11. Celebration
11
Celebration
In the last year, I had loved two men hard and lost two men hard. I was beginning to wonder if I was meant to have love in my life. But what was there to do but keep going?
My time in California with Theo was lovely. We made love and acted like we were back together, but we never had an official discussion about our relationship status before I flew back to Colorado.
I touched my cheek, blushing at my desk at the thought of the sweet gentle lovemaking. It was nothing like the first time, when we did everything under the sun. When we were desperate, needy, wanton, sinful. This was more friends turned lovers, more healing and therapeutic, just being there for one another. My heart rate skyrocketed just thinking about it, and I took a deep breath, hoping to bring it back to normal.
Theo was back on tour, but before I left, we made a plan that I would come out two weeks before the baby was born. That way, I would have time to put the final decorating touches on the renovated house. By then, the Oxygen tour would be over, and Theo was planning on taking a well-deserved break to enjoy a little time with his new son. Well, split time between him and his ex-wife, but I knew he was still super excited for that time to arrive. Theo was going to be an amazing father, and I knew deep under his insecurities and fear about this new adventure, he would be great.
Long forgotten were thoughts of his possibly cheating ex-wife. And in the forefront of my mind was the fact that I had hit a milestone at work. Over the last year, I had worked my butt off. Now that I was back from California, I could celebrate hitting my first ten million dollars’ worth of sales.
Sara, my friend from Evergreen, threw the celebration party. She invited both John and Theo. But Theo had a concert that day on the East Coast, and John was out of town. Probably better not to have two suitors at the same party. Seriously, what was I doing? Modern-day romance was challenging. Still, a few of my closest friends and coworkers and I had plans to go up to Evergreen where we’d hang out at Sara’s bar and grill.
Friday arrived, and I was weary from a long night of restlessness. Admittedly, I thought of Theo all night. I showed up at work to find some beautiful roses on my desk. They brought a smile to my face. “Who are these from?” I asked Kathy, my assistant. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who was feeling lonely last night. They must be from Theo.
“I’m not sure. I was wondering the same thing. I’m curious to see if they’re from your hot, on-again-off-again rock star boyfriend, or the other guy.” She winked at me, hovering over my shoulder as I checked the note.
“Oh!” we both said in unison. Surprisingly, they were from John Smith.
“He’s the oil businessman, right?” Kathy asked playfully, knowing already exactly who he was .
“Yes. Bella or Nikki told him about tonight and invited him.”
“They are gorgeous, but can you say plot twist?” Kathy laughed. “Isn’t John Smith in Dubai right now?” she asked, but she didn’t wait for my answer. “Hey, can’t complain though. Hot rock star or hot oil tycoon. Your choice.” She smiled whimsically at me. “Both are stinking rich and hot. I’d say there probably isn’t a wrong choice here.” She patted me on the shoulder.
I read the card. “ Sorry I’m missing your celebration party tonight. Congratulations on all of your success. When I get back in town, I’ll take you out for our own little celebration dinner. Yours, John. ”
I glanced up at Kathy after quickly seeing what it said. “Ha, don’t you have some showings to schedule?” I grimaced.
“Nope, already done,” she said confidently as she walked away.
I was writing up a few contracts and going over some last-minute changes before my showings that afternoon. Buzz, buzz . I felt the vibration on my desk. I glanced at my phone and realized it was Theo on Facetime. My breath caught at the sight of him. I pushed the green button happily, and he greeted me with his drop-dead gorgeous smile. God, did he ever wear a shirt? “Did you get my flowers?” he asked.
I put on the “your hot naked chest doesn’t distract me” persona. “Um, actually, no. I haven’t seen them. You sent me flowers? That was sweet.” Maybe he was thinking of me last night.
“Who are those flowers on your desk from then?”
Oh shoot, he saw them. Oops. “Oh, Well…” I stumbled over my words, trying to decide what to tell him. I wondered if he would be mad or jealous.
Just in the nick of time, Kathy walked into the room and saved me. “Delivery for you, Jane.” She carried a huge vase of red roses, at least twenty-four. I flipped the phone around so Theo could see them.
“There they are,” I said. “They are beautiful, Theo. Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” He furrowed his eyebrows at me. “But you aren’t getting off that easy. You didn’t tell me who the other flowers are from?”
“No one, really. Remember that Tinder date the girls forced me to go on? They’re from him.” I played it down.
“Oh yeah, John Doe who owns half of Texas.” He moaned. “Ugh, I should have known if we took a break, someone would swoop in. You are quite the catch. I guess we really didn’t discuss our relationship status before you left,” he grumbled. Then a devious smile lit up his lips. “At least mine is bigger.” The sip of coffee I had just taken burst out of my mouth at his innuendo. “Mine is bigger… Right?” he asked, by his tone, it sounded like he was seriously wondering—not that he needed to worry.”
“Um, god, Theo. I don’t know,” I squeaked.
“Really? You don’t know. Well, good…” He was silent for a moment. “So that means you haven’t…?” He didn’t have time to finish his question.
In the background, I heard someone call out to him. “Theo, it’s time for rehearsals, dude. Come on, let’s go.”
“Listen, I’ve got to go.” He sounded down. Thank god I didn’t have to finish answering that question. “But I just wanted to say congratulations on your big milestone and I wish I could be celebrating with you up in Evergreen tonight.”
“Thanks, Theo. That means a lot. Hope your concert rocks.” He chuckled, which was the intended result of my dumb pun.
* * *
We sat at the bar while Sara brought us too many drinks. Nikki’s new boyfriend, Colorado boy number one from the concert, did in fact have a name. Turned out his name was Bret, and he was our designated driver. Bella was going off. “So is Sara comping our drinks tonight, or are they on you since you made all that money selling houses?” She asked with a grin.
Nikki looked at Bret. “Sorry, bad night to be the designated driver.” She reached up and pecked him on the cheek before she sipped more of her mojito.
Bret smiled in return, putting his hand around her shoulder and pulling her close. “Ah, that’s okay. I just want you girls to have a good time with Jane tonight.”
Bella, Sara, and I all said “Aw” at the same time.
“He’s sweet,” I mused. I sat with open bar seats beside me until a handsome guy came and sat down. I glanced at him. He smiled. I smiled too then turned away, rejoining the conversation with my friends. The bartender asked if I wanted more to drink, so I returned my attention to the bar. “I’ll just have some water.”
Handsome Guy took the opportunity to speak. “You look familiar. I remember you from the Red Rocks after-party for Oxygen. You and these friends of yours were invited backstage, right?”
I twisted, giving him my concentration. “Oh yeah?” I looked him up and down to see if I recognized him, but I didn’t. That’s understandable, though. After all, I only had eyes for Theo that night.
“Hi, I’m Nate, stage manager for Red Rocks.” He stuck his hand out for a shake. “I’d buy you a drink, but looks like you’re finishing up for the night. What are you celebrating? ”
“Oh… just a work thing.” I smiled.
He nodded his head, looking at me like he was concentrating on something. “Now I remember why I recognize you. You left that party with the lead singer of Oxygen, if I remember right?” It was a question. He continued. “Then I saw his Twitter picture of you guys in New York together.” He looked around the bar, clearly checking to see if I had a famous rock star as my number two tonight. I clamped my jaw in a tight smile as he returned his gaze to me. “That was kind of a big deal, huh?” he asked.
“Yeah, that was me.” Now I was wishing I had ordered another drink.
“What happened? From what I hear, Theo is actually one of the nice guys. So why the bitter beer face?”
“He is, he was.” I couldn’t deny he had been a great guy, a great lover, the best time of my life. “You know, he’s busy, I’m busy. It’s just, you know…long distance and stuff.” Did I really need to mention that he’s expecting a child with his ex? Um, no, I’d keep that to myself. That was if he didn’t already know. I checked him out more to see if he was the type to follow Entertainment News. Very well could, considering he was a stage manager.
“Gotcha.” He took the hint that I wasn’t super interested in talking about it. “So, what do you do for work?”
“Real estate. I’m celebrating a sales goal.”
“Congratulations. Seems like you love it. The real estate, I mean.”
“Yeah, my favorite is renovating old homes. I like to do that in my spare time.” I knew I’d had too much to drink when I started telling this stranger my life story.
“Interesting. Because I just bought a major project house here in town. You know that old cottage? The one right on the lake? ”
“The only house on Evergreen Lake?” I asked. “Ah…yeah, I know it. Oh my god, that house is gorgeous, and the location. Wow.” I really looked at my bar friend. Was he as handsome as I thought he was, or was it the margarita going to my head? He must be cool if he owned that home. That home had always intrigued me, but there were no pictures of the almost one-hundred-year-old lake house on the internet—trust me, I had looked. “I’ve always wanted to tour that home.” I spoke almost to myself. “There are literally no pictures of the inside of that home on the internet.” I complained out loud this time.
“I know,” Nate agreed. “That’s because it has been in the same family since it was built.” He grinned. “You know I’ve got the keys right here.” He was handsome, and his sexy grin had me feeling all tingly. Shoot…or was that the tequila? Who the hell knew at that point? “Want to go take a look at it? I’m not gonna lie: it’s pretty dated.”
“Oh, but I bet it has great potential.” I bit my lip and smiled at him. And now I was flirting? My life was so messed up. My eyes grazed his body up and down. He didn’t look like a serial killer. Oh, I had an idea. I held up my pointer finger to him. “I’ll be right back. Stay right there.” He stifled a chuckle. As I headed to the kitchen to talk to Sara, Bella and Nikki noticed me leaving and promptly followed me, always needing to be in the know.
The four of us convened next to the stainless prep island in the center of the industrial-sized kitchen. “Hey Sara, do you know this guy sitting by me? He says his name is Nate, and that he manages Red Rocks Amphitheater. Claims he just bought the lake house here in Evergreen?”
“Oh yeah, everyone knows Nate Anderson. Nice guy, loaded, and dang good-looking.” She winked. “Oh my god, he’s such a great fit for you, Jane. For real, you should flirt with him. He’s hot. Everyone knows him up here in Evergreen; he’s the elusive desirable bachelor. He’s on all my single friends’ radar.”
“I saw him. He’s cute,” said Bella. “I’d date him.”
“He is pretty cute,” I agreed. “He just asked me if I wanted to go see the lake house. Should I? He checks out okay?” I asked again. “Like he’s not weird or anything?”
“No, no, he’s a really nice guy. Like I said, all the women are trying to get his attention. He’s really sweet, does lots of volunteer work. Don’t worry, Jane, he’s legit.” Sara assured me again.
“Well, okay. You guys talked me into it. Don’t wait up for me.”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “Oh okay, you little devil. Living on the edge.”
“Wild real estate agent going to look at a house—watch out!” Bella laughed.
I walked through the swinging wood door of the kitchen and back to the bar. “Okay, I’m ready to go.” I smiled and put my hand out. He beamed back, not missing a step, and grabbed my hand to guide me to the parking lot.
Nate was good-looking, for sure. Hot, really, when I finally decided to pay attention to him and not think about Theo. For goodness sake, Jane, move on. Theo has had multiple chances; it wasn’t meant to be, a relationship with the rock star probably won’t work out in your favor . Lately, I had been insta-stalking Theo. I really needed to move on, and this was my chance.
I followed Nate to the car—a Land Rover. I hummed a new favorite tune that was all over the radio. To my surprise, it wasn’t an Oxygen song.
“What was that?” Nate asked.
“Sorry, your car made me sing. It’s something I do now.” On our short ride, he told me more about himself. Five minutes later, we pulled up to the old white farm-style home on the lake. He walked around to my side and opened my door, holding my hand in the darkness. I couldn’t help but notice—even in the dark with only the moonlight shining—the cutest boat dock. The quaintness of it was intriguing. As we walked up to the adorable covered porch, the small porch light was on. I noticed the white paint peeling and the porch sagging a bit in the middle. Oh, the charm, though. “It’s charming.”
Still holding my hand, Nate flipped on the light. Oh boy. I glanced at Nate, and he looked back at me intensely. “Ha, I told you it needs some work.” He grinned.
I laughed. “Just a little. But still, swoon.”
“Swooning over a house?” he asked. “I thought swooning was something women do over men, not property.” He grinned mischievously.
“Oh, I swoon over men as well,” I flirted right back. The alcohol was still working its magic.
He nodded in approval, like he knew he was making progress. “When I first heard it was going up for sale, it didn’t matter the price. I had to have my hands on it. I mean, this location, right?”
“Oh yeah. I mean, location, location, location. Real estate rule number one. This has so much character. It will be amazing, I’m sure. Can I get a tour?”
After the tour was over, we stood at the front door, my imagination going wild with what I would do to restore this historic piece of art if it were mine. Nate must have read my expression. “Want to do a business deal?”
Under the small porch light on the little rickety porch, I gazed up into his eyes, knowing that a business deal would mean spending a lot of time together. And the business deal could turn into something more, like a “do you want to date me” type of deal. I considered the house; I considered my impossible relationship with Theo.
“You bet I do.” I smiled through the hazy light.
As he drove me home that night, we agreed on my salary, and I promised to give him an estimated budget in a couple of days. I was excited to get my mind on something else besides Theo. But that night, before bed, I still checked on Theo’s Instagram. Nothing.