The nice lady would like nothing more than to check on Elwood,” she said and brushed some fuzz away from her jacket. Jonathan’s lips compressed into a thin line under his dark moustache—his disappointed look. He rarely got angry, but he’d learned his expressions from the queen of disapproval—his mother. At this point, she would have preferred pissed off. Pissed off you can do something with. You can placate, you can argue, get pissed off back, but the staid, ultra-polite, disapproval was tailor-made for no rebuttal. It really pissed her off.

“Are you sure?” Eli’s little voice, sounding uncertain for the first time since they boarded the plane, clipped whatever irritation Azure had.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Elwood was a stuffed animal, a rather dilapidated thin blue elephant with one eye missing, but he was as beloved as any live pet would be and traveled everywhere Eli went. Across the living room or across the ocean, it made no difference to Elwood and so off to England he went. Jonathan had thought their almost five year old was too old to hang on to such silly things, and had vetoed Elwood traveling in the plane with them, (he was a bit large, if floppy), but she couldn’t resist after seeing that the only thing Eli had packed in his little blue suitcase was a single pair of batman underwear and the ragged toy. They compromised by letting Elwood travel in baggage. After all, two weeks away was a very long time for a four year old boy, or a three year old stuffed elephant.

After her reassurances, the issue of Elwood’s well-being was temporarily forgotten as the plane began taxiing toward the take-off runway. Unwinding the grey fuzzy scarf from her neck, she stuffed it in the seat pocket and checked her phone one last time for emails before shutting it off and slipping it into her pocket. Jonathan glanced at this action and raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. Not quite disappointed, it was more disenchanted this time.

As she’d feared, she arrived at Heathrow airport frayed, rumpled and sweaty, whereas Jonathan looked as fresh as if he’d showered on the plane. He’d donned his leather jacket, wove a dark paisley scarf around his neck and while he looked like a movie star going through the airport, she looked like his harried assistant. The rough edge of stubble outlining his normally trim goatee gave him a softer, more rugged look. His dark hair was tossed back sexily on his head. He’d run his fingers through the thick waves repeatedly. This nervous gesture being the only sign that he was somewhat reticent to see his family again.