“Fine,” she said. As the chorus began, Tierney fell into step with Alec and Rome, performing the simple but iconic dance moves of Milli Vanilli.
Rome clapped with admiration and laughed, “Awesome!”
“Oh, but watch this!” Alec hollered. He looked to Tierney and said, “Freestyle it, Tiers!”
The music had captured her by then—the contagious, carefree fun everyone else was having. So when Alec told her to freestyle it, Tierney did. Breaking into the iconic ’80s style of dance made popular by Janet Jackson via Paula Abdul, Tierney let go of any residual inhibitions she was holding onto.
“Damn, girl!” Rome exclaimed as everyone in the room turned and began applauding to a freestyle routine that would’ve made the King of Pop himself proud.
But Tierney didn’t want everyone’s attention, so she quickly resorted to just a standard dance step, blushing radish-red as everyone applauded. The crowd then began to repeat the chorus of the song over and over as “Girl, You Know It’s True” began to wind down again.
This time, however, Tierney joined in, singing at the top of her lungs along with everyone else. Alec had been right—the Novaks’ Halloween party was proving to be the time of her life, and nothing was more wonderful about it than the fact that Rome had spirited her away for an unexpected, but entirely fantastic, stolen moment of “up against the wall” kissing the way she’d only ever before experienced in her dreams.
Chapter Six
As Tierney walked from the florist’s shop toward Von Bomburst’s to meet Alec for lunch, she frowned. The owner of the shop who had hired Tierney, Jessica Potts, was a kind enough woman. After only three days of working for her, Tierney knew that she and Jessica would work well together.
However, Jessica’s husband, Elias Potts, had come into the florist to take his wife out for lunch an hour before Tierney was due to take her break, and the very instant he’d walked into the shop, Tierney’s skin had begun to crawl.
For all outward appearances, Elias Potts was a handsome, middle-aged man, with a friendly sort of smile. Yet there was something in his eyes—an almost malicious sort of something. When Elias Potts offered his hand to Tierney and she’d taken it in greeting him, she found it to be very warm and very clammy. She’d wondered for a moment how the man could have such warm and clammy hands when the temperature outside was only forty-two degrees and he wasn’t even wearing a coat or gloves. Instantly Tierney knew he was not someone she wanted to linger in the presence of, and she couldn’t quite understand why he made her feel so—well, so anxious. Elias hadn’t said anything beyond a sociable greeting and that he was glad his wife had another floral designer to help her out in the shop. But Tierney hadn’t liked the intonation of his voice and thought to herself that she wished he’d never stepped foot in the door. Elias and Jessica left for lunch hastily, however, and Tierney’s sense of disquiet eventually faded.
Tierney began to think over an article she’d read not long before, concerning the fact that there were often mental “red flags” people ignored, especially women. The article explained that these emotional red flags could have saved people not only from pain, misery, and being victims of heinous crimes but also, in one incident, from death. The article focused on several accounts of people who had experienced emotional red flags and ignored them, and this knowledge was permanently added to Tierney’s thought processes.
One woman’s story featured in the article was particularly horrifying. The woman had glanced out a window and noticed a man coming to her door. A satellite television installation truck was parked at the woman’s front curb, and the man was wearing a corresponding uniform. The woman hadn’t ordered an installation of anything and therefore was immediately wary. She thought to herself that if the man knocked on the door, she wouldn’t answer it, for she didn’t feel right about him being there. But even though her first inclination was to “play gone,” when the man did knock on her door, the woman’s kind nature kicked in. Not wanting to be rude, and thinking that perhaps the man just had the wrong address in his information and was simply trying to do his job, the woman in the article had indeed opened the door to greet him.
The article explained that, upon thinking back on the incident, this woman had experienced at least twenty-three identifiable warning thoughts. It further explained, with affirmation from the woman herself in an interview by the article’s author, that if she would’ve heeded even one of the emotional red flags her sixth sense offered to her, she would have been saved from being a victim of robbery and a profound physical beating.
Tierney was deeply affected by the article. For one thing, she found herself mentally enumerating how many times her mind had screamed at her not to marry Dillon. Hundreds upon hundreds of times, she’d thought she shouldn’t marry Dillon Hawthorne. But it wasn’t until Alec sent Rome to her bridal shower that she finally listened to her own feelings. Therefore, with the experiences included in the thought-altering article, Tierney had decided she would never ignore the red flags that occasionally popped into her mind—that whether or not she wondered if she were just being paranoid in a situation, she’d rather be safe than sorry. She’d rather offend a satellite installation guy than end up beaten nearly to death—or worse.
As Tierney arrived at Von Bomburst’s to find not only Alec waiting for her but Celeste as well, she smiled, letting go of her uneasy feelings where Elias Potts was concerned but also determining she would never linger in his company longer than absolutely necessary.
“Well, baby sister?” Alec greeted as he stood from his seat at their table, kissed her cheek, and assisted her in taking her chair. “How goes work today?”
Tierney shrugged, answering, “Fine. Not too boring.”
“Do you like working there?” Celeste asked, smiling at Tierney.
Tierney returned Celeste’s friendly smile and said, “Yeah. Jessica is really pretty comfortable to work with.”
Celeste nodded, and Tierney tried to ignore the strange trepidation that always rose in her when she was with Celeste.
Ever since meeting Celeste at Mr. and Mrs. Novak’s party the week before, Tierney had noticed the way Celeste was trying to become her friend—her good friend. But Tierney was afraid. Because of sweet Celeste’s kindness and efforts to befriend her, Tierney had realized that, just as Valerie had damaged Alec where romance was concerned, the experiences Tierney had endured with her supposed friends after she broke up with Dillon had damaged her. She was afraid—afraid to allow herself to truly be friends with Celeste. After all, why would such a happy, obviously beautiful, fun-loving young woman like Celeste Novak want to be friends with Tierney? Surely there had to be some underlying reason—and Tierney figured that the underlying reason was Alec.
Oh, she tried not to be so daytime TV in her thinking, but she couldn’t help it. Tierney just didn’t trust Celeste to like her for who she was—for who she was other than Alec’s sister. And even though Alec had explained that Celeste was an entirely different type of character than the girls Tierney had grown up thinking were her friends, Tierney was having a hard time letting go of suspicion and distrust.
In truth, she and Alec and spent hours in conversation on the matter. Alec had confessed his feelings were similar—that he had to fight every day to remember that Valerie Gilland was not the standard for all women, and neither was Tierney and Alec’s mother. It was what had stopped him (and still scared him) about pursuing Celeste: he didn’t trust women to have hearts.
Still, Alec had assured Tierney that they were wrong in their thinking. Absolutely their experiences with the people they’d grown up with and around had wounded and scarred both of them, but it was something they had to battle through if they hoped to lead happy, loving lives—normal lives.
So Tierney smiled at Celeste—even though she still didn’t trust her appearance of sincerity in offering friendship—and asked, “How was work at the Christmas Shoppe today? Did you guys get any new merchandise in that I can’t live without?�
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Celeste’s beautiful face lit up like fireworks over the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July. “Oh yes!” she exclaimed. “We got this thing in today, and the moment I saw it, I thought of you and just knew you had to have it!”
Tierney giggled. “What it is?”
But Celeste, eyes twinkling with mischief the same way her mother’s did, shook her head, still smiling. “I can’t tell you that!” she answered. “It was so you that I just had to get it for you! You will absolutely die when you see it!” Celeste laughed and then added, “But you have to wait until Christmas. I’m giving it to you as my Christmas gift this year. And anyway, it came in as stock for our gift shop—our non-Christmas section.”
Tierney frowned. “Why would you give me a Christmas gift?” she couldn’t help asking—for in truth, she was entirely stunned that a woman she’d known only a couple of weeks would find it necessary to give her a Christmas gift.
But Celeste plunked her hands down on the table before her as her mouth dropped open in astonishment.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “It’s the perfect thing for you! Entirely impractical, of course. But I don’t really believe in practical gift. I think gifts should be totally frivolous and fun…and totally individual. So when this little thingy came into the store today, I had to get it for you.” Celeste giggled with secret delight. “I’m so excited! I know you’ll love it!”
So many thoughts and feelings were racing through Tierney’s mind that she couldn’t sort them all out right away. Christmas gifts? Celeste had purchased a gift for her? Naturally, the obligatory gift clause her mother had instilled in Tierney began to eat at her mind. Celeste was giving Tierney a gift, and therefore Tierney had to reciprocate. Yet she knew that the usual obligatory gift wouldn’t do. Scented candles, day spa gift certificates, fruit baskets—none of them were personal enough. Tierney felt a nervous quiver begin inside her. What in all the world would she get for Celeste Novak as reciprocation for whatever it was Celeste had purchased for her at the Christmas Shoppe gift section?
Tierney was so preoccupied with worry and anxiety about the matter that it wasn’t until Celeste said, “Hi, Rome,” that she realized Rome had taken hold of the back of the chair next to her and was sitting down.
“Hey, sweetie,” Rome greeted his sister, leaning over and placing an affectionate kiss on her cheek. “What’s up, man?” he greeted Alec as they bumped fists.
Then Rome looked to Tierney. He grinned at her, and instantly she felt the warmth of a slight blush rise to her cheeks. What was it about the man that had her so alternately delighted and nervous?
“And how’s our little bootylicious flower arranger today?” he asked.
“Just fine,” Tierney answered, quivering as he actually reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek. “How’s our classic Latin lover, Milli Vanilli guy today?”
Rome’s smile broadened, his brows arching in pleased astonishment. She’d done it! Tierney had done it! She’d managed to meet him with a teasing remark in response.
Ever since the Novaks’ Halloween party, Tierney had become more and more aware of how flirtatious and teasing Rome really was. It seemed as if teasing Tierney in a very flirtatious manner had become one of his favorite hobbies or something. Naturally, Tierney loved the fact, but it had thrown her a little off balance as far as how she should react at first. But now—now that she was getting used to it—not only did she love it all the more but she was also learning how to come right back at him. Consequently, every time Rome entered a room or met her and Alec for lunch, Tierney began to blush even before he said a word!
“He ain’t my Latin lover!” Alec exclaimed. “You’re the only one at the table that can claim that, Tiers.”
“I don’t claim that,” Tierney said in a lowered voice. She knew her face was beet-red with embarrassment.
“But you can,” Rome said, placing one strong arm along the back of her chair. “After all, you are the only girl I ever…” Rome paused—wrinkled his brows with an expression of puzzlement. “How did I wind up wearing a tuxedo and stuffed in a box to play your Latin lover, anyway?” he asked. “I mean, Alec told me you’ve always had a thing for old Latin dudes. But I’m thinking it must really be a big thing, considering you dumped your fiancé and all, just because I showed up with that message from Alec.”
“I don’t have a thing for old Latin dudes,” Tierney playfully argued. “I had a thing for Ricardo Montalbán, ever since I was a little girl.” She shrugged. “I kind of like all that ‘golden age of Hollywood’ stuff—the fashions, the movies, the way men were masculine and women were feminine.”
“Celeste is into that too,” Rome noted. “Right?” he asked, looking at his sister.
“Right,” Celeste answered, smiling.
“Really?” Tierney asked Celeste.
Celeste nodded as Rome said, “Thus, the fruit hat lady costume at Halloween.”
Tierney smiled. “You mean the Carmen Miranda costume.”
“Oh, like I’d ever be able to remember that name,” Rome chuckled. “I mean, Celeste has been wearing wax fruit on her head since we were kids, but I can never remember her name.”
“Carmen Miranda,” Celeste offered with a giggle.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Rome said, rolling his eyes. He looked back to Tierney. “When I was younger, I thought Carmen whatever was the Chiquita Banana lady. I didn’t even know there was a Carmen Meander or whatever.”
Tierney laughed, shaking her head with amusement. “You’re funny,” she said. “And I totally get Celeste’s Carmen Miranda admiration.”
“Thank you, Tierney,” Celeste said, offering another friendly smile. “We’ll have to get together and talk movie stars one day.”
Both Rome and Alec groaned and exhaled sighs of exasperation.
“Shut up, Rome,” Celeste demanded. “You only wish you were the Latin lover Ricardo Montalbán was.”
“He was an actor, Celeste,” Rome reminded his sister.
“I will have you know that Ricardo Montalbán was married to the same woman for sixty-three years,” Celeste informed her brother.
“To Georgiana Young…Loretta Young’s half-sister,” Tierney added. “Though I think Georgiana was way more beautiful than Loretta Young.”
“Oh, me too!” Celeste agreed.
“Yep,” Alec sighed. “That’s my sister—in love with a man who was old enough to be her great-grandfather when she was born, mind you.” He smiled and winked at Tierney. “I don’t know what would’ve happened to Tiers if you hadn’t agreed to go to that damn bridal shower, Rome.”
Rome shook his head with amusement. “So old Latin dudes and scandalized lip-synching guys named after ice cream or something. Those are the guys you’re attracted to, eh?”
Tierney shrugged. “Some little girls want to grow up to be princesses; some want to grow up to be movie stars. I think girls like me and obviously Celeste…we wish we could just wear all the wonderful fashions of the past, date men that waltzed with you instead of always trying to dirty dance with you. You know?” She sighed with momentary disappointment.
Celeste sighed too, adding, “It’s like…men don’t swoop women up in their arms anymore.”
Tierney nodded. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I always wanted to be wearing some pretty little black dress, retro stockings—the kind with seams up the back—and a pair of black pumps, and have a Ricardo Montalbán type swoop me up in his arms, feel the shoes slip off my silk-stockinged feet and fall to the floor…”
Celeste giggled, adding, “And, when the zipper on the back of your dress gets stuck, have him unzip the back of it with his teeth like Rock Hudson did to Leslie Caron in A Very Special Favor?”
“Ooo! I love that movie!” Tierney exclaimed. Looking to Rome, Tierney asked, “Do you know what we mean?”
But Rome grinned and answered, “I’m proud to say, absolutely not. I’ve never had the desire to have another man swoop me up into his arm
s, let alone feel a pair of high-heeled pumps slip off my silky feet. That I can assure you.”
Alec chuckled. “Dude, I’m actually really glad to hear that.”
“No, but seriously,” Tierney said, placing her hand on Rome’s forearm to retrieve his attention. “Do guys ever…don’t guys ever wish that women were still glamorous? You know, soft updos, pretty shades of lipstick and makeup, silk stockings, and high heels that make your legs look long instead making you look like you can’t walk?” She shrugged. “I guess I’m different…ignorant too. But if you don’t know the difference between Ricardo Montalbán and, like, Ben Affleck…”
“Hey, I know the difference,” Rome playfully argued. Frowning at his sister a moment, he added, “Celeste has coerced me into sitting through enough corny old black-and-white movies in my lifetime. I’ve seen Mr. Valentino in action…ol’ Rudy, as we call him down at the lodge.”
“Down at the lodge?” Tierney giggled.
Rome shrugged. “That’s what guys always say in those old movies…that they hang out down at the lodge.”
“Ol’ Rudy,” Tierney repeated. “You’re so funny!”
“Oh, am I?” Rome asked. “I’m funny?”
“Really funny,” Tierney teased.
“Well, I will have you know that I can be as Chiquita Banana and Ricardo Montalbán-ish as the next guy, lady,” he mischievously countered as he leaned toward her.
“Oh, I know,” Tierney assured him, delighted as goose bumps erupted over her arms. “I was there, remember?”
“No, I mean now, right here…without the tuxedo,” he explained as his head bent toward her shoulder. Rome then reached up, slowly tugging at the collar of Tierney’s brown sweater to pull it down so it wasn’t as high on her neck. Tierney’s face blushed hot, and more goose bumps rippled over her back and neck as she felt his breath on her skin just below her ear.
“Dude, get a room,” Alec teased.
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