The Essence of Perfection Read online

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Well, he’s in L.A. this weekend for a party. We’re going.”

  Nicola had burst into laughter. “I am not going to L.A. for a weekend.”

  “Yes, you are. His tiger isn’t here, but I worked it out for you to get a behind the scenes tour at the L.A. zoo. You’re going to hang out with a prince and pet a tiger this weekend. I don’t give a damn what you say.”

  Despite all her arguments and reasons why, Nicola found herself on a plane to L.A. with her sister Friday morning. A hundred arguments for why she shouldn’t skip town ran through her head, but she ignored every one. Every once in a while, Quinn did something elaborate but sweet that reminded Nicola of why she and everyone she knew couldn’t help but love her sister’s vibrant personality. For Quinn to go through this much effort to help Nicola check items off her list meant her sister cared.

  She hadn’t told the producers at Your Morning Wake-Up Call because she was pretty sure whatever celebrity party her sister had finagled their way into did not want outside cameras. She’d take her own pictures and videos to send to them later.

  She’d even purchased a new dress for the trip. One that Quinn had begrudgingly approved after Nicola unpacked it the night before. She’d figured her sister would approve when she’d gone against what she typically would have worn. The sleeveless orange dress fit her body like a glove and had a skirt that was sheer from her knees to her ankles with a split down one side. She wouldn’t admit that part of her was uncomfortable stepping out in the bright dress, but another part of her, a small happy part of her, also felt sexy. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

  “You might get more numbers than me tonight,” Quinn said as she passed off her keys to the valet attendant in front of the night club where the party was being held.

  There was a line of cars behind theirs. Paparazzi snapped pictures of the various celebrities going in and out. Some even stopped to answer questions. From what Quinn had told her, the night club was a frequent spot for celebrities, but tonight the crowd was expected to be bigger. Who wouldn’t want to party with a prince?

  “Why would you get numbers,” Nicola asked. “You’re married.”

  Quinn rolled her eyes. “Omar knows I do this. Besides, I’m not getting numbers to use them. I’m just wondering if I still have what it takes. I’ve been on the shelf too long.”

  “On the shelf. What does that even mean?”

  Nothing about Quinn seemed remotely shelf-like. Tonight, her skin glowed and her curves in the black and gold sleeveless party dress she wore drew the eye of nearly every man and woman they passed. Her hair was jet black, sleek, and shiny in a ponytail that brushed her mid-back, and her makeup impeccable. On the shelf was not a phrase that described Quinn.

  “I don’t know. I feel stuck. I married Omar so quickly when I was young, because . . .” Quinn’s mouth snapped shut. She sighed and waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. All I’m saying is yeah, I’m a rich man’s beautiful wife, but that doesn’t mean I still have what it takes to draw a man’s attention. There’s no guarantee I’ll be with Omar for the rest of my life.”

  Nicola stopped walking and she grabbed Quinn’s arm. “Wait! What do you mean? Are you thinking of leaving him?”

  Quinn pulled out of her hold and lifted one shoulder. “I told him that, but we’ll see. I just said it to see if he’d even care.”

  Quinn turned toward the bouncer at the door controlling the people going in and out. Nicola stopped her again.

  “Hold up! You can’t just throw that out there and keep it moving. What did he say? Are you serious?” Nicola wasn’t close to Omar, nor liked how he used Quinn as a prop, but she’d had no idea her sister was considering leaving.

  “It’s no big deal. He said girl, you know you ain’t leaving me,” she lowered her voice in an imitation of Omar. “Then I was like, you right, and that was it.”

  Her tone was light and flippant, but Nicola heard the frustration beneath. Making it hard to tell if her sister really wanted to leave Omar or if what she said was true and she’d only wanted to get a rise out of him.

  “So, you aren’t serious?”

  Quinn avoided eye contact and pulled her ponytail over her shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I’m staying. Now come on before everyone gets up in here. I think we have VIP, but I want to make sure.”

  Quinn grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door before she could ask anything else. Quinn had completely bypassed the line. Nicola was sure that if Quinn had dragged her all the way out there to L.A., their name was on the list.

  Nicola’s head spun as Quinn confirmed they could enter. Quinn was a flirt and complained about her husband no worse than any other person Nicola knew in a relationship, but she hadn’t gotten the feeling that Quinn was unhappy. She’d always seemed to relish her life as Omar’s trophy wife.

  She wanted to ask more questions and get to the bottom of what Quinn meant. But that wasn’t how their relationship worked. She loved her sister. She’d always have Quinn’s back and knew her sister would do the same, but they stayed out of the major details of each other’s personal lives. They didn’t talk on the phone every day, tell their deepest secrets, or ask for advice about what to do next. Typically, any advice given was unsolicited. If Quinn decided to really leave Omar she’d tell Nicola, but if she was considering the option she would keep her thoughts to herself.

  Their names were on the list and Quinn was on the VIP reservation. When Nicola heard the name of whose party they were a part of, she had to stop her sister again.

  “Nathaniel Jones? How on earth did you get to be a part of Nathaniel’s VIP section at an L.A. party?” Nicola asked.

  Nathaniel was an R&B singer who was fairly new to the world of superstardom, but he’d been producing independent records for years. After a performance on the Grammy’s followed with a Superbowl appearance, the man was everywhere.

  Quinn shrugged as if it were no big deal to be joining the party. “I’ve been following him on Instagram for years. The other night he slid into my DMs and asked me to come out. I said yes when I found out who would be here.”

  “Why was Nathaniel Jones sliding into your DMs?”

  “That new swimsuit picture I posted. The one I told you to like. He commented and shared, then it was shared even more, and before you know it, gossip accounts were buzzing. My number of followers jumped through the roof. The least I could do was come out. Now come on.”

  Nicola followed and before long they were cozy on a couch with glasses of champagne while Nathaniel Jones flirted with her sister. Nicola wasn’t star struck. She’d made perfumes and scents for rich people long enough to know that acting star struck wasn’t a good look unless you were dealing with the super conceited. While she still couldn’t believe her sister had gone from posting a picture to hanging out with R&B’s latest it star, she wasn’t surprised. That type of stuff just happened to Quinn.

  After an hour of sipping champagne and pretending to have fun while she watched Quinn flirt with Nathaniel, Nicola acknowledged she was bored. She stood and Quinn finally stopped giggling with Nathaniel to look at her.

  “Everything okay?” Quinn asked.

  “I’m good. Just going to walk around a little.”

  Her sister grinned and waved her on. “Okay, have fun, and flirt a little bit.”

  Nicola gave her sister a tight smile instead of rolling her eyes and walked out of VIP.

  Quinn hadn’t said anything more about the Prince of Marobi being here tonight, and after seeing her sister and Nathaniel she wondered if that had just been an excuse to get Nicola to come. Before labeling her sister a liar, she decided to investigate and see if there were any royal people in the other VIP sections.

  She hadn’t seen him since his people asked her to make the perfume for his younger sister. If he were there, she wouldn’t be able to just walk up to him, but she might be able to get to one of his people and find out if the princess still liked the perf
ume. Two trips around the club resulted in no prince and Nicola’s feet hurting from her heels.

  She spotted Quinn and Nathaniel on the dance floor. As much as she wanted to be mad at Quinn for dragging her to L.A., Quinn’s bright smile as she danced made Nicola smile in return. Quinn was beautiful, and her enthusiasm for everything she did drew people to her. A circle formed around Quinn and Nathanial to watch the two dance.

  Part of Nathaniel’s popularity was how well he choreographed his shows, but Quinn was able to keep up with the singer’s moves as they did an impromptu dance-off to the beat of the music. Quinn glowed beneath the lights in the club. Her ponytail flipped from side to side with her uninhibited movements and her dress slid up with each sensual twist of her hips.

  The song ended and the crowd cheered. Nathaniel wrapped an arm around Quinn’s waist and pulled her against his body. They hugged and laughed then turned to bow to the onlookers. Nathaniel leaned in and said something in Quinn’s ear. Her sister’s smile broadened, she glanced at Nathaniel and nodded.

  A sinking feeling went through Nicola’s stomach. Whatever he said could be completely innocent, but she’d seen that look in her sister’s eye. It was the same look she’d had when she’d first seen Omar, and told Nicola, “See that man over there? I’m going to sleep with him.”

  Her sister may have been thinking about divorcing Omar, but they weren’t divorced yet. Nicola was not about to be the one to look the other way if Quinn wanted to hook up with someone else. She didn’t want to know if Quinn stepped out on Omar. She wasn’t good at lying, but plausible deniability she could pull off.

  She hurried over to Quinn before she could disappear in the crowd with Nathaniel. “Hey, I’m not feeling so good. Do you mind if we head out early?”

  Quinn’s brows immediately drew together, and concern filled her face. “Yeah, sure.”

  That’s what she loved about Quinn, no matter how different they were, her sister wouldn’t leave her hanging or allow her to leave the club without her. “Sorry to pull you away like this.”

  “It’s okay, I’m getting tired, too.” She glanced over her shoulder to Nathaniel. “Hit me up later?”

  He rubbed his chin and grinned at Quinn. “Most definitely.”

  Her sister winked then led Nicola out of the club. Once they got the car from the valet and were on their way back to the hotel, Nicola spoke up. “You sure you’re okay with leaving the party early?”

  “Yeah, I had fun. Didn’t you have fun?” Quinn grinned and bobbed her head to the music playing through the radio.

  Watching Quinn dance had been fun. Sitting in VIP listening to Nathaniel’s entourage talk about nothing, not so much. “I never did see Prince Mandell. Are you sure he was supposed to come?”

  Quinn pulled her shoulders up and gave Nicola a sheepish smile. “Oh . . . yeah . . . about that. He wasn’t coming.”

  Figured as much. “Then why did you tell me he’d be there?”

  “Because I knew that would be the only way to make you come. The tiger thing tomorrow is true though.”

  “Why did you need me to come. You don’t typically drag me to parties.”

  Quinn sighed and rolled her head in a circle. “Omar was tripping when he found out I was coming out here. He’s all up in my business after Nathaniel’s comments on my photo blew up.”

  “Are you telling me I’m your decoy?”

  “No, he just knew I wouldn’t do anything stupid if you were here.”

  “Were you planning to do anything stupid?” Why had she asked that? She didn’t really want to know.

  “I had no plans to do anything stupid. Nathaniel’s cool. That’s all. I just wanted to chill with an R&B star and let him buy me champagne. That’s all.”

  That she could see. Not many people would turn down the opportunity to party with a celebrity. Especially, if that celebrity sought them out via social media. Still, she would have liked to know the real reason for the sudden trip. “Okay, but you should have just told me. Not make up stories to get me out here.”

  “My bad. I know. I promise nothing but the truth from now on. But, for real, you get to pet a tiger tomorrow. How awesome is that.”

  Some of her sister’s enthusiasm infected Nicola and she grinned. This is why she could never stay mad at Quinn. Every day was a rollercoaster of emotions with her. “I guess it is pretty awesome.”

  “Hell yes. I’m the best sister out there.”

  “You’re a’ight.”

  They laughed and talked about the party on the way back to their hotel suite. Once there, Nicola was exhausted from the three-hour time difference and the club. When she said she was going to bed early, Quinn didn’t put up a fuss. They both took off their makeup, put on pajamas, and got in bed.

  Nature called at three a.m., pulling Nicola from sleep. On the way to the bathroom, she glanced into Quinn’s bedroom, but her sister’s bed was empty. Frowning, she tiptoed into the room. “Quinn?” she called.

  No answer. A note rested on the pillow.

  If you see this know I couldn’t sleep and went downstairs to read. Didn’t want to wake you. Call if you worry.

  Nicola read the note three times, then placed the note back on the pillow. She shook her head and went to the bathroom. A part of her wanted to head downstairs to see if Quinn was really reading in the lobby. Another part of her chanted plausible deniability.

  Two hours later, Quinn quietly entered the suite. Nicola pretended to be asleep. Didn’t call out to ask if Quinn was tired now. Didn’t think too hard about not seeing a book in Quinn’s hands as she tiptoed past Nicola’s open door.

  Chapter 16

  They arrived at the zoo just before noon. Like the night before, their names were on a special list and she and Quinn were immediately met by one of the directors and the veterinarian in charge of the large cats, Barbara. She was a tall woman, thick with muscle and dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. The director thanked Quinn and Nicola for their patronage and interest in the zoo. Based off her words, Nicola assumed Quinn paid a large amount of money for this experience.

  “How much did this cost?” Nicola whispered to Quinn as they rode the golf cart with Barbara through the zoo.

  “Don’t worry. It’s for you.”

  “How much?”

  Quinn pushed her shades up the bridge of her nose and sniffed. “Stop counting my coins and enjoy yourself. You’re knocking something huge off your list. I’m only trying to help.”

  After that Nicola kept her mouth shut. They were escorted into what looked like large veterinarian’s office where the big cats were examined and cared for. Barbara gave them a behind-the-scenes tour of the food prep area, the machines they use to treat the animals, and where they handled emergency situations in case the animals needed help quickly.

  Nicola’s excitement grew during the tour. The female tiger at the zoo had recently given birth to cubs. Nicola and Quinn watched with grins on their faces as Barbara and her team examined the cubs and the mother. The entire experience was so amazingly unbelievable. Nicola knew she’d never forget the feeling or the smell of the clean musk of the animals as the vets worked with them. Never in her life would she have imagined she’d one day be behind the scenes at a zoo, or that she’d feel such tenderness in her heart watching the mother tiger with her cubs.

  She didn’t pet a full-grown tiger, thankfully, but she was able to hold and bottle feed one of the cubs. The warm weight of the animal that was so young but still bigger than any cat she’d ever held was a humbling experience. She laughed, and her eyes prickled with tears as she cared for the small creature. She didn’t care how much Quinn paid for the tour, she was just grateful that her sister had given her the opportunity to have such a fantastic experience.

  “Hey, thank you for that. It was really cool,” Nicola said hours later as they rode to the airport to catch their flight back to Atlanta.

  Quinn had hired a car to drive them back and they were both settled in the butter-sof
t leather seats in the back of the car. They’d ridden in silence for most of the ride. Quinn enamored by her phone as she posted pictures and video of their time at the zoo; Nicola lost in her thoughts about the amazing experience they’d just had.

  Quinn glanced up from her phone. “It was cool, wasn’t it?”

  “I know I gave you a hard time about the money, and I still want to know how much so I can at least pay you back something, but it was by far the most awesome thing I’ve done.”

  A perfect way to bounce back from the disaster that was her date with Bobby. Once again, excitement about doing items on her list bubbled up. Staying away from any personal things on her list was the best thing to do moving forward. Focus on fun, not on matters of the heart.

  “Well, you have plenty of time to do more,” Quinn said. She held up her phone showing Nicola a picture she’d taken of her feeding the tiger cub. “I got some really good pictures and video you can send to the show.”

  “I’m glad you stayed on top of that. I didn’t even think about capturing anything for television. I was so excited to actually hold a tiger cub that I forgot the reason why I was there in the first place.”

  Quinn slipped her phone back in her purse and pulled out a bottle of water. “How are you feeling about everything? The list getting out and everyone seeing that part of you?”

  Nicola sighed and let the joy of the day fade just a little with the reminder of why she’d ultimately gotten in that room in the first place. “I’m still not cool that the list was sent to them. The date with Bobby was horrible, and even though they promised not to show it on TV, I’m sure I’ll be asked about it. But, overall, doing the things hasn’t been too bad. I’m spending more time with Grandpa, and the pottery class is cool.”

  Her grandad had called her on Wednesday insisting they have weekly conference calls about the magic show. Nicola had agreed, even though the calls would mostly be her grandfather telling her what she needed to learn and asking for updates on the rest of the family attending the show.