One Perfect Day

by Jennifer Youngblood

  Her budding relationship with Noah was prompting her to take more risks. What harm could it do for her to show the women her prints? If they didn’t like them then she’d just show them something else. Of course, they would want to know about the photographer, and then she’d have to tell them it was her. Hot prickles covered her. Yikes! She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She had to think positive and believe in herself! Her heart was pumping so furiously that Piper felt like she might faint from dizziness as she went to the rack and opened it to her work. It took a superhuman effort to keep her voice neutral as she spoke. “What do you think about these two?”

  Julie’s eyes lit up. “These are great. Yes, just what I’m looking for.”

  “Really?” Piper squeaked, her heart shouting out a hoorah.

  Julie stepped up to examine one that was of a homeless man, giving a young boy a toothless grin. The boy and his mother had been walking by the man. The woman was well-dressed and in a hurry. She had a firm grasp on the boy’s hand, her eyes fixed straight ahead, not wanting to interact with the homeless man. The boy, however, was lagging behind looking on curiously at the man. Piper had meant for the photograph to speak of the innocence of children and how accepting they are. But after taking it, she realized that there was something so guileless and sincere in the homeless man’s expression that one had the impression of him also being a child, as if he were seeing himself when he was young with an endless world of opportunities spread before him.

  Claire balked. “Surely you can’t be considering actually hanging a picture of a homeless man in your living room.”

  Julie’s eyes shifted back and forth. “I guess that would be a bit much, but I could hang it in my study.”

  Claire’s Botoxed face shriveled in disapproval as she turned to Piper. “Who’s the photographer?”

  Piper clasped her hands together, a shaky laugh tumbling out of her mouth. “Actually, it’s—”

  “Claire, hello!” Deidre said as she rushed over with outstretched arms. The two air-kissed one another. Deidre extended her hand to Julie, a warm smile flowing like honey over her lips. “You must be Julie. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.”

  “Thank you,” Julie said as they clasped hands.

  “What brings you in today?” Deidre asked.

  Claire spoke first. “We’re looking for something to go over Julie’s mantel.” Claire lifted her chin, her voice coated with displeasure. “I suggested that we go with a Nolan Vant, but your employee was showing us other options.” She motioned to Piper’s prints.

  Surprise splashed over Deidre before her features tightened.

  Piper’s face burned as her defense flew out of her mouth. “Julie wanted something different from the norm and asked for suggestions.” She looked at Julie, hoping the woman would back her up, but Julie averted her eyes. Piper felt a combination of disappointment and frustration.

  The high-pitched laugh that rolled out of Deidre’s throat sounded so syrupy and fake that it turned Piper’s stomach. “I’m sorry, Claire.” Deidre threw Piper a blistering look. “I guess we shouldn’t leave the selection of art to the amateurs.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Claire snipped, snubbing her nose at Piper.

  The hair on the back of Piper’s neck bristled as she straightened to her full height. “You asked for a recommendation, and that’s what I gave you.”

  “I’m sure you did the best you could,” Deidre said magnanimously. A rigid smile extended over her lips. “I need you to go and lend a hand to Scotty. He’s getting some pieces ready to be shipped.”

  Piper nodded, having no further desire to be around Claire or her spineless daughter.

  Deidre took Claire’s arm. “Have you seen the newest collection by Nolan Vant?”

  “We looked at it when we first came in,” Claire answered.

  “Let’s go to the front and look at it again. I’m certain we can find you the perfect fit,” Deidre purred.

  Piper stomped to the back where Scotty was, so livid she could spit nails. She could tell from the look on Scotty’s face that he’d been listening to every word of the conversation. “Can you believe those people?” Piper seethed in a low tone, keenly aware of how easily sound traveled in the gallery. “Talk about hanging me out to dry,” she muttered as she paced back and forth. “They asked for recommendations, so I gave them some.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry, love. Unfortunately, some people aren’t ready to break out of the norm.”

  “Evidently not,” she barked. She looked at the artwork Scotty was wrapping. “I thought you were putting out Nolan Vant’s other pieces.”

  He sighed. “A rush order came in while you were waiting on the divas.”

  She giggled, her hand covering her mouth. “Here, let me help.” As they worked to package the artwork, they could hear Deidre slathering on the charm. Thirty minutes later, Claire and Julie left the gallery with a large framed Vant print. Piper figured it would only be a matter of minutes before Deidre came tromping into the back and chewed her out. Piper had spent the past thirty minutes deciding that she was not going to apologize for showing her own work. The bell over the front door chimed. Maybe not. Piper had been granted a stay of execution.

  They heard Deidre squeal. “Nolan! You brought me flowers!”

  Piper and Scotty looked wide-eyed at one another. “I guess the lovebirds are making up,” he said. By unspoken agreement, the two rushed to the doorway so they could peek into the gallery and get their first look at the elusive Nolan Vant.

  The first thing Piper saw was Deidre’s blonde hair flying out behind her as she trotted across the room to Nolan. Then, Piper saw him. Confusion battered her insides for an instant. Then, the situation became crystal clear as Deidre’s lips connected with his. The air shot out of Piper’s lungs in a hard thrust as she gasped. Her hand went to her neck. She couldn’t breathe.

  “Are you okay?” Scotty asked.

  Her knees buckled as Scotty caught hold of her arm to prevent her from falling. She sucked in a ragged breath. “It’s him,” she managed to say.

  “Who?”

  Tears rushed to her eyes, her heart shattering into unrecognizable bits. “Noah Romeo, the guy I spent the day with yesterday.”

  7

  Piper pressed pause and reluctantly pulled her eyes away from the movie playing on her computer screen as Cori came into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “Are you doing okay?” Cori’s expression was sympathetic, concerned.

  Piper pushed out a humorless laugh. “I’ll survive.” She dipped her spoon into the carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream, taking another mindless bite. After witnessing the scene with Deidre and Noah, Scotty urged her to go home.

  “I’ll tell Deidre you went home sick,” he said.

  Piper had stumbled home in a daze where she spent a good hour bawling her eyes out. Then, she got a good, hard workout on Cori’s treadmill, followed by a hot shower. After that, she put on her pajamas and started eating every morsel of junk food she could find in the cupboards and fridge. Piper felt betrayed, angry, her mind replaying in vivid detail all of the events from the day before. She could only imagine what Zoe and Noah must’ve been thinking when she went on her rant about Nolan Vant. She thought back to the amused looks passing between them, how Zoe said that Nolan could handle the criticism. It was apparent to Piper now that the two of them had been laughing at her the entire time.

  She didn’t even know why she was so devastated by this. Hadn’t the voice in her head warned her that Noah wasn’t all he appeared to be? He’d flat-out lied to her about his career. And worse, he pretended to care about her. All the while, he was a two-timer. Still, they had only spent one day together. Piper really shouldn’t be this upset … disappointed maybe, ticked, but not devastated. Even as the thoughts rolled through her head, she knew the reason behind her dismay. For the first time … ever … she’d found a guy that she not only connected with, but the
connection was magical. It had given her hope for a future that wasn’t all about her career. She thought she’d found someone she could laugh with, someone to share her hopes and dreams, someone to eventually fall in love with.

  “Earth to Piper,” Cori said.

  Piper blinked, pulling herself out of her thoughts. “I’m sorry? What did you say?”

  “I asked if you want to grab some dinner with me and Scotty.”

  “Not hungry.” She looked at the clock on the wall. It was seven fifteen. She and Noah had planned to meet at the Italian Restaurant at seven p.m. Had Noah even bothered to show up? Maybe he was at the restaurant right now with Deidre. Piper’s stomach churned, anger burning through her like poison. Her phone was in her purse, on silent. She hadn’t checked her messages and didn’t care to. Piper didn’t want to hear from Noah Romeo ever again.

  “I’m so sorry,” Cori began.

  Scotty had told Cori everything that happened, which was a relief because that meant Piper didn’t have to rehash the sordid details. It was bad enough to be thinking about it over and over. She didn’t want to talk about it. “It’s okay.” She forced a smile. “It happens to the best of us.” Tears pressed behind her eyes, but Piper refused to let them fall.

  “Scotty said that after you left, Deidre took Nolan into her office for a closed-door meeting. When Nolan came out, he didn’t look happy.” Cori searched her face. “Maybe you should call Nolan … hear his side of the story.”

  “No!” she blurted, her eyes narrowing to slits. “I saw all I needed to see.” The image of Deidre’s lips locked with Noah’s was seared into her memory. Acrid bitterness rose in her throat. If Noah were here, she’d slap him upside the head. “Deidre and Noah deserve each other,” she spat.

  Cori took in a deep breath. “What are you gonna do? About Deidre and your job?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice sounded fragile in her own ears. She tightened her grip on the ice cream carton. “I’ve worked too hard to just throw in the towel over a stupid guy.” Her voice hardened. “At least I found out what he was right away without wasting any more time on him.”

  “True,” Cori conceded. “I still think you need to talk to him. Last night when you came in from your date, you were glowing.”

  A white-hot anger scorched through Piper. “I was duped.” So much for being spontaneous and starting a new relationship. She gritted her teeth, staring off into the distance.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “No, I just need to work this out within myself.”

  Cori nodded in understanding. “Scotty’s on his way to pick me up. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “Thanks,” Piper croaked. The minute Cori left the room and closed the door, tears brimmed in Piper’s eyes, rolling down her cheeks. How could this hurt so much? She swiped her runny nose as she pressed her keyboard to continue playing the movie. She took another bite of ice cream, hoping it would dull her senses. She looked at the computer screen, trying to force her mind to concentrate on the movie, desperately needing a diversion to crowd out the hurt.

  Noah stomped into the kitchen, pulled out a barstool, and plopped down.

  Zoe was standing in front of the sink. “Hi, there,” she said in surprise. “I didn’t expect you back until later.” She reached for a dirty plate and rinsed it off before loading it into the dishwasher.

  “It’s been one heck of a day,” Noah grumbled, his dark mood intensifying.

  Zoe’s eyes rounded. “Did something happen with Piper?”

  “You could say that.”

  Her hand went to her hip. “What happened?”

  “Well, for starters, she stood me up for dinner.” He bunched his brows.

  “Why? The two of you were getting along so well.”

  He pushed out a hard laugh. “Because she’s engaged, that’s why?”

  Zoe’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I went to the gallery today to surprise her, even brought flowers.” His gut twisted as he gave Zoe a pained smile. “I decided to take your advice and not let any more time pass before I told Piper about the photography.”

  When Noah had gotten back from taking Piper home the night before, Zoe was waiting for him. She reamed him for not being honest with Piper. Noah hadn’t intended to deceive Piper. It was just nice having someone get to know him as plain old Noah Romeo—the real man behind the photography.

  “What happened when you got to the gallery?” Zoe prompted, resting her hand on the counter as she eyed him.

  “Deidre was up at the front when I came in. She thought the flowers were for her. She ran up and gave me a kiss.”

  “On the lips?”

  “Yep.”

  Zoe’s eyes rounded to saucers. “Did Piper see this?”

  “No, she wasn’t there.” His eyes narrowed. “As it turns out, Piper left this morning with her fiancé to go to San Francisco.” Noah felt like such a fool. How could he have been so wrong about Piper? The time they’d spent together yesterday had been extraordinary. And those kisses … their chemistry was off the charts.

  Zoe tipped her head, looking suspicious. “Who told you that Piper was engaged?”

  “Deidre.”

  Her voice rose. “And you believed her?”

  “Well, yeah. Why would Deidre lie about something like that?”

  Zoe gave him an exasperated look. “Because she wants you for herself, that’s why. You just said that Deidre thought the flowers were for her, and she put a lip-lock on you.” She rolled her eyes. “Hello! Surely, you’re not that oblivious to the ways of the opposite sex.”

  He blew out a heavy breath, knowing that Zoe could see right through him. “Okay, I can tell that Deidre wishes we were still together, but we’re not and never will be.” At one time, Noah thought that he and Deidre might have something, but the attraction quickly fizzled. Deidre was beautiful and classy, but she was too much of a society girl for Noah. He preferred someone who was down-to-earth. Someone approachable. Someone like Piper. An image of Piper with her soulful brown eyes, lively smile, and dark curls flashed before his mind, twisting a knife into his heart. Noah loved Piper’s passion. She was right about his photography. He’d been struggling with his craft for some time now, trying to recapture the fervor he once had. Hearing Piper talk about his work had awoken something inside Noah, making him believe that he could actually break out of the box and become truly great again.

  “Tell me everything that happened. You came into the gallery, Deidre kissed you, she told you Piper wasn’t there … What happened next?”

  “We went to Deidre’s office. She talked about the reception on Friday, assuring me that everything is set. Then, she brought up the exclusive, wanting me to go ahead and sign another contract.”

  Wariness seeped into Zoe’s eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

  “I told Deidre that I’m not making any decisions until after the holidays are over.”

  She exhaled in relief. “Good.”

  “If you’d just open your gallery, it would solve a lot of problems,” he moaned. “I know you can’t stand Deidre, but if I don’t sign with her, I’ll have to sign with another gallery. Deidre and I are friends, and we have a comfortable working relationship. I’d rather sign with her than someone I don’t know.”

  “I don’t trust that woman any farther than I can throw her,” Zoe said darkly. “I don’t care what Deidre says, that woman does not have your best interest at heart. She’s only looking out for herself.” She waved a hand. “Anyway, tell me the rest. After you talked about the exclusive, what happened?”

  “I asked if Piper was working. Deidre was surprised that I knew Piper. She started asking questions. One thing led to another, and I told Deidre about the day we spent together yesterday.” He tightened his jaw. “Deidre then told me that Piper is engaged and that she left town this morning.”

  Zoe shook her head back and forth. “That can’t
be right. Piper said she was spending Christmas in Sandy with her family. I believe her.”

  “If Piper was telling the truth then why did she stand me up for dinner?”

  “I don’t know.” A burrow dented her brows. “Maybe she found out that you’re Nolan Vant. She could be angry that you lied to her.” She shot him a look of reproof.

  Not this again! He blew out a defeated breath. “You’re right. I should’ve told her, but you know why I didn’t.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Because you wanted her to get to know you, for you,” she said repeating the phrase he’d told her the night before.

  His voice rose an octave. “Yes! Is that so bad? You and I both know how tricky fame is. Look at Cash and all that he goes through—the press hounding him day and night.”

  “Cash is a country music superstar,” Zoe retorted. “His situation is different, and you know it.”

  Their brother Cash was younger than Noah by two years. He was country music royalty. Cash’s unprecedented success had changed the dynamics of the entire Romeo family. Noah was probably the most paranoid sibling about losing his privacy, which is why he was so careful about what got out to the public. He still wasn’t sure it was smart to do the reception at the gallery this Friday, but Zoe had talked him into it, saying that it was time he came out of the shadows. “I just wanted one day with Piper where she knew me as simply Noah. Was that too much to ask?”

  “Maybe. Have you tried calling Piper?”

  He grunted. “Calling, texting. Nothing. It speaks volumes that she didn’t show up tonight … and that she’s avoiding my calls and texts.”

  “I’m sorry.” Zoe’s expression grew tender. “You really like her, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he huffed. “I’m a sucker.” A headache was spreading across the bridge of his nose.