Okay, this was it. She could either sink or swim.
Taking a lungful of breath, Lacey weaved between the crowds, her dress billowing around her knees in the breeze as she made her way toward Harper. Chewing the corner of her bottom lip, she tapped his shoulder and smiled when he turned around to face her. She still couldn't get over how tall, broad and powerful he was.
"Hello again" she grinned, craning her neck to look up at him.
"Hi"
Handing him a glass of champagne, she said "I thought that I might return the favor."
"Who says romance is dead?" he chuckled, a husky timbre in his voice as he took the glass on offer.
"You're welcome"
His eyes roved over her body as he took a sip from the glass "Speaking of getting into the romantic spirit-"
"Oh is that what we were talking about?" Lacey smiled and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
"Yes."
Pressing her lips tightly together, she smiled as a flush crept into her cheeks "Uhm…Ok."
"By the way, champagne goes great with oysters." He stated his eyes warm and lazy under the beating sun and she spotted a mischievous glimmer when he lifted his glass to his lips.
"Is that a fact?"
"I know a nice oyster bar in Midtown. They serve the best oysters in Manhattan"
"I have a child." She blurted.
"I like children." He countered quicker than she had anticipated.
"What I mean to say is, I- uhmm have to get back home." She lifted her hand to push back the hair the breeze was tossing about her face.
With a resigned sigh, Harper fished a business card out of his shirt pocket and gave it to her, "When you have a hankering for real great oysters, give me a call." He stated then slowly walked away slipping into the crowd. Lacey dropped her gaze and stared at the contents of the card before fanning herself with it.
..
Phoebe left as soon as Lacey arrived and she had just enough time to feed Emma, give her a bath and read her a bedtime story before falling asleep next to her. Her daughter's bed was small and so her feet were hanging over the edge but she didn't care. She needed this tonight. Pulling Emma closer to her, she buried her nose in her dark curls and smelled her scent.
While Emma slept, Lacey stared at the glow in the dark butterflies on the walls and ceiling and her mind churned with thoughts about Danny and the date he'd brought to the party. He looked happy and she was happy that he looked happy wasn't she?
..
She woke up to Emma's face and her tiny hands clutching her ears. Smiling weakly, she closed her eyes again and reached out to brush back Emma's hair. She willed herself to get up, feed her daughter and to start her day.
Ten minutes later they were downstairs in the kitchen preparing for the day ahead. Lacey placed a bowl of oatmeal in the microwave and retrieved a carton of milk from the fridge. She tied the sash around her silk robe as she waited for the microwave to finish warming up the food and opened the laptop that had been sitting on the island. When the microwave finally dinged, she sat down in front of Emma who had been playing with a cloth dinosaur and proceeded to feed her. With her attention split between the task of feeding her daughter and reading her e-mails, she didn't notice when Emma spit out her food but by the time she looked up, Emma had knocked her bowl over, throwing it on the floor.
"I'm so sorry our food is not up to scratch for you, madam. Perhaps you'd like to try the tasting menu at the French Laundry?"
Emma laughed and Lacey softened and attempted to feed her again until she finished the oatmeal. She heard the front door open and click shut again, followed by footsteps headed toward the kitchen.
"Hey there." Phoebe greeted, pulling a pair of earphones out of her ears. Rock music soared from the earphones until she turned off her iPod.
"Just in time." Lacey smiled and rose to her feet.
"Listen thanks for staying late last night. You're a godsend."
"No problem." Phoebe sighed, dumping her backpack on top of the counter and stuffing her iPod inside.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just had a late night." Phoebe pulled her hair back into a tight pony-tail and then picked up Emma, setting her on her right hip.
"Spencer again?" she asked giving her nanny a sympathetic smile.
"No. Adam. We have an acting class together and he was helping me with my lines."
With a nod, Lacey patted Phoebe's back and gestured to the door "Okay, well have a good day. I'm off to take a shower and get ready for work."
Once she was up in her bedroom, Lacey stared at her mobile phone after taking a shower and considered calling Harper. Her gut tightened at the newness of another man and she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Technically Harper wasn't a blind date or a set up and she didn't have to worry about a lack of chemistry because there was plenty of it, truck loads of it in fact. She laughed nervously and rooted around her purse for his business card then picked up her phone. She took a deep breath and hesitated for a second before dialling.
"Hi." She greeted first as soon as Harper picked up.
"Hello"
"It's Lacey…uhm…we met at the-"Her gaze dropped back down to the card in her hand.
"I remember you." He interrupted her explanation and she heard the smile in his voice.
Straightening her back, she took a deep breath and asked "Would you like to have lunch with me?"
"I'd love to."
After they agreed on a time and place, she hung up the phone and stared at it a moment longer before deciding what to wear. It had to be an outfit that would carry her from the office, possible meetings with clients and a date with a potential boyfriend. With a chuckle she shook her head and scoffed at the term boyfriend. She built her outfit around a beaded Oscar de la Renta skirt, added a robin's egg blue long sleeved top and yellow stacked-heel sandals.
..
She met Harper outside a trendy little restaurant in Chelsea. The place had a strict no reservations policy and the lines out the door were testament to that. New Yorkers always wanted what they couldn't have and regardless of their impatience the no reservations trend was all the buzz around the city. Lacey squared her shoulders, sucked in her stomach and proceeded to look for her date in the sea of faces.
"There she is!" Harper called, stepping to her as she hurried forward to greet him. He stood tall before her, solid and masculine.
"Am I late?" she grinned, glancing at her watch. He took off his sunglasses and tucked them into the neckline of his shirt.
"Never." He smiled and gestured to the door. There were at least six people in front of them and she wondered how long it would take to seat them. He said something else but his voice was carried away by the traffic noise. When they finally were at the front after a party of two and a party of four were seated, she exhaled and felt the beginning grumbles of an empty stomach. A server led them to their table, past big bubbling tanks filled with live lobsters and large potted plants enlivening the space. They wandered past a bar upfront with Harper's hand on her lower back gently guiding her until they reached a horseshoe shaped dinging area where the server found them a table tucked away from the hustle. Harper pulled out a chair for her and gestured for her to take a seat.
Ten minutes into their champagne the inevitable question she had been waiting for came when he looked up at her over the rim of his glass.
"You didn't know who I was when I met you at the party did you?" he asked, his lips pulling back into a smile.
"I don't follow football" she sweetly apologised, "Were you offended?"
"No as a matter of fact I liked it." He leaned back in his chair, a smile tweaking the edges of his lips, "You had no preconceived notions abut me. You took me at face value."
"I did."
"And now?"
"I'll try not to put you on a pedestal." She smirked, leaning back in her chair so that the server could place the oysters on the table in front of her. The oysters were served on a bed of crushed ice and looked delightfully appetizing.
"How long have you been single?"
"What makes you think that I'm single?" Lacey squeezed lemon over an oyster and then slurped it down from its shell.
"There' no wedding ring on your finger unless you took it off."
"Ah the wedding ring, the perfect symbol of union and togetherness." She chuckled, shaking her head and dotting her lips with her napkin.
"Two years. I was married for one" she finally replied watching the bubbles shoot up in her glass.
"And he let you get away?" Harper raised an eyebrow, teasing her.
"He didn't have a choice." She glanced up at him and smiled before taking another gulp of champagne.
"You sure you don't want to try some lobster. They're fresh from the tank."
"I'm good but thank you."
"At least try the beef Carpaccio." He suggested, "If you're worried about getting something stuck in your teeth, trust me I won't mind. I won't hold a little spinach in your teeth against you. I might even find it sexy."
"Oh you are smooth, my brotha." Lacey laughed, amused by his candour.
"You think I'm smooth?"
"Smoother than jazz."
"Must be the Chi-Town in me."
"Well the jig is up"
"Then I have no more tricks up my sleeve." He chuckled, tugging his sleeves for effect.
"Can I just eat pretend?" she asked, her finger circling the rim of her glass.
Leaning forward with his elbows on the table, he said "You're cute."
"I try." Lacey countered and took another sip of her champagne.
"It's nice to see you smile. You have a beautiful smile"
An even bigger smile spread across her face as she beamed, "Thanks."
..
Danny passed wooden apple crates loaded with fresh produce as he entered the industrial warehouse of a restaurant in the Meatpacking District. He glanced at a menu scribbled in chalk that hung over the bar listing the day's specials and combed through the restaurant, past the trendy patrons texting absently on their phones to hone in on Andie seated at a white washed wooden table. She raised her hand and beckoned him over.
"It was a three legged race to the bed." She laughed, giving Danny the pleasure of catching the tail end of her conversation. More tinkling laughter was followed by protests and finally she told the person on the other end that she had to go because Danny had arrived. He quirked an eyebrow, surprised that his name was uttered in casual conversations with her friends. She looked cute and willowy in a green dress sprinkled with red colored roses and the green of her dress complemented the pastel green of the chair she was sitting in.
"Hey you. "she smiled and leaned over the table to kiss him. Danny mumbled a greeting and took his seat across from hers.
"You're late. You better make up for it later." She said cheerfully, her hand seeking out her glass of white wine.
"I had a meeting with my editor."
"How's the writing going?" she asked, motioning for the waiter.
"You know great, good."
Running a manicured finger along the white peter pan collar of her dress, she asked "You hungry?"
"Not particularly."
"Well you can't just make me eat by myself."
When a waiter reached their table with pad and pencil at the ready, Danny looked up at him and warily picked up the one page menu resembling a newspaper.
"Would you like me to order for you? It will be easier and faster."
He shrugged his indifference and put the menu aside. With a delightful smile playing across her lips, Andie ordered a large Peking duck salad with tangerine orange dressing and two glasses of white wine. When the waiter left she leaned forward and put her hand on Danny's thigh but had to halt whatever idea she was imagining because a girl in her late teens stood at their table wearing a big grin directed at Danny.
"Hi" she stuck out her hand and Danny had no other choice but to shake it.
"Hello" he returned her smile, his gaze darting to Andie and then back to the girl in the oversized t-shirt and horn rimmed glasses.
"You're Danny Desai. I love your work and I have read We are Reborn over and over again. "
"Thank you." He said politely.
"Would you mind signing my napkin?" she pushed it toward him across the table and waited.
"Of course." He patted his pockets looking for a pen and before he could ask Andie for one, his fan had produced a pen for him. Scribbling down an illegible scrawl, he handed the napkin back to the girl and nodded.
"Thanks enjoy the rest of your meal." She smiled and hurried back to her table where her friends waited.
"Does that happen often?" Andie asked as soon as the girl left.
He shrugged his shoulders in response and sat up as the waiter approached with their drinks. Andie waited until the waiter left their table before leaning in, smiling at Danny.
"Listen, thank you for taking me to the boat party on Sunday. I had fun."
"So did I."
She smiled at him over the rim of her fresh glass, her eyes glowing, calculating before she said, "Uhm…the woman you introduced me to at the party….uhm…you two seemed to be in a deep riveting conversation for a while there."
"It wasn't that riveting, trust me." Danny picked up his glass and admired the golden straw color of the wine before taking a sip.
"Okay. Is she a colleague?"
"She's my ex-wife."
"Are you two still close?" she asked, picking up her fork to stab a spear of asparagus.
"If by close you mean do we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together then yes, we're pretty close."
"Wow, that's admirable. I don't think I can ever remain friends with an ex."
Danny shrugged and tugged the leaf of a small flower pot decorating their table.
"Do you have any kids?" Andie asked.
"Yeah, we have a daughter."
"How old is she?"
"Three."
"And how long have you been divorced?"
"Two years."
Sensing that he was getting tiresome of the conversation, she smiled brightly and announced, "Hey, you wanna catch a show tonight? I have tickets to Aladdin."
"I cant. I'm having drinks with my agent."
"Cool."
He picked up the nearly empty glass of wine in front of him, considered his next sentence and then drained it.
"Tell you what, why don't I stop by later and make up for today?"
..
"Is it a pee-pee?"
"You think? Did a smelling test tell you that?" Lacey stood at the door, holding a cup of coffee in one hand. It had been two days since her date with Harper and she was yet to hear from him beyond the obligatory I had a great time text. Perhaps the thought of dating a woman with an ex-husband and a kid scared him off and if that was the case then all she could say was good riddance.
"Nope. It's a pooh-pooh" she announced as soon as Danny made the reveal.
"Will you look at that thing? It's as big as my arm!"
"You wanna do the honors?" she gestured to a pack of diapers nearby.
"I walked straight into that one didn't I?" he flushed pink, looking from the diapers to Lacey.
"At least her poo doesn't smell like hangover. Another date with Angie?" she asked coolly, blowing into her coffee.
"It's Andie."
"Right." She smiled and looked at her feet. After a beat, she looked up again, her eyes brilliant under the lights. His eyes traced her shoulders before inching back toward her face.
"Lacey-"he began, his voice rough but she shook her head not wanting him to continue.
"When are we gonna start potty training her?" she asked, pulling the left strap of her dress back up her shoulder.
"Listen about the other day on the boat when I brought Andie…if you uncomfortable in any way-"
"I'm fine."
"Good, I mean I know that I've never actually brought anyone around you. I uh…you've never actually had to come face to face with the women I dated so-"
"Danny, I'm fine."
Aching to divert the conversation elsewhere, she went to the packet of clothes Danny had bought for Emma and rifled through the clothes while he pulled up a diaper between his daughter's legs and pinned it in place.
"Look at that, daddy bought you stripper heels." Lacey smiled, holding up a tiny pair of clear mary-jane shoes. Danny laughed, blowing a raspberry on Emma's stomach before straightening back up to admire his handy work of changing a diaper.
"It's too loose." She observed.
"No, it's not." He smiled, picking up Emma. With his daughter on his hip, he leaned over his backpack and pulled out a manuscript.
"Here." He handed it over to Lacey.
"What's this?" she asked taking it reluctantly.
"The first draft," actually it's only the first three chapters of the first draft. I'd like you to take a look at them for me."
"Oh you're still doing that writing thing?"
"Hmm well I mean I'm not a real writer, I just play one on TV."
With a sigh, she looked from the script in her hand to Danny "Danny, I'm not your sounding board."
"What?"
"You can't just drop this on my lap and expect me to find the time to critique it."
"But this is what we do we bounce ideas off each other."
"And I have a lot on my plate." She replied then considered it before hugging it against her chest, "Just this one time." She told him.
"Thank you, "he nodded and then glanced at his daughter who leaned her head against his shoulder, "Look at her; it's the quiet before the storm."
As soon as they reached the lounge downstairs, he threw a diaper bag onto his shoulder and leaned over to kiss Lacey's forehead with a loud smack.
"You wanna get in on this?" she pointed to a pizza lying on the coffee table. She took out a slice from the box and took a bite. Her tongue flicked out to lick the sauce on the corner of her lip and the electricity in this small act made him shiver so much so that he knew that he had to high-tail it out of there.
"I gotta run." He said huskily.
"You sure?" she asked, sucking on her finger.
Fighting the moan rumbling in the back of his throat, he smiled and opened the door.
"Later" she called behind him, completely unaware of the effect she had on him.
..
The cab jerked to a halt in front of a brownstone in Brooklyn. Dressed in a Pollock print silk dress underneath a summer coat, Lacey ambled up the small steps leading to the front door and buzzed the apartment for Samantha and Cole, old friends from her coupledom days with Danny.
As soon as she was buzzed up, she took the elevator and tightened her hold around the wrapped box she intended to give Samantha as a birthday present. When she stepped out of the empty elevator, she found the apartment easily enough as the muffled sound of voices and music flowed out into the hallway. She opened the door and was met with crowds trickling from the lounge to the foyer. Music poured out into the foyer as she took off her coat and looked frantically for the coat room. She waded through knots of people toting around glasses of wine and proceeded to peer over their heads trying to find Samantha. She navigated her way around people nodding and smiling politely and exchanging a word or two with those she was familiar with.
She found a baseball-capped Danny in the crowd and gave him a big affectionate smile. It was like being lost at sea and finally discovering a piece of land. Samantha found her in the kitchen, coat thrown over her arm, the gift tucked under another arm and a glass of wine in her hand.
"Have you read Cole's latest book?" she asked as she escorted Lacey to a bedroom they were using as a coatroom for the evening" It's very violent and sexual."
"That sounds riveting." Lacey said graciously. Cole and Samantha had met at a silent-reading party five years ago and married shortly after. They were quirky and fun at their best but neurotic and annoying at their worst. Lacey never spent that much time with them after the divorce and figured that Danny could lay claim to them as friends since he knew Cole from college.
"Cole is looking for new representation if you're interested."
"Me?"
"Yes you. We think you're a great agent Lacey."
When they returned from the bedroom where Samantha accepted her gift they wandered back into the party and met up with Regina who was conversing with Danny.
"What are you doing here?" Lacey asked her friend, surprised to see her there.
Gesturing behind her with her glass, Regina simply said "I'm his date."
Lacey followed her gaze to the kitchen where a tall brunette man stood admiring several women as they gathered around the space, eating off small plates and refilling their glasses. Lacey shook his head and whirled around to Samantha's husband as he approached them with Danny in tow. Cole greeted them with a nervous energy, loosening his tie and gripping his glass tightly.
After her second glass of wine, Lacey began to relax and enjoy the light conversation with her friends. Someone dimmed the lights and Cole brought out an elegant purple cake topped with lit candles that he set on top of a ling dining table. Samantha laughed and kissed her husband then bent over the cake, holding her hair back as she blew out the candles.
"Are they dressed alike?" Danny whispered, bumping his shoulder against Lacey's shoulder.
"Thank God we were never that couple." She scoffed and took another sip from her glass.
"Yeah. Do you miss it?" he asked.
Shooting him a questioning look, she asked "Miss what?"
"What we were as a couple?"
"You mean before the wedding because after we said those vows maaaaaan-"she shook her head and looked away.
"Okay, I get it." He stopped her and broke into a smile, "Remember that tiny bathroom stall on our flight from Atlanta?"
"You mean when your dick got caught in your zipper?"
"Entirely your fault by the way."
"I was trying to tease you by lowering the zipper tooth by tooth. You omitted to tell me you were going commando."
"That was my fuck underwear era." He chuckled, taking a large sip of wine.
Lacey stared at the contents of her glass before asking, "You ever do it?"
"Do what?"
"Join the mile high club?"
"What?"
"Well I mean there've been so many Serenas, Rachels and Andies. I figured that you must have finally-"
"Are you calling me a slut?"
"Heavens no, I wouldn't want to slut shame you." She laughed and reached for a bottle of wine just as Danny did the same. Their fingers met around the neck of the bottle, threading around each other. Her body stiffened, her heart pounding wildly but she dared not look up at him. Her eyes followed his hand as it moved overs hers, his thumb poised over her skin. The peal of his cell phone startled them and Lacey snatched away her hand, stepping back from him.
Danny cleared his throat and motioned with his finger, "I'll be right back."
"Hi." He spoke into the phone, marching out into the balcony and away from the thumping music and voices.
"Hey, you."
"Hi." He repeated himself.
"You feel like sleeping with my ass pushed up against you tonight?"
"As tempting as that sounds I'm uhm...uh…at a friend's book thing." He stammered, his eyes tracking Lacey as she moved away from the table laden with snacks. Her gaze slid toward him and shied away quickly when it met his.
"You wanna stop by later?" Andie asked pulling him back into the conversation.
"Not tonight." He shook his head, his gaze continuing on Lacey.
"Too bad cause I've been a very naughty girl."
"Sorry, I can't."
"I was gonna let you touch my naughtier places."
"Good night, Andie."
She sighed with irritated acceptance and hung up the phone. Danny tucked his phone into his pocket and walked back into the apartment, pressing past people in the process. Lacey could see Danny over Regina's shoulder as he strolled back into the party.
"How was your date with Harper?" he friend asked.
"Actually, we hit it off better than I expected."
"Well I'm sure the fact that he's hot as fuck helped."
"I heard Danny brought a date to the boat party."
Twirling the stem of her glass, Lacey responded "Yup."
"Is she cute?"
"She's uhm-well-uhm…You know what I hate? I hate the fact that she has a name because a name gives her an identity. She's no longer some woman that Danny is dating, she's Andie."
Regina raised her glass to her lips then stopped mid-air "Wow."
"What?"
"You really hate her don't you?"
"I don't hate her. I don't even know her."
"If she's gonna be dating Danny then you better start knowing her cause she's gonna be in Emma's life."
"Don't, I'm not ready to even think about that." Lacey shifted around, moving restlessly as her eyes sought Danny out in the crowd.