Tales From a Broad (32 page)

“I know we don’t know each other well, but I
know enough to say that you’re a dream woman,” he said
matter-of-factly. “
My
dream woman, anyway.”

I gasped and pointed my finger at my chest in
surprise.

“Yes, you, Lucy. You’re smart, funny, sexy...
And in all fairness to Cooper, I’m sure,” he said, holding a hand
in the air, “that he has some redeeming qualities. But look at
you,” he said, waving his hand over my body. “You’re gorgeous. More
importantly, you’re beautiful within.” He tapped my breastbone, and
a shiver ran up my body.

I swallowed hard and pressed my palms
together. “Thank you,” I mumbled and looked down.

I may have been speechless on the outside,
but my heart sang on the inside. That may have been the nicest
compliment I had ever received.

“You’ve told me some things he’s said, and
quite frankly, I don’t quite see how you guys are together. I don’t
think he appreciates you and...”

“Luce?” a voice called out in the hallway. My
head snapped up so fast that I felt a burning sensation in my
neck.

“It’s Cooper,” I hissed.

My eyes bulged as I stared at Simon. I heard
a simultaneous knock at the door. I think the knocking heart in my
chest may have been louder.

“Oh, my God,” I gasped. “What am I going to
say?”

“Relax,” Simon whispered and jumped to his
feet. “I’ll hide. Just please, please promise not to have sex with
him.” He wore a pained expression on his face. “I really can’t
imagine hearing...”

I interrupted by punching him in the arm.

“Ow.” Simon grimaced and rubbed his arm. “I
was being serious.”

I shooed Simon away and pointed to the
bathroom. While he headed off to take cover, I stood and adjusted
my towel.

“I’m coming.” I called. I ran to the door and
opened it a few cracks.

“Yikes,” Cooper said. He took a step
backwards into the hallway.

“Gee, thanks,” I said dryly. “I wasn’t ...
err ... expecting any company.”

Cooper held up a hand. “I should’ve called. I
just wanted to drop off a cup of coffee and some Tylenol. You
seemed to be really hurting when I left you.” He held out the
offerings, and I opened the door a little wider to take it from his
hands.

Oh, you have no idea just how much, I thought
to myself. “Thank you so much, Coop. Do you want to...” I couldn’t
bring myself to finish the question because the last thing I needed
was to hold Simon hostage.

“No, no,” he answered quickly. “I’ll leave
you to do your ... girl thing,” he said with a face.

“Hey. Am I that scary?”

“No, no,” he reassured. “I just think some
things are better left to my imagination.”

I smiled weakly, knowing full well Simon was
within earshot.

“Take the aspirin and drink the coffee.
Relax, and when you’re all done with
this
... whatever it
is,” he said, pointing to my face, “call me.”

“You know what, Cooper. I feel somewhat
beyond repair today. Let’s just meet up in the morning. I’ll
probably look and feel better in the light of day.”

Cooper’s face immediately fell. “Are you
sure?” He looked so disappointed I almost changed my mind, but
Simon’s words had rattled me so much that I really needed to do
some thinking.

I bit my lip and nodded.

“Okay,” Cooper sighed. “Well, I guess last
night’s dinner was supposed to be just that. A dinner. Today was a
bonus, and there’s always tomorrow, right?”

“Right.” I leaned my head against the
doorframe and nodded again.

“Feel better, sweetheart. The car will come
pick you up in the morning. I’ll be sure to call first.”

I blew him a kiss and started to shut the
door.

“Oh, and Lucy?” Cooper called.

“Yes?” I popped my head back into the
hallway.

“Thank you for giving me another chance. I
promise,”—Cooper interlaced his fingers and squeezed his hands
together —“you won’t be sorry.”

I smiled grimly and closed the door.

Within a second, Simon appeared in front of
me. We listened to the sound of Cooper’s footsteps disappear down
the hall.

“Please, please,”—Simon closed his eyes for a
brief moment before he reopened them—“don’t tell me you have
officially taken him back?”

I clenched my jaw and looked at Simon.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered.

I squinted and leaned closer. “What did you
say?” I said in disbelief.

I folded my arms across my chest and tapped
my fingers. “What does that mean? You don’t even know him.”

Simon gazed into my eyes, and my heart began
to race. I inched back so he wouldn’t hear the heavy beating.

“I don’t have to. Just hearing what he said
about your appearance confirmed my entire opinion of him. Lucy, it
doesn’t matter what you wear, a designer dress or a hotel towel.”
He tugged on my terry cloth get up.

Wowzers!
I felt something I hadn’t
felt once the entire day with Cooper. All sorts of nerves had come
alive, and I clutched my towel protectively.

“You’re perfect just the way you are. I’m
sorry, but I don’t think Cooper loves you for you. He loves the
idea of you, but not the reality. Not the Lucy who wants to dress
casually. Or the Lucy who can’t have babies,” he said, gently.

My stomach dropped, and I chewed my lip,
while fixing my gaze on the floor.

“He’s just too hung up on appearances,” Simon
continued to rant, “not to mention making millions.” He scowled.
“Does he really make you happy?”

I paused for a moment. Is anyone really ever
truly happy? Oh, whatever. Feeling anger rise within me, I bit my
lip and drew in a breath.

“Simon, no offense, but you barely know me.
And you definitely don’t know Cooper. What gives you the right?” I
clasped my fingers together to keep them from shaking.

“I’m sorry,” Simon said. “I just think you’re
much deeper than he is. And that you can do better.”

Like who? A camp counselor who doesn’t want
to grow up?

“I think you should leave,” I said quietly,
reining in my temper.

“Lucy...”

I walked towards the door and flung it open.
I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes, so I stared down
at the floor instead.

“Jesus Christ, Lucy. Are you mad at me or are
you mad at yourself? You’re acting like a total fool.”

My head snapped up, and I stood there with my
mouth agape. While my inner voice was loud and clear, I couldn’t
seem to find my outer one.

“Yes, a fool,” Simon repeated. “How can you
even be with that douche after what he did?”

“Simon, you don’t know....” I rubbed my
temples.

“No, Lucy,
you
don’t know. He broke
off your engagement. He broke your heart. Show a little
self-respect.”

Whether or not I had shown any self-respect,
I knew I certainly wasn’t at that moment, as I stood there,
overexposed in my towel.

“Please, just leave. I can’t do this right
now.”

He walked forward and stopped in front of me.
“I was just trying to help,” he mumbled to the floor.

“Help me feel like a fool? Help me doubt my
own life? Mission accomplished.” I stepped aside, and I too, looked
down, hoping to signal our conversation was over.

When I saw his feet pass, I slammed the door
behind him. And then there was one.

* * * *

I woke up in the middle of the night, dying
of unquenchable thirst. Little elves were hammering away inside my
head. The dry mouth, I could chalk up to too much alcohol and not
enough water, but the pain in my head, well that was just a side
effect from Simon, that pain in my ass.

Damn him, the know-it-all who knows nothing.
I had such a lovely day with Cooper at the vineyards and probably
would’ve been perfectly happy if I hadn’t run into Simon. As I‘d
tossed and turned all night, thoughts of his insecure ramblings
rattled around in my head.

I yawned and squeezed my eyes shut, willing
myself to sleep.

Several hours later, the sound of pedestrian
traffic beneath my window roused me from my broken sleep. I pressed
my forehead as the events from the night before worked their way
back into my consciousness.

Don’t even go there
, I warned myself.
I turned on the clock radio and allowed the sounds of Pavarotti to
drown out the cacophony in my head. Tess and I only had a few more
days until we moved on to Venice, and I refused to allow Simon’s
nonsense to ruin another moment of my fleeting time in
Florence.

I flung my feet to the floor and dragged my
lethargic body out of bed. Sounding raspy and off-key, I hummed
along with the Italian opera singer as I stumbled over to the
window to open the shutters. Bright sunlight flooded the room, and
I shielded my eyes to look out into the distance.

The Cyprus trees, copper domes, and
terracotta roofs looked like part of a painting, their colors
standing out against the clear blue sky. The sun warmed my skin and
radiated through my entire body, brightening my mood and uplifting
my spirits. It was going to be another glorious day in Florence,
and I was determined to make damned sure it was a good one.

I folded my arms on the windowsill and
watched the Florentines as they set out on their daily grind. They
looked suspiciously happy, which made me realize that a workday
with a two-hour siesta probably doesn’t qualify as a grind. The
more I thought about it, it seemed to qualify more as
grand
.
Once again, what a difference a letter can make. The sound of my
cell phone interrupted my musing.

I glanced at the caller ID. It was
Cooper.

“Good morning,” I answered with a smile. “I
have the windows open and feel a lovely day on tap. Is it possible
the air actually smells like a cross between espresso and Parmesan
cheese? I know that may sound like a gross combo, but it’s making
my mouth water for...” I paused from my babbling to swallow. “A
cappuccino and a cheese Danish? Or maybe a fig one? Oh my goodness.
My mouth is actually watering. I didn’t eat any dinner last
night.”

“Don’t hate me,” he pleaded.

“Oh,” I cried. “Duh. How could I have
forgotten how much you loathe cheese Danish? I must’ve blocked it
out because honestly, I can never, ever imagine—”

“That wasn’t what I meant, Lucy,” Cooper
interrupted. “I have some bad news.”

“Whatever it is, don’t worry. I’m sure it’s
not so bad. Is the Mercedes in the shop? I’ll have you know I’ve
become a real whiz on mass transit.”

Cooper remained silent and I, on the other
hand, couldn’t shut up. I was feeling rather punchy, or maybe I was
just delirious from a bad night’s sleep.

“Are your best pants at the cleaners? No time
to shave?” My jokes were met with more silence and I felt a
familiar twisting in my stomach.

I heard Cooper draw in a breath. “Luce,” he
began.

“You have to work, don’t you?”

“Well, yes and no.” Cooper sounded
distracted, and I heard the sound of a male voice in the
background. It had a very thick Italian accent. “Luce, can you hang
on a sec?”

“Yes.” I plopped down on the bed, looked
straight ahead, and stared at myself in the mirror. The me looking
back was clearly annoyed and disappointed.

“I think I like the navy one better. Does it
come in charcoal, or maybe olive?” I heard him ask.

As I half-listened to Cooper rattle off names
from the darker spectrum of the color wheel, I couldn’t help but
think of all the times this had happened in the past. The day of my
cousin’s wedding, when he canceled, forcing me to go dateless at
the eleventh hour. The night of my birthday dinner, when he showed
up one hour late, after they’d given our table away. The day I left
him the message I’d been laid off, when it took him three hours to
call me back. Why hadn’t I remembered those moments when I was
crying my eyes out over Cooper earlier?

“I’m back. Sorry,” Cooper sighed as he
returned to the line. “The concierge told me about an old man who
makes killer suits. I figured while I was here, I’d go see him. The
old school Italian tailors are a dying breed in New York, and from
the looks of things,”—he lowered his voice—“this guy’s also on his
way out.”

I shook my head in disgust. “Please don’t
tell me this is why you can’t come meet me.”

“No. No!” he exclaimed in horror. “I came
here early, but it’s taking a bit longer than I’d expected. I guess
it doesn’t really matter though, since I have some issues to take
care of anyway. I came here thinking I may as well kill two birds
with one stone.”

“Am I one of the birds by chance? Reconcile
with Lucy and get a custom made wardrobe in the process?”

Cooper laughed. “Cute. No, I’m going to shoot
out some emails while getting fitted. I know how much you hate
that.”

“What? The way you palm your BlackBerry like
a teenager holding his penis?”

Cooper chuckled on the other end.

“It’s not funny,” I scolded.

“Hey, that’s not fair. I flew all the way to
Florence. That should count for something. I just have to wait for
a fax to come,” he said. “It needs to be signed asap, and that’s
the reason I have to hang local. Then after that, I’m all yours.
Right now, I’m just multi-tasking. Don’t be mad.”

“Cooper,” I sighed. “I’m not mad, per se. I
just can’t help but feel like a part of your to-do list. Buy new
clothes, return emails, have dinner with Lucy—”

“Hey, let’s not forget that you got a new
wardrobe too, and I took you on a special date yesterday. I barely
took any calls at the vineyard!”

“That’s because you didn’t get service.
Cooper, I don’t need things. I need
you
.”

“Aw, Luce. I need you, too, honey, and I know
you’re disappointed, but I promise to make it up to you later.
We’ll have a nice dinner. And I’m still sending the car, of
course.”