Professor Jacobs? Aria shook her head. No, it couldn’t be. The chances of seeing an old college music teacher from upstate in New York City were astronomical. She’d have to stop imagining things.
Aria carried her small suitcase up three flights of stairs and used the brass knocker to rap on Libby’s door. “I’m here, Libs.”
The door opened. Libby stood with a wide grin and made a series of mini-claps. “Yay, you made it. I’d give you a hug, but as you can see, I’m filthy.” She held out her blackened hands as proof. “The box with Mrs. Olsen’s tree was way back in a walk-in closet and covered with dust. Come in.” With a wave of her hand, Libby stepped aside and let Aria pass.
Aria walked into the apartment, set her bag upright, and slouched onto the sofa. “So”—she patted the cushion beside her—“come tell me your secret. I’m dying to tell you mine.”
“Would you mind if I jumped in the shower first? I’m so grungy I can still taste the dust of Mrs. O’s closet.”
“No, of course not. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” Libby took a few steps toward the bathroom, snapped her fingers, and did a one-eighty. “Oh, speaking of surprises, Steve called and said he has one for me. Said he’d tell me over dinner tonight. I hope you don’t mind, but he’s made reservations at Mantovani’s for six thirty. You’re included in the invite.”
Aria sprang from the couch. “You think he’s going to propose?” In which case, she would stay at the apartment and let Libby and her longstanding artist boyfriend have the evening to themselves.
“No, I’m sure that’s not it. We’ve talked about that before and both agreed now’s not the time.”
“So, you have no idea what he’s going to spring on you?”
Libby pranced over and pinched Aria’s cheek. “Isn’t that the very definition of a surprise? Oops, sorry. Forgot about the dirty hands. You might want to wash your face.” Laughing, Libby scampered toward the bathroom.
“Wait a sec.”
Libby stopped and turned.
“I’m confused. You said you had a surprise for me. Are you talking about whatever Steve’s got in store for you or something totally different?”
“Something totally different.” Libby smiled, showing lots of teeth and gums. “Oh, you’re going to love the surprise I have for you. Guaranteed. By the way, feel free to rummage through my closet while I’m in the shower if you didn’t bring something dressy.” Libby disappeared into the bathroom and the faint sound of sprinkling water bled through the door.
Having a slightly taller yet same-sized friend had its merits. Aria thumbed through Libby’s things, pushing hangers from right to left, and stopped at a dress that would suit the atmosphere of the semi-dressy restaurant. She could easily pair it with the snazzy black leather boots she’d packed.
What kind of secret did Libby want to tell her? Aria couldn’t begin to imagine.
Aria’s phone rang, and she fished it from her purse. Caller ID displayed the same unidentified number that had called twice on the train. Probably a solicitor. Tomorrow, she’d listen to the messages left by the persistent caller.
* * * *
“How far is it to the restaurant?” Aria stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk with Libby. “Walk or ride?”
“Walk. It’s only four and a half blocks, this way.”
With a nudge, Aria fell into a steady pace beside Libby.
A constant flow of traffic swished the street slush around in confused waves, one set of tires plowing through and leaving a wake, and the following vehicle reopening the settling mush and starting the cycle afresh.
Wisps of snow fell soft and beautiful with flakes sparkling like diamonds as they passed through the rays of the streetlights. A dusting of white covered the freshly shoveled sidewalk. Beautiful, clean, and free of footprints, it contrasted sharply with the mounds of icky, gray-crusted snow that made a two-feet-high splash barrier between the curb and pedestrian walkways.
Aria stuck out her tongue and let a few flakes melt on it.
“Earth to Aria. Are you listening to me?” Libby laughed.
“Sorry, I got caught in a six-year-old kind of moment. I’ve always loved the snow. You were saying?”
“I might have a couple of gigs lined up for us in late January and early February. Two definite maybes.” Libby shook her head. “I’m running out of ideas. We need an agent, but we can’t afford one. Then again, we can’t afford not to have an agent. Why does this have to be so hard?”
“I don’t know. But let’s not think about that tonight. We’ve both got jobs, so it’s not like we’re dirt poor. And look at you. You get to work four ten-hour days at the bookstore and get a three-day weekend every single week. You’ve got to admit, that’s not too shabby.”
“You’re right. It’s not too shabby. Look, there’s Mantovani’s. We made it here pretty fast.”
A green awning covered the walkway in front of the restaurant’s entrance, and inside a shoulder-high matching green curtain hanging by golden rings on wooden curtain rods spanned the length of the plate glass window.
“Wait.” Aria grabbed Libby’s arm and pulled her close to the solid brick wall adjacent to the restaurant window. “I can’t wait to tell you my news. It’s so amazing I can hardly believe it’s true.”
“Okay, tell me. Then I’ll reveal my surprise for you. You’re gonna die when you hear it.” Wide-eyed and smiling broadly, Libby rubbed her gloved hands together in anticipation. “Go ahead. Tell me, tell me!”
“All right. Here it is.” Aria paused for effect. “I met someone.” She braced for Libby’s celebratory screech.
Libby’s smile wavered and crumbled. Her shoulders deflated. “Someone? You mean, like a guy?”
“I-I thought you of all people would be happy for me.” Libby’s cold response gave her the shivers.
“I am, but—” Libby pulled off a glove, thumbed a tear from Aria’s cheek then pulled her into a hug. “Oh, Aria, I am happy for you. Way happy. Really.”
Taking a step back, Libby held one of Aria’s hands and looked her in the eye. “Tell me about him. Where and when did you meet? It had to have been this week, because last time I saw you there was no mention of a special someone.”
“I met him at the wedding I played for last Saturday. His name is Jason Dexter. Sergeant Dex Dexter. He’s one of the men in my father’s unit.”
“Ooh, this is starting to sound good. Handsome?”
“Very. But he’s so much more than a handsome guy with a nice bod. He’s amazing. I can’t seem to stop thinking about him. I’ll tell you more later.” She squeezed Libby’s hand. “Now it’s your turn. What’s this super-secret, to-die-for surprise you have for me?”
Libby’s smile fell again. She bit her lip and dropped her chin to her chest.
“Lib, what is it? You look mortified.”
“I am mortified.” Libby lifted her head and twisted for a glance into the restaurant. “Remember that gig Steve hooked us up with a few months ago? The one with the glass-enclosed balcony that overlooked the river?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“And, do you remember Steve’s friend, the Greek god of a man who flirted with you half the night?”
“The one we called Eros behind his back? Yes, I remember. What about him?”
“He’s in there now, sitting with Steve.” Libby motioned with a tip of her head. “I’m sorry, Ari. If I’d known you had found someone, I would have never—”
“You set me up on a blind date?” Aria clenched her hands to keep them from shaking.
“Please don’t be mad at me. I was only trying to help.”
“Help? Am I so pathetic that you thought I couldn’t get a guy on my own?”
“Aria, please, don’t say that. I never, even for one second, thought that. Jack called Steve out of the blue a f
ew nights ago and asked about you. He wanted to know how he could see you again. What was Steve supposed to do?”
Was Libby out of her mind? “Are you serious? Steve should have called and asked you to get in touch with me to see if I was interested in Eros. Jack. Whatever. I can’t believe this.” Aria walked to a snowbank by the curb, her back toward Libby.
Aria hadn’t had a date, much less a bona fide boyfriend in three years or better. So what? It wasn’t that she hadn’t been asked. She had, and turned them all down. Not one single man had ever piqued her interest in the immediate and intense way Dex had.
Libby came up behind her, looped her arm around Aria’s, and held it tightly. “Please forgive me, Ari. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I would never intentionally hurt you. Not for the world.”
Libby’s sincerity and remorseful tone dampened Aria’s anger. “I know you wouldn’t.”
A taxi stopped at the curb and a couple got out of the back seat. The guy held a folded newspaper over the girl’s head as they rushed hand in hand to the covering of the restaurant canopy. He brushed snow off the paper, pecked the doe-eyed girl’s lips, and opened the door for her.
Dex would do something like that for her. She was sure of it. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“Oh my gosh. Are you saying you love this guy?”
The incredulity in Libby’s tone was warranted. Aria could scarce believe she’d asked such a ludicrous question.
“No, I couldn’t possibly. It’s way too soon to even consider that, isn’t it? But in a crazy, mixed-up way, it feels like I do. I danced with Dex half the night at the wedding reception, saw him practically all day Sunday, and had lunch with him on Monday. We’ve spoken on the phone every night since. It’s like—” How could she explain it without sounding like a desperate woman?
“Like what?”
“Like my heart has been searching for him all my life.”
“Wow. I didn’t expect that. Kind of takes my breath away. That’s exactly how I felt when I met Steve.” Libby unhooked her arm from Aria’s and faced her. “So what do you want to do? If you want to go back to my apartment, I’ll understand and give you my keys. But I’ve got to stay and find out what Steve is so excited to tell me.”
She couldn’t ruin Libby’s evening. Steve had thought enough of Aria’s friendship with Libby to include her in the evening’s happy announcement, whatever it might be. “No, I’ll stay. But if Jack asks to see me again, I’ll simply tell him I’m involved with someone else and that you and Steve didn’t know about it beforehand. If he’s a gentleman in any sense of the word, he’ll understand.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“That’s unavoidable at this point, but I’ll try to be gracious and put my best foot forward.” And she would act as if Dex was sitting beside her for the duration.
“Thanks, Ari. But again, I’m sorry I went along with Steve and set you up for a date. I should have had more sense than that.”
“I forgive you. Now, let’s go inside and see what Steve is so anxious to tell you.”
* * * *
Libby and Steve walked ahead toward Libby’s apartment. Their laughter filled the air and turned the heads of passersby. The few glasses of wine they’d had with dinner might have loosened them up and added to their gaiety, but they had every reason to celebrate now that Steve’s artwork was scheduled for a weeklong event at Wymore’s, one of the most popular galleries in lower Manhattan.
Aria hoped Steve would do well. Not only for his sake, but Libby’s as well. Libby idolized Steve, and now, watching him nuzzle her neck and do silly things to make her laugh, it was clearer than ever that he felt the same about her. It warmed and made Aria’s heart glad.
“You look happy.” Jack walked beside her, his expensive Nile crocodile boots marking each step in the snow. He shot a Greek-god smile Aria’s way.
“I am. Thanks for being such a good sport about the blind-date thing.” She’d told him straight up, before dinner, that she was involved with someone else. It was the right thing to do.
Jack had been pleasant enough during dinner. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of an underlying creepiness in the way he looked at her—as if he were contemplating having her for dessert instead of the spumoni he ultimately ordered.
Libby and Steve stopped outside Libby’s apartment building and kissed like lovers preparing to part for an eternity. Like she and Dex had kissed in her music studio Monday afternoon. Kisses Aria would savor in her memory and hopefully experience again in the near future.
“I should go.” Jack stopped and stomped snow off his boots.
Aria turned toward him. “Thanks for din—”
Jack hooked her waist and jerked her forward to his chest.
A wet, sloppy kiss covered her mouth.
Aria pushed hard and broke free. “What do you think you’re doing?” She wiped her face with her coat sleeve.
Jack’s lustful smile sickened her. “You wanted it. I could see it in your eyes all through dinner.”
“Delusional pig. I can’t believe you’re so full of yourself.” Aria ran past Libby and Steve into the apartment building. She charged up the stairs to the third floor. Breathless, and with no way to get into the apartment without a key, she sat on the top step and wept furious tears.
Chapter 10
“Aria! Aria, what’s wrong?” Libby’s shouts rang out and quick footfalls thumped up the stairs from the ground floor.
Aria rose from the top step as Libby came racing up the stairwell, her face rife with concern. Close behind, Steve’s expression bore the same look of bewilderment and worry. As engrossed as the couple had been in their make-out session by the foyer door, it came as no surprise that they hadn’t seen Jack’s aggression toward her.
Libby mounted the last step, panted two sharp breaths, and stroked Aria’s coat sleeve. “What in the world happened to make you bolt past us so fast? You looked as though you were going to burst into tears. Wait.” She took a closer look at Aria’s face. “You were crying, weren’t you?”
“Does this have anything to do with Jack?” Steve stood eye-level with Aria, his feet on the final step before the landing.
“Yes, it has everything to do with him.” She told them how Jack had manhandled then forced a disgusting kiss on her. “And then he had the nerve to say I’d been asking for it all night during dinner.”
“What!” Anger raged in Steve’s eyes. “That’s it! I’m gonna go find him and—”
“Steve, don’t.” Aria grabbed his jacket as he started to turn. “I’m so angry I’d like to knock his teeth out myself, but he’s not worth the bloody knuckles. You’d only end up getting yourself arrested by picking a fight with him on the street. Just drop it.”
Keys jingled as Libby removed them from her purse. “Let’s all calm down and go inside.”
“I’m sorry, Aria,” Steve said. “I didn’t realize Jack was such a dirtbag.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
It wasn’t okay. Not by a long shot. Steve and Libby should never have set her up with Jack, or anyone else for that matter. At the same time, if she’d listened to the cautionary voice in her head that told her not to go into the restaurant in the first place, she wouldn’t have had the awful experience with Jack.
“I’ve got to run to meet with an art supplier.” Steve pressed a puckered-lip kiss on Libby’s lips. “Bye, babe. Aria, I can’t apologize enough.” He turned and descended the stairs.
As soon as Libby unlocked and opened the door, Aria entered the apartment. She dropped her purse on the couch, went directly to the bathroom, and wiped her mouth and chin with handfuls of water at the sink. A bottle of Listerine sat on the counter. She poured some into a Dixie cup, gargled, and spat down the drain.
Washing wouldn’t
help her forget the creepiness of Jack’s advances, but at least it would kill some of the germs his slobbery-dog kiss left on her lips. With a tug, she slid the hand towel from its circular holder and dried her face.
“Ari?” Libby knocked on the open bathroom door. “Your phone’s ringing. Didn’t know if you could hear it with the water running.”
“It’s probably Dex. He usually calls about now.” Aria tossed the towel on the vanity and rushed to the phone. Dex’s name lit up the screen. She had two choices. Tell him everything, or tell him nothing about what happened and he’d never know. But the secret would eat her alive if she chose option two.
Her hands grew cold and fingers tingled. She willed her shaking thumb to press the green button and accept the call. “Hello.”
“Hey, maestro. I tried to call a little while ago but got no answer. Figured you were busy.”
If only her handsome sergeant were here right now. She would throw herself into his arms, savor his manly scent, and rest in the safety of his tight embrace for the rest of the evening.
A deep breath steadied her nerves. “I went out to dinner with Libby and her boyfriend, Steve. You must have called when I went to the ladies’ room and left my purse at the table. Sorry I missed your call.” Guilt niggled her conscience for neglecting to mention Jack.
“Not a problem. I’m glad to hear you got there all right. So, how’s your visit going? Having a good time?”
Aria went back into the bathroom, closed the door, and sat on the toilet with the lid down. Finding privacy anywhere else in the tiny apartment was impossible.
“No, I’m not having a good time.” The encounter with Jack rattled her more than she cared to admit. “Dex, something bad happened tonight, and, and—” Her throat made an odd squeaking sound. She coughed to cover it.
“What happened? Are you all right?” Dex’s tone switched from casual to high alert.
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