Home Ice (24 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Hey Baby!

Izzy eased her car up Dom’s driveway. She had finished her escrow signing early and was eager to surprise her superstar boyfriend. Her most expensive listing, the August Glen property, had been purchased and her commission check would be delivered that afternoon. It was a fine day in Red Valley. The birds were chirping, the sky was clear. Today seemed like a good day for a nooner.

She found Dom’s front door unlocked and let herself in. After checking her lipstick in the gaudy, entryway mirror, she kicked off her Prada heels. The plush carpeting felt good under her aching feet. She wiggled her pedicured toes and set off to find her man in his sprawling mansion.

“Dom, baby, I’m here,” Izzy’s voice echoed down the expanse of the hallway.

She heard muffled noises coming from the master bedroom.

Hmm, that’s strange. Who else could be here? He must be watching TV.

She followed the sound and almost tripped over a bra strewn on the floor. Her heartbeat shifted into overdrive. The bra at her feet was waaayy too big to be her size. When she turned the corner, she looked into the bedroom and was assaulted by the scene she found.

Dom, in all his naked glory, was perched atop a buxom blonde. She was a petite Barbie doll with teased hair and a fake tan. As he thrust himself into her, her giant breasts wobbled back and forth.

Izzy’s hand flew up to her mouth, barely muffling a horrified shriek. “Dominic! You asshole!” Izzy screamed and threw the bra in his direction.

Dom looked over at Izzy in the doorway. “Hey baby!” he greeted mid-thrust. “Wanna join us?”

That son of a bitch had the nerve to grin ear to ear like he’d just won the lottery. But, in Dom’s defense, in
his
mind he had scored two for the price of one. This must be his lucky day.

“There’s plenty of Dom to go around!” he exclaimed, holding the blonde’s legs in the air.

“I see that,” Izzy said through clenched teeth. She picked up a nearby vase from the dresser and hurled it at them, not caring where it landed. The vase skimmed passed the couple and shattered into a million pieces against Dom’s Venetian plastered wall.

“What the fuck, Izzy?” Dom shouted, still inside Buxom Barbie.

Izzy whirled around and stormed back through the house. She slid her feet back into her Prada’s and, on impulse, grabbed the carved ornate mirror from it’s hook in the entryway, tucked it under her arm, and slammed the door as hard as she could on her way out.

* * *

Izzy’s condo was nestled on the hillside overlooking the Red River. She liked the low-maintenance lifestyle because she was rarely home. She had put her career on the front burner and there was always time for the white picket fence later on. But now, it was time to make money. And lots of it. She loved the business side of real estate as well as the time she spent touring homes across the city. She thrived on the long hours and weekend shifts. What else was she supposed to do to occupy her time when Ally was busy? Which usually ended up being most of the time.

Two bedrooms were plenty for her. A bedroom and office. It was all that a single gal on the go needed. The open floor plan had drawn her to it in the first place and after bringing in an interior decorator it looked like something out of a Crate and Barrel catalog. She liked the clean lines of the contemporary style.

And the view wasn’t too shabby either. Floor to ceiling windows and a magnificent view of the Red River greeted everyone who walked through the front door.

But today, the view was the last thing on her mind. Izzy swung open the door, kicked off her heels and dropped her Prada handbag on the celery green tailored chair with hardwood legs sitting in the corner.

With trembling fingers, she found Ally’s number on her cell phone and pressed ‘send’.

“Hello?” Ally answered. She sounded happy and Izzy hated herself instantly.

“It’s me,” Izzy‘s voice came out as a squeak and she cursed Dom. “I know you just got back, but…” Her voice broke as she stifled a sob.

“What’s wrong, Iz?” Ally was concerned now and this time Izzy cursed her own weakness.

“Everything Al…Oh God, I’m such a freakin’ idiot…,” Izzy bawled into the phone, not able to hold it inside any longer.

“I’ll be right there,” Ally said and the line went dead.

Izzy staggered over to her beige sofa, plopped down on the plush cushion and curled herself into a ball.

When Ally arrived, she let herself in and noticed an ivory, baroque mirror propped up next to Izzy’s front door. It wasn’t quite Izzy’s style. The only mirrors in her modern condo had geometric metal frames.

“Nice mirror,” Ally said out loud and ran her fingers over the intricate carvings on the frame.

“I stole it,” Izzy grumbled from behind a mustard yellow accent pillow.

“What?” Ally snatched her hand away as if the mirror had grown teeth and was about to bite. Ally looked over at Izzy on the sofa and she had raccoon eyes from smeared eyeliner and mascara.

Izzy sniffed. “From Dom’s house. I wasn’t thinking. I just felt like I needed to take something from him.”

Ally should have known. This was about Dom. She sighed and asked, “What happened?”

Izzy flinched at the mental picture hovering around in her mind. “I walked in on him having sex with some bimbo.”

Ally sighed again. She had been waiting for this to happen. It was only a matter of time with a guy like Dom. “Are you okay?”

Izzy didn’t answer the question. She threw a wadded tissue onto her sleek, bronze coffee table. “Ally, she had humongous fake boobs.” Izzy cupped her own breasts. “Mine may be small, but they’re proportionate! They get the job done just fine and I’ve never had any complaints before.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Ally sat down beside her and embraced her in a hug. “No one is complaining now. He’s just a jerk.”

“More like a man-whore.” Izzy’s bottom lip quivered. “You wanna know what the funny thing is? I would’ve had a threesome with him if he would’ve asked me.”

Ally grimaced. “Izzy, you don’t need to have a threesome to make a man happy. You’re plenty of woman all by yourself.”

“It’s not like we were exclusive or anything, but he didn’t even bat an eye. He just kept pounding away at her with that smug grin of his. What an ass!”

“He is an ass,” Ally agreed wholeheartedly.

“I know. I was just hoping that maybe he’d change and want to be with just me. Like how Ben is with you.” A wistful look settled on her face.

Ally agreed. She had struck gold without ever having to mine for it. She knew that under Izzy’s tough shell, there was a girl who really did want to find love in the form of a monogamous relationship. “Too bad there aren’t more men out there like Ben.”

“Yeah,” Izzy sniffed, “Dom just wasn’t that kind of guy.”

“You have to admit you had fun, though. While it lasted.” Borrowing logic from Gram, Ally tried to look at the bright side.

“It
was
fun. Right up until the part where it ended. God, Ally. I’ve always been okay with shallow and meaningless relationships. But, just once I…” Her voice cracked and the tears started to flow again sending a black stream of mascara down her cheeks. Ally’s grip tightened around Izzy as she sympathized with her friend. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie.”

“He strung me along like…like Christmas lights,” Izzy mumbled between sobs.

“I’m so sorry.”

After a minute, suddenly Izzy sat up ramrod straight and took a deep breath. “I’m done,” she announced.

Ally leaned back in surprise. “Done with what? Men?”

“I’m done with empty relationships and one night stands and men who only care about themselves and sex. I mean, I care about sex and it’s a huge part of my life, but I want
more
.”

“You deserve more.”

“Yes I do.”

An hour later, after Ally determined that Izzy was sufficiently comforted and stable, Ally got into her car to drive home. Before she started the ignition, her cell phone rang. It was Ben.

“Hey, how are you?” he asked.

“Fine,” she sighed. I’m on my way home from Izzy’s.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. I just got off the phone with Dom. He’s pissed about his mirror.”

Dom’s interior decorator, the one with the great legs, had given the mirror to him as a housewarming present when she was finished decorating his house. They had definitely warmed the house that night.

“She was upset,” Ally explained. “She walked in on him having sex with some random girl. I’m surprised that was all she did.”

“Yeah. Well, that’s Dom for you,” Ben said. Ally noticed that he wasn’t the least bit surprised either.

* * *

Izzy arrived at her office early the next Monday. She was ready to delve into her work and forget about men altogether. She didn’t need a man. What could she possible need one for? She made her own money and she had a rabbit vibrator in her nightstand. Ah, hell. Who was she trying to kid? She was a mess. She had known that things with Dom weren’t going to last forever, but he had been so…so
yummy
. He was the ultimate alpha male with a handsome face and spectacular body. And she had lost him in a sea of implants and peroxide. What a pity.

When Izzy breezed through the office door, Marcus raised an eyebrow. In all his years at Red Valley Real Estate Group he’d never seen Izzy come into the office before eleven a.m. Never.

“Girlfriend, I’d better run home and get my Ralph Lauren coat and gloves because it looks like hell has officially frozen over.”

Izzy shot a glare through her Dior sunglasses that could have melted an iceberg. “I couldn’t sleep,” she murmured on the way to her office down the hall. Marcus was following close on her heels.

“If it’s any consolation, you look great. In fact, you look like
Harper’s Bazaar
personified.” He cocked his head to one side. “Cute dress. Jill Sander?”

Izzy nodded.

“Mmm. If I weren’t gay…,” he lowered his voice like it was a big secret.

“Honey,” Izzy replied, “If you weren’t gay, we’d be the best dressed couple in Red Valley!” She paused and grew serious again. “If you weren’t gay, I wouldn’t have to keep humiliating myself with cheating bastards.”

Marcus raised his neatly groomed eyebrows. “What happened? Not something with your Canadian Cutie, I hope.”

“Yes. And from now on, he is to be referred to as Dickhead Dom.”

Marcus perched himself into the chair across from her desk. “What did King Dickhead do anyway?”

“I walked in on him screwing the brains out of some ditzy blonde.”

“I’m so sorry, Izzy. Damn, he was so pretty, too.”

“Marcus, are you sure you only like boys?”

Marcus laughed. “Honey, you’ll be the first to know if anything changes.”

Later that day, Marcus sauntered into Izzy’s office looking pleased with himself.

“Listen, Miss Sinclair,” he commanded and Izzy looked up from the papers on her desk. “I know you’ve been bummed about your hockey hunk du jour and his wandering wang. So, how would you like to literally get the ef out of town?” He leaned over and put a finger to her lips before she could answer. “I’ve signed you up to attend the annual National Realtors Conference in Sacramento.” Izzy grumbled and he put his hands on his hips. “I know it’s not as glamorous as a weekend at a spa in Napa, but this is something I can write off for the company.”

“Marc--”

“Honey, I want you to take your fabulous self to this state’s fine capital and have a mah-velous time dah-ling,” he exaggerated, making her laugh.

Izzy thought for a moment and then said, “Okay.”

Marcus almost toppled over in his Kenneth Cole boots. He had been preparing for a fight, or at the very least, a witty war of words. “Okay?”

“I’ll go.”

“Oh, honey, this is going to be good for you. There’s nothing like networking and a little out of town retail therapy to get over a douche-bag. Especially when you can expense it to the agency. Now, tell me about the Kate Spade sample sale last week…”

* * *

Waiting for the National Realtors Conference to start, Izzy looked around the room and surveyed her fellow esteemed real estate agents. Unfortunately, the room was filled with paunchy, balding older men and middle aged women with bad perms. Ugh. One woman was actually wearing a suit with shoulder pads.

Marcus may have had good intentions, but this was not the way for anyone to cheer themselves up.

“Hello there,” a warm voice said.

Izzy didn’t even notice the man who had snuck up and took a seat next to her. And would you look at that, the man just so happened to be famous real estate mogul Pierce Spencer who had made his millions in Las Vegas. Izzy recognized him from the variety of magazine covers he graced. Most recently he’d been on the cover of
People
magazine as the wealthiest person in Nevada. Very impressive. What was even more impressive was his impeccably tailored Versace suit and Italian shoes.