The Essence of Perfection Page 13

  “You did call Aunt Kim and Uncle Carl to make sure they were coming to the show?” Nicola asked.

  Quinn rolled her eyes but nodded. “I did. Mom called and delivered her own form of guilt trip. Don’t worry. The family will be there. If anything, to see Grandpa Jeremiah do something as out of character as magic.”

  Nicola laughed. “Believe me, he’s very excited about it. You won’t be disappointed.”

  Quinn shrugged and looked doubtful, but kept any other verbal concerns to herself. “Have you asked Damien out yet?”

  The words were tossed out casually. As if Nicola asking out Damien was a forgone conclusion. There was no way Nicola was going to put herself out there like that. Damien had been very clear that he was not interested. In her or relationships.

  “Not happening. Damien’s cool. I like him and he comes into the classes every once in a while, but other than that, nothing romantic is happening.”

  “Oh really, because Shonda mentioned something about a farmers market stroll you had with him.”

  “That was an accident,” Nicola said in a rush. “We bumped into each other. We also bumped into one of his old friends who mentioned his ex-wife, which practically made Damien’s eye twitch with irritation. She did a number on him and now he’s all anti relationships. Not going there.”

  Quinn cringed. “A man with baggage is not fun, but at least his issues are out there up front. Now the decision whether to avoid him completely or go in with your eyes open. You never want to get involved not knowing what you’re getting into and being stuck.”

  Her sister told no lies. If Damien were interested, Nicola wasn’t sure what choice she’d make. The smart choice would be to avoid completely. She had enough work dealing with her own baggage much less bringing a guy into her life with his own.

  The problem with that thought was who didn’t have baggage? Everyone had something in their past. Some more traumatic than others, some more hurtful that others, some maybe not big in her eyes but the size of a mountain to them. How they dealt with that baggage was the real thing to consider. Did you walk into things with someone who could handle it, or wind up stuck with someone who couldn’t, or worse, wouldn’t.

  The divorce conversation she’d had with Quinn the night before popped back into Nicola’s mind like a meddlesome neighbor who couldn’t stay on their side of the fence. Had Quinn known what she was getting into when she’d married Omar? Was she no longer willing to deal with whatever challenges they both faced? It wasn’t her place to ask. Nicola should mind her own business, but, like that neighbor, she couldn’t help herself.

  “What book were you reading last night? I need some suggestions to download while we’re on the plane.” She pulled out her phone and opened her book reading app.

  “You don’t like to read what I read.”

  “But whatever you’re reading must be good. It kept you in the lobby for a few hours.” She didn’t mean to, but her tone rose at the end of her sentence making her words more of a question than a statement.

  Quinn quirked a brow and smirked at Nicola. “Is that what this is about? If you want to know if I was really downstairs reading all you have to do is ask. You don’t have to pretend as if you’re looking for a book. We both know you’re going to fall asleep on the ride back.” Quinn pulled her cell out again.

  “Okay, fine, what were you doing down there?” Nicola asked.

  Quinn didn’t look up from her screen. “Reading.”

  Considering she hadn’t seen Quinn with a book, reading device, or heard her sister talk about a book in nearly a decade made Nicola suspicious. “You promise.”

  With a huff, Quinn lowered her phone and glared at Nicola. “Why do I need to promise? Shouldn’t you trust me?”

  Nicola licked her lips and shifted in the seat. Plowing past her discomfort she continued. “I do trust you. I just don’t want you to get into anything that’s going to hurt you.”

  “What could I possibly get into?”

  Nicola thought of her sister dancing the night before. “Nathaniel?”

  “Seriously, Nicola?” Quinn laughed. “You think I snuck out and spent the night with Nathaniel?”

  Heat spread in Nicola’s cheeks. Her stomach twisted with guilt for throwing out the suggestion, but now that she’d put it out there she wasn’t going to back down. If Quinn was unhappy Nicola wanted to know. She wanted to help. She owed her sister that much.

  “I don’t know. Did he pick you up or something?”

  “Don’t you think if I’d gone back out with Nathaniel someone would have seen and it would be all over the gossip sites?” Quinn said as if she were talking to a fool.

  “Not if he’s discreet.”

  “So, now I’m Nathaniel’s hidden away mistress? Come on, Nicola, I know you and the rest of the family think I’m a screw up, but I wouldn’t do that.”

  The truth was, Nicola had no way of knowing her sister wouldn’t do that. “You said you were thinking of leaving Omar.”

  “It was a thought. Married people have these thoughts all the time. We got into a fight before I came, and it made me mad. That’s all. I wouldn’t mess up my marriage by cheating. Do you know I get nothing if I’m caught stepping out on Omar? Nothing.” She put the tips of her fingers together forming a zero with her hands. “I’m not ruining my life for a few minutes in bed with another man. Not even Nathaniel.”

  Even if she didn’t believe Quinn was above stepping out on Omar, she did believe Quinn wasn’t willing to sacrifice the life she had. Quinn had money working for Queen Couture, but Omar was a self-made multi-millionaire who didn’t mind spending his money spoiling Quinn and showering her with gifts. Her sister loved the comforts that came with being married to Omar. Guilt swallowed the rest of the curiosity in Nicola. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “No, I’m glad you said something. At least I know what you’re thinking of me,” Quinn tossed out. “What everyone thinks of me. I get it from Omar, I should have expected to get the same from my family.”

  She placed her hand on Quinn’s arm. “Hey, I mean it, I’m sorry. It was wrong and stupid of me. Honestly, I was jealous.”

  Quinn cut a glare at her from the corner of her eye. “No way?”

  “Yes. You’re so out there. You aren’t afraid of anything, and you’ve got superstars sliding into your DMs with requests to see you. I’ve got their people sliding in my DMs asking if I can make a special soap for their friends attending their latest baby shower. One thing this entire business with the list has taught me is that your life is so much more exciting than mine. My hesitancy to do anything even remotely fun was splashed on the news for everyone to see. I’m the boring one with a great imagination, so I imagine my sister is spending the night in the arms of a handsome, successful, famous singer while I’m lying in a cold bed alone.”

  The words rushed out on Nicola. All of them true and the closest she’d ever come to spilling her heart to Quinn. The closest she’d allowed her sister to get to knowing how much Nicola had always wished she’d had a little of Quinn’s spark. The reason she’d snatched some of Quinn’s shine so long ago and both loved and hated how that shine had gotten her where she was today.

  Quinn chuckled and then took Nicola’s hand in hers. “Okay, you’re forgiven.”

  Nicola shook her head and silently laughed. Relieved Quinn had responded lightly instead of taking this conversation someplace deeper. Her deepest regrets were already on display for world examination, she wasn’t ready to reveal even more. Not even to her sister. “Thank you.”

  “And your life isn’t boring. You have a wonderful job, you are a wonderful person, and everyone loves you. That’s all that matters.”

  Nicola squeezed Quinn’s hand back. She felt terrible for accusing Quinn of sneaking out. For projecting her own jealousy onto her sister. Whatever Quinn did or didn’t do in her marriage was her business. From now on she’d be a good neighbor and keep her insecurities to herself.


  Chapter 17

  Nicola spent the week trying to play catch up on her projects. She’d sent the video of her feeding the tiger cub along with a few pictures of herself to Your Morning Wake-Up Call. She’d received an excited reply then was gently reminded to let them know about the things she planned to check off her list. That way they could be there with a camera.

  Stacie urged her to pick something else. Instead of telling Stacie she was only doing fun, nonpersonal items, she convinced Stacie to focus on the trip to Cancun with Quinn and Shonda and the magic show with her grandfather. Though she figured Quinn and Shonda expected it, Nicola made a mental note to tell them the trip was now scheduled to be recorded. She was sure they’d love that.

  By the time her grandpa called on Wednesday for their weekly magic show call Nicola wondered just how silly she was going to look on stage.

  “I need you to be my date on Saturday night,” Grandpa Jeremiah said immediately after her greeting.

  Date? Her grandpa hadn’t shown any interest in going out and socializing since their grandmother died.

  “Date where?” she asked.

  “Don’t worry about all that. Just be at my place by six thirty on Saturday.”

  “Hold up. I need more than that. How do I know what to wear if you don’t tell me where we’re going?”

  “Just wear something you’d wear to church,” was his exasperated reply. “Okay. See you then.” He hung up before she could ask further questions.

  Her mom had given her no better idea of what was going on with her grandfather when she asked, so Nicola put on her Sunday best and drove to Aiken on Saturday afternoon instead of working on her projects.

  She’d also avoided her mom’s telephone calls along the way. It hadn’t gotten past Adele that Nicola had sent more fragrance samples to Desiree. She’d asked if everything was okay, and Nicola swore they were, but her mom wasn’t a fool. If the fragrance was in the bag more samples wouldn’t be needed.

  Nicola hadn’t heard back from Desiree about the latest tweaks. Nicola chose to take no news as good news, and put it out of her mind. Yes, she probably should be in the lab today working on other projects, but her grandfather needed her. For what, she didn’t know, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d called for her help. Plus, she’d stayed until midnight last night going over notes and aromas for another project with Tia. One afternoon shouldn’t kill her career.

  When she arrived at her grandfather’s place his front door was open. He waved at her from behind the screen before hurrying out and locking the door before she could get out of the car good.

  “What’s the rush?”

  “You’re late,” Jeremiah replied. He moved down the driveway to her car.

  Nicola checked her watch. It was five forty-five. Her grandpa had said he wanted her here by six thirty.

  “You said to be here at six-thirty.”

  “No, no, no, the thing starts at six thirty. I want to get there early so we can get a good seat.”

  She was pretty sure he’d said six thirty, but he already seemed nervous, so she didn’t bother to argue. Nicola sighed and sat back in the driver’s seat. He opened the passenger door and slid in. The smell of his cologne, one she’d created, filled the car. He wore a pinstripe blue suit with a navy tie, the hair on the sides of his head were slicked back, and he wore the gold watch Nicola had given him for Christmas two years ago.

  Her grandfather handed her a piece of paper. “Put that address in your phone or whatever. It’ll tell you how to get there.”

  “Care to tell me what we’re going to?” Nicola punched the address into her car’s GPS. The calculations estimated it would take fifteen minutes for them to arrive.

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  “Grandpa, really? You can’t give me a hint?”

  “Just drive. How was your trip out to L.A.? Your mom told me you and Quinn went out there. You kept your sister out of trouble?”

  “I don’t have to keep Quinn out of trouble. She knows how to take care of herself.”

  Her grandfather snorted. “I saw the pictures of her dancing with that singer guy. She better watch out before Omar starts to get suspicious.”

  She cut her grandfather a look as she maneuvered out of his neighborhood. “There is absolutely nothing to get suspicious of. She helped me out. I’m trying to have more fun and she arranged a trip for me. I got to feed a tiger cub. She worked that out for me.”

  “No kidding?”

  Since he sounded impressed, Nicola told him about the trip to the zoo, and the fun she and Quinn had on the behind the scenes tour. She still felt guilty for assuming her sister had stepped out on Omar. If she could keep the rest of the family from going in on Quinn for something she hadn’t done, then she would.

  As much as she sometimes envied how quickly people liked Quinn, Nicola was glad she didn’t get that kind of attention. Being the quiet sister worked to her advantage and allowed her to focus on her work. That was much more important than having people scouring through every detail of her personal life.

  The GPS led them to a hotel downtown. Nicola parked in one of the guest spaces then raised a brow at her grandfather. “What’s going on?”

  “Just come on.”

  He hopped out of the car and walked to the front of the hotel without waiting on her. Nicola turned off the ignition and got out. She hurried to catch up with her grandfather, but he kept shushing her as they entered. Once inside, he greeted the people behind the desk.

  “Yes, I’m here for the speed dating event.”

  “Speed dating!” she said, grabbing the arm of her grandfather’s coat.

  He shook her off. “You heard me.” He smiled at the woman behind the desk. “It’s here right?”

  “Yes, sir, you’re in the right place,” the desk clerk said with a bright smile. “Through the lobby and to your left. It’s in the meeting room down there. They have signs set up.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nicola bit her tongue as she followed her grandpa away from the desk and through the lobby. Sure enough, there were signs leading the way to the Lucky in Love dating event. Nicola grabbed his arm before he got to the registration table.

  “Grandpa, stop and explain right now.”

  Her tugged away then smoothed a hand over the front of his suit jacket. “Fine. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d say no.”

  Hell yes, she would have said no. She wanted to still say no and drag him out of there. “Why are you doing speed dating?”

  “I’m trying something new. Your grandmother made me promise to be happy after she died.”

  Nicola pointed at the line of people at the registration desk. “Speed dating makes you happy?”

  She wanted her grandad to be happy, too, but not like this. How was he going to find someone even a bit as sweet and funny as her grandmother at a speed dating event? And who did speed dating anymore anyway?

  As if thinking of him on a dating site would be better.

  “Doubtful,” he answered shrugging. “But talking and spending time with a woman will make me happy.”

  “What about the senior center? Can’t you meet a nice woman there?”

  He scowled and shook his head. “I don’t feel like trying to meet anyone down at the senior center. Every woman down there knew your grandmother. She said be happy, not fool around with one of her friends. Besides, I thought this would be good for both of us. You need to get out there after that fiasco with that Bobby fellow.”

  Dear Lord, how did her grandfather know? “How do you know about that?”

  “Quinn calls me every Sunday. She told me.” He said the words as if she should have expected the news to come from Quinn. Quinn was the last person she expected to tell her grandfather anything about her personal life.

  “Quinn calls you every Sunday? I didn’t know that.” She didn’t think Quinn would even remember to call every Sunday. She often forgot to call Nicola on things. “Did she start a
fter grandma died?”

  “No. She’s done that for years. I’m surprised you didn’t know. Either way. You’re taking risks. I’m trying to meet a new lady. Come on. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  He turned and strolled over to the registration table with a huge grin on his face. Nicola stood next to him and accepted her badge and information packet while she let her grandfather’s words sink in. If she hadn’t already felt like she wouldn’t be winning any prizes as the world’s best granddaughter, she’d figured she would at least score higher than Quinn.

  Quinn had called Grandma and Grandpa every week. Gave them updates on what was happening. Since when had Quinn become so considerate? Since when had Quinn been more considerate than her?

  Guilt immediately followed the thought. Quinn wasn’t as close to Nicola as everyone assumed they would be as sisters, but she did love their grandparents. Quinn’s dedication only added to Nicola’s regrets for not being there for her grandmother more at the end. For not being there for anyone the way she probably should have been.

  They were signed in and led inside where a group of people mingled. Nicola got a glass of wine and drank it slowly. Though the idea of downing it quickly seemed pretty good. She was driving back to Atlanta tonight so no matter how much she didn’t want to do this, she couldn’t ease the swirl of her emotions with alcohol. She could take pictures for the show, then immediately canned that thought. One dating disaster was enough.

  Her grandpa’s excitement grew with each passing minute. The one bright spot of the event. He clapped when the hostess told the group about all the many happy matches that were made between people who came to their programs. Their success rate was mostly due to their choosing the right people to attend, and how they offered a more personal experience than dating apps could provide. Nicola barely kept herself from rolling her eyes, but she was trying to be supportive.

  She sat through the ridiculous speed dating. Forced herself through the various small talk and quick dating questions. The men ranged in age from younger than her to her grandfather. Mostly men from Aiken and the surrounding areas. She felt no spark with any of the guys, and even if she had a few interesting minutes of conversation with a couple of the men, she didn’t plan to follow up or ask for future dates. Nothing real could come of this. The entire event was just a ploy to get single desperate people into a room and make them believe they could find true love. True love wasn’t found on a speed dating circuit.