Something Borrowed, Something Blue

by Lena Matthews

  Dedication

  To Maggie Casper and Liz Andrews because they always know exactly what to say at the precise time I need to hear it. For handholding, butt kicking, and unwavering friendship. I love you ladies.

  Chapter One

  “If you let me use your bathroom I will be your slave for life,” promised the dark-haired man hopping up and down in the hallway.

  Azure Kerr didn’t know whether to be amused or alarmed. It wasn’t every day a strange white man danced in front of her door, but this was Los Angeles, so she wasn’t too surprised.

  She had only been in L.A. for a little over two years, but the peculiarity of the city still sometimes intrigued and astonished her. That was probably one of the reasons she kept the door open and hadn’t slammed it shut in the face of the stranger. He appealed to her, much like the city itself did.

  “And you think I’m in need of a slave, why?” She kept her hand on the door, not willing to be taken in by his plea. He looked adorable and all, prancing about as he was, but no way was she going to let some strange long-haired hippie use her bathroom just because he promised to indenture himself to her.

  “Because it’s the Christian thing to do,” he begged, twitching more. “Please, I’m harmless. You can ask Jessie. I’m a friend of hers but she’s not answering the door.”

  “Well, I guess I can’t ask Jessie then,” Azure pointed out, not budging from her doorway. Not as if she would have if Jessie had been home. Her neighbor was a bit out there.

  Although she and Jessie lived next door to each other, they weren’t exactly Lucy and Ethel. It was hard for Azure—a professional black woman about to hit thirty—to find common ground with a barely-out-of-her-teens girl who changed her hair color as often as she changed her men. She had seen more men come out of Jessie’s condo than she’d seen come out of the closet on Jerry Springer. Azure truly tried hard to be open-minded, but it was hard as hell to ignore the ho-like quality her neighbor possessed.

  “If she were here, I wouldn’t be asking either.” Reaching in his back pocket, between jiggles, he pulled out his wallet and handed it to her. “My license, my social security card, and every credit card I own are in there. Feel free to call the law, Blockbuster Video, or my mother, whose number is on my contact in case of emergency card, while I pee. Please!”

  Amusement won out, hands down. No self-respecting serial killer would have a contact in case of emergency card in his wallet, let alone his mother’s name and number in there. He seemed more desperate than deranged.

  Stepping back, Azure gestured for him to come in. “Down the hall and to your right,” she called after the sprinting man.

  The man shouted over his shoulder as he passed, “You’re a goddess among mortals.”

  Azure shook her head in bemusement as she closed the door. If he ended up killing her it would be no more than she deserved. Walking back to the small kitchen, she stopped by the roll-away island where she had left the newspaper spread out over the top and waited.

  The pastel yellow-painted kitchen was one of her favorite rooms in the condo. It was also equipped with sharp pointy objects and heavy heavable things she could use just in case she was wrong about hippy boy. He didn’t necessarily look psychotic. A bit unkempt in his stained, frayed jeans and a metal-band T-shirt, but not crazy.

  A loud groan filled the air, followed by the sound of water trickling. Azure winced as she wished, and not for the first time, for thicker walls. She was happy he had come to do what he said, but she really could have lived with less proof.

  Even though he was doing exactly what he had beseeched entrance to do, Azure couldn’t resist taking a peek inside of his wallet. Surprise, surprise—Mr. Gavin Connor of 650 Traveling Way, was one of the few people in the world who actually looked good in their driver’s license photo.

  He was really kind of cute, in a Seattle grunge band sort of way, with long brown hair teasing his shoulder blades and a killer smile. Tracing his photo with her finger, Azure reversed her thought. He was more than kind of cute. The boy was fine. Which only went to show it had been way too long since she had gotten any.

  Her self-imposed celibacy reared its ugly head, reminding her once again she should be out getting some loving instead of boarded up like a spinster. It was pathetic actually, but her career as a wedding planner revolved around helping people bring their dream weddings to life, and yet Azure couldn’t remember the last time she had went on a date herself. She was no closer to walking down the aisle for her own wedding than she was to sprouting wings and flying to the moon.

  Yet at this point in her life, Azure would be happier to have a man pounding into her than proposing to her. Love and weddings were great and all, but sometimes a girl needed some good ol’ fashioned sex.

  The sound of the door opening and the echo of footsteps on the wooden floors alerted her to his presence. Azure closed his wallet quickly, not wanting him to spot her drooling over his license.

  She was horny, not deranged.

  “You, my love, are a life saver.” Sticking out his hand, he introduced himself. “I’m Gavin Conner.”

  Azure looked down at his hand causing Gavin to chuckle in return. “Don’t worry princess, I washed it.”

  “Shouldn’t you be addressing me as ‘Lord and Master’ seeing as how I now own you?” Azure teased as she took his hand into hers.

  His hand was callused, but the rough touch didn’t turn Azure off, quite the opposite in fact. She was a blue-collar loving kind of girl. To her, there was nothing sexier than a man who worked with his hands—because if he knew how to use his hands out of the bedroom, there was no limit to what he could do inside.

  “A hard task master it seems.”

  “Hey, it was your wager, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? By the way, your mother said to tell you to call home more often.” Azure released his hand and held out his wallet to him.

  Gavin froze in the middle of taking it from her. The look of surprise on his paling face was priceless, and Azure couldn’t hold back her grin any longer. “Just kidding.”

  Shuddering, he pocketed his wallet. “You don’t know how on the money that was. My mother is a bit needy.”

  “All mothers are.”

  “So are you going to introduce yourself or do I have to keep calling you ‘Lord and Master’?”

  The tone of his voice was flirty, surprising Azure a bit. Only a guy could be comfortable peeing in a stranger’s home and hitting on her—all within a few minutes of each other. “I don’t know if we’re on a first name basis yet, slave boy.”

  “I know that you use Caress soap and like turtles. Doesn’t that warrant me a name?”

  “No. You peeing in my house warrants me a name, but not the other way around.”

  “I think you just like the way I say ‘Lord and Master’.”

  “Could be.” Azure looked him over as she picked up her coffee cup. He was so damn cute. She really needed to get laid. “So what do you play?”

  Gavin smiled at her comment. “What makes you think I play an instrument?”

  Repressing her grin, Azure thought he had to be joking. There was no doubt in her mind that Gavin was in a band. She might not listen to rock, but she did have to pass MTV to get to BET, and everything about him screamed garage band. From his shoulder-length, curly brown hair, to his tight jeans and rocker T-shirts, Gavin was born and bred for the lost generation. “Just a hunch.”

  “Well I don’t.”

  “Really,” she replied, eyeing his hair.

  Following her thinking, he touched his curly locks. “I have an aversion to clippers.”

  Azure smiled, she couldn’t stop herself. He was too muc
h. “What?”

  “Actually it’s not just clippers. I can’t abide any noise close to my ears. Can’t wear headphones either.” He winced as her grin grew larger. “Did I just lose cool points with you?”

  “To be truthful, you didn’t have many left after the prancing you did in the hall.”

  Gavin frowned. “I didn’t prance.”

  “You practically did the first act of the Nutcracker.”

  “No pun intended, I’m sure.”

  “Of course not.” She smiled. “So if you’re not in a band, are you one…”

  Azure stopped herself from saying “one of Jessie’s many men”. If he didn’t know about the other men, then Azure would be putting all of Jessie’s business in the street, and ho or no ho, Azure wasn’t trying to blast anyone. “Are you and Jessie seeing each other?”

  “No, she’s the kid sister of one of my friends. He just moved away and I promised him I’d keep an eye on her.”

  Azure thought it would be rude to point out that so far he hadn’t been doing a very good job of it. “How nice of you.”

  “I’m a nice guy.” Gavin looked down at the open paper, and back up at her with a smile in his eyes. “So are you looking for a call out?”

  If that was a line, he delivered it well. “Do I look like an actress to you?”

  “I definitely think you have what it takes.”

  Although she had only lived in Hell A for a short time, she had already seen enough to know she would never make it in the biz—not that she wanted to. Azure relished her curves as much as she did her diversity and she was way too smart to fall for the “everyone has to be a size two” rule. Besides, she enjoyed her job as a wedding consultant to ever want to do anything else. “No, I love food way too much.”

  “It doesn’t show.”

  “You haven’t seen me without my clothes on.” The silence followed by the slow smile spreading across his wide mouth made Azure want to kick her own ass for her comment. “Let’s just pretend I didn’t say that.”

  “You have as much of a chance of that happening as…”

  “Me forgetting your little demi-plié?”

  “I don’t even know what that is.” Gavin grimaced. “But I’m sure I didn’t do that.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Anyone ever tell you you’re a cruel woman?”

  “I have a younger brother.”

  “Enough said.”

  “Well…” Azure started.

  “So…” he said at the same time. They both paused and laughed.

  “You can go.” Azure gestured to the door with her hand. She didn’t want to seem rude or anything but this was the weirdest conversation she’d ever engaged in with a complete stranger.

  “I was just going to thank you for the use of your bathroom.”

  “You’re welcome.” There didn’t seem to be much more to say. Azure hated awkward silences, so she headed back towards the front door, with Gavin traveling slowly behind her. Stopping at the door, she turned back to face him, jumping a bit when she noticed how close he was to her. Nervously, she wiped her palms on her trousers before opening the door. “I would say feel free to stop by again, but I doubt the situation will arise.”

  “I hope not.” He grinned. “It was bad enough the first time.”

  “I think you handled it with decorum and grace.”

  Instead of leaving, Gavin moved closer to her and placed his hand a few inches from where hers lay on the door. “Are you really going to let me leave without telling me your name?”

  “It’s not necessary. Lord and Master will do just fine.”

  “Let’s say for the sake of argument, I want to send you a thank you gift. A roll of Charmin or what not. Who would I address it to?”

  “Did you flush?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s thanks enough.”

  “You’re not going to make this easy for me are you?” he asked, letting go of the door.

  “I let you in my house, shared my bathroom and soap with you, I think I’ve made it easy enough.”

  “You know,” Gavin leaned against the doorframe, seeming every bit as intent on staying as she was on him leaving. “I could just ask Jessie.”

  “I doubt if she knows it.”

  “I think you’re underestimating Jessie’s nosiness and my persistence.”

  “No, I think I have your persistence pegged down.”

  “You’re only prolonging the inevitable, and increasing my interest in the bargain.”

  “Then I guess my work here is done.”

  All right that cinched it. It had been way too long since she had been laid. Even she saw the mixed signals she was sending.

  Gavin stared at her for a few seconds longer, before stepping out of the door. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Only if we run into each other in the parking lot.”

  “Oh no, there will be a later.” He smiled. “Trust me.”

  Azure couldn’t believe him. He wasn’t going to just go away, and something about that was okay with her. The slamming of a door interrupted their silent stare and they both turned to see Jessie hurrying up the sidewalk. The girl paused in mid-stride when she noticed Gavin standing in front of Azure.

  “Gavin,” Her eyes appeared as if they were about to bug out of her head, much to Azure’s amusement.

  “You’re being paged,” Azure replied quietly, bringing his gaze back to her. “It’s been real.”

  “You’re talking like it’s over.”

  Azure raised a brow at his audacity. “It is.”

  “Far from it,” he assured her, giving her a wink as he turned to walk towards Jessie.

  Stepping back into her condo, Azure shook her head in wonderment. There was no doubt in her mind—if it was up to him, there would definitely be a next time.

  Chapter Two

  Twenty minutes before Gavin walked through the door of Something Borrowed, Something Blue he’d been convinced that he was the most clever man in the world. Now, sitting in the waiting room with a family pack of Charmin next to him, he felt like the biggest ass in the world.

  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he wasn’t so sure. Gavin tapped his nails on the plastic wrap as he looked around the posh room, impressed with what he saw.

  Azure was doing well for herself. His angel of mercy obviously ran a tiptop business, if the cut of the furniture was anything to go by. The phones had been ringing off the hook since he sat down to wait for her, and the little drill sergeant behind the big marble desk had booked more appointments than he could count, all the while keeping a very astute eye on him.

  The receptionist’s chilly glare was enough to pucker his nipples, and not in a good way. Gavin didn’t know if it was because he was trying to see Azure without an appointment or if it was the abundant package of toilet paper he brought with him that made her wary.

  Gavin wasn’t going to be intimidated, or persuaded, so easily. Especially after all the work he’d put in just to get her name from Jessie, who acted as if he’d asked for her first born instead of the name of her neighbor. She eventually gave it—begrudgingly—along with the little information she had on Azure, which equaled out to a tad more than diddly squat.

  Lucky for him though, Azure, although a pretty name, wasn’t very common, and with help from the Google god, he’d pulled up more than enough information to get him where he was today.

  Hell, part of Gavin still wasn’t sure what he was doing there. It wasn’t like Azure was the most stunning woman he had ever seen, or the first black woman he’d been drawn to. All women were beautiful to him, and it wasn’t a novelty or a new fad for him to ask a woman of a different race out. Gavin considered himself an equal opportunist. He’d never met a woman he didn’t like, but there was just something about Azure.

  And that something was why, after the many odd looks he’d been given, he was still waiting to see her again, if only for one more moment. This was insane, but before Gavin could
talk himself into leaving, a distant sexy voice traveled down the hallway and into the room, the elegant speaker not far behind it. Gavin would have recognized her voice anywhere, Lord knew it had been playing on repeat in his mind every day since they’d met three days ago.

  “Cybil, has there been any word from MacDonald about scheduling a viewing of Rossi’s Garden?”

  “No ma’am.”

  “Damn it. I need to get in there before they’re all booked up.”

  Rossi’s Garden! Azure was trying to get into there. Life had never been that easy for him before. Apparently the Lord really did take care of children and fools.

  “I left another message, my fifth one this week, but I keep getting the same reply. They’ll call as soon as they have an opening.”

  “I know. You’re doing a great job.” Azure sighed as she glanced down at her watch. “I’m going to head out to lunch now, call me on my cell if anything comes up.”

  “Something already has.” Cybil gestured behind Azure to Gavin who’d stood as soon as she walked into the room. “This gentleman has been waiting to speak with you.”

  “Really.” Azure turned to greet him, a professional smile on her full lips. Her eyes widened as if she recognized him, but it was the only clue Gavin received that she remembered him. Azure was going to try to keep it professional, he could tell. In her gray power suit, she might have pulled it off—if it wasn’t for the twinkle in her dark brown eyes.

  “Azure Kerr.” Gavin took her hand in his, completely dismissing the distrustful receptionist from his mind. “Welcome to later.”

  Her full lips trembled with unsuppressed amusement. “Hello again.” That was all she said, but it was enough. Her smooth, sophisticated voice did things to him that porn and Playboy never had.

  Yesterday her sable hair had been down, hanging loose and swinging playfully around her chin when she talked, yet today she had it pulled back and twisted into a bun, bringing her full exotic features into view. The dark eyes he couldn’t get out of his head last night now were framed behind a set of wire-framed glasses that probably cost more than his work boots. She was just as attractive in her work wear as she was in her casual clothes, and still making his heart speed up.