A Perfect Life?

Oh, ish. Claire sat delicately on the edge of the chair, then pushed it back a couple feet.

“You settled?” he said, resting his hand on her arm as if to steady her. Gross. The man was hitting on her.

“I’m fine.”

“So, tell me about yourself,” Ryan said, leaning forward.

She pushed back a bit farther. “There’s not much to tell except I want to get ahead here.” She would make sure he knew she wasn’t interested in putting in any couch time to get there. “I want to prove myself through my work, of course. On my own merit. But I hope you can advise me where to concentrate my efforts. My work efforts.” That couldn’t be more clear.

“Sure, sure,” he said, smiling. “We can talk all about that over lunch. How do you stay in such good shape?”

“How do I…?” Blech, puke, retch. She had to nip this in the bud. “Tae Kwan Do,” she blurted. “Black belt, with a specialty in self-defense.”

“Oh, really?” Ryan’s brow lifted in surprise.

“Absolutely. I can make a guy walk lopsided for the rest of his life.”

“Well. That’s impressive. I guess I know who to take with me when I cross a dark parking lot at night.” He seemed to find her amusing, not life-threatening.

“So, how about we start with your top ten tips at lunch?” she said.

“Sure. Sounds good,” he said, smiling. “But I’ve got the first tip for you right now?”

“Really? What is it?” This was a good sign.

“Quit dressing weird. You look like a hooker dressed as a schoolgirl.”

“Check,” she said, pretending to make a mark on a pad. Yet another fashion expert had weighed in on her style statement. “So, I’ll meet you out front at noon for lunch and more tips?”

“Sounds good,” he said, his words tinged with man-woman energy, despite her hint that she could cripple him. Why did everything have to be more complicated than it seemed?

3

ON SATURDAY MORNING, Claire was in the kitchen eating granola and staring morosely at Jared’s false-promise roses, while Kitty and Rex did Tae-Bo in the living room, when Mitch the doorman called up to say she had a delivery downstairs.

She figured it must be an apartment-warming gift from her mother, but when she stepped out of the elevator, she stopped dead in pure shock.

There in the middle of the lobby sat Jared on a cream-canvas futon. “Ta-da!” he said, gesturing at its puffy expanse. “Perfect, huh?” He beamed at her with that sweet, boyish look he had—sometimes charming, sometimes annoying. Right now it was both. “Come try it out.” He held out his arms to her.

For just a second, she was tempted to comply, but this was one gift horse—rather, rat—she had to look straight in the mouth. She wasn’t about to hug him. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Moving in, of course. Here’s the futon and here are my clothes,” he said, indicating two big roller suitcases, as if that proved his intentions were good.

“What about your wife? Did you talk to her about us?”

Jared’s eyes flicked away from her face for a second, telling her all she needed to know. “I told her I had concerns.”

“Concerns? Jared, I want a divorce is way more than concerns.”

“Important things take time, Claire. Everything’s not black-and-white like you always want. At least I’m here and I can move in.”

“No, you can’t. I already have a roommate.” A roommate who was probably doing the deed right now in what would have been Jared’s office.

“How did you get a roommate in three days?”

“Kitty’s got moving down to a science.”

“But what about me?” He seemed completely confused.

“You snooze, you lose. I can’t afford this place by myself. You were out, so Kitty was in.”

“I told you I wanted to work this out. How could you?” He let his head fall back against the futon, looking crushed. The weak part of her wanted to run upstairs and say, “Everybody out. Back to plan A.” But no way could she fold. Jared had a lot of promises to make and keep before she would take him back.

After a few seconds of sad sighs, Jared sat up. “You’re right. I deserve this. I have to prove myself to you. I’ll get another couple months at the company digs.” He smiled sadly, his eyes saying, Kiss me. I’ve earned it.

For a second, he morphed from cheating bastard to repentant boyfriend, but she fought the urge to fall into his arms and forgive him. “Just tell your wife, Jared. We can’t be together until you do.”

“Why do you have to be so extreme?” he said.

“Insisting my boyfriend is single is extreme?”

“You know what I mean,” he muttered. “What am I supposed to do about the futon?”

“I’ll help you load it into your truck.”

“We could put it in the apartment…kind of a down payment on our future,” he said hopefully. “What about that?”

She liked the futon so much better than Kitty’s seduction sofa…. “No good,” she said firmly, bending to heft one end. If she gave Jared an inch—or a futon—he’d take a mile. And her heart already wore his cross-trainer treads.

THREE DAYS LATER, Claire walked home from Game Night—they’d held it on Tuesday because Barry and Emily had a Valentine’s Day date on Wednesday. It was a perfect February night—not quite chilly. Central Avenue was subdued and the air was filled with the scent of early citrus blossoms—like lilac and gardenia combined—but Claire’s thoughts were far away….

…In Reno, where, at this moment, Jared was telling Lindi-with-an-i that he wanted a divorce. Supposedly. Then tomorrow, he would fly here and transform Valentine’s Day from her suckiest holiday to the most romantic one. In theory. Jared was turning around his entire life just to be with her.

Except he’d sounded kinda faint the last time they’d talked. The Chickateers hadn’t been hopeful, either. He’ll weasel out, Emily had said, but you stick to your guns. Kitty kept talking about Rex’s friend Dave—he’ll make you forget Jared…and your own name.

And Zoe advised her to listen to her heart, of course. Zoe’s boyfriend Brad was insisting she learn to rock climb, which she was scared to do. Kitty had decided to go with her to the class to make sure “Indiana Brad”—Kitty’s new nickname for the guy—didn’t push Zoe too far.

Now, as Claire approached her corner, her attention was drawn by the sound of bluesy chords on the breeze. She squinted and made out someone sitting on the wide stone banister on her building’s stairs. She got closer and saw that it was Guitar Guy. Her heart thudded in her chest. The streetlight spilled over him, dramatic and bold, sending a romantic shadow from his long body.

She realized she was walking faster.

Guitar Guy looked up, saw her and smiled. “You figure it out?” he asked, still playing.

“What? My wardrobe?” She wore a tailored white blouse with a black denim skirt. Until she could afford serious career clothes, she was at least sticking with conservative colors.

He shook his head, holding her gaze. “Whatever’s been bothering you.” His guitar work became a sound-track, making it feel natural to chitchat with a stranger in the night.

“More or less.” Of course not. She had no idea what to do about Jared. But she wasn’t about to let on to Guitar Guy…who was very cute, especially with his hair cut. Kind of a young George Clooney. Dark and brooding with the kind of secret half smile that made you want to be the only one who could coax it into a full one. The streetlight gave his skin a coppery glow and his teeth seemed very white.