I certainly had nothing against bartenders, except when you met them at their work. There they flirted with everybody. Like the valets out front, their shift was made or broken by their tips.
Ill take one of those, I said, pointing to Sophies glass.
I smiled at him, but made it brief. I didnt want to spend the evening chatting with the bartender. I wanted to spend it with my girlfriends.
Across the lounge, a very handsome profile came into my view, distracting me.
Okay, this guy wasnt a bartender, or a valet, or a public school teacher of any kindthat was for sure.
His perfectly cut suit was draped over a perfectly sculpted body. His haircut was shaggy-neat, that kind where you paid the earth to look like youd rolled out of bed and had every hair fall naturally into place.
Even as I mentally mocked the style, I liked it.
He turned, and I caught his handsome face full-on. He could have just walked off a magazine cover. He should have walked off a magazine cover with that chiseled chin and those startlingly bright blue eyes.
He caught me staring, but he didnt smile. I felt heat hit my cheeks, anyway.
And then it was over. He turned and kept walking like our eyes meeting had never happened. And maybe it hadnt. Maybe he hadnt been staring at me at all. Maybe it was just the fevered musing that took flight in my head when I saw a good-looking guy lately.
Id read a statistic last month that said sixty-seven percent of women met their husbands before they graduated from college. So I was already in the bottom thirty-three percent.
When you added that to the twenty-one percent of women who never married at all, my odds looked grim. I had a twelve percent chance of meeting Mr. Right.
Dont get me started on the fifty percent divorce rate because that left me at six percent. And six percent was truly demoralizing.
Earth to Layla, Sophie said.
I gave myself a mental shake. This was a girlfriends weekend.
Did Brooklyn come down already? I asked, focusing on the here and now.
Brooklyn and I were sharing a room, while Sophie and Nat were staying together one floor up. We had ended up with a view of the bridge, while they looked into the building next door. Wed offered to trade, but nobody seemed to care about the view.
The rooms had enormous soaker tubs, steam showers and beds that felt like you were floating on a cloud. Nothing else much mattered.
I havent seen her yet, Sophie said.
I glanced around but didnt see her, either. I have eight pillows, I said to Sophie.
You counted?
I counted.
Did you take the square root? she asked, grinning as she bit the olive off her blue plastic skewer.
If I include the gold throw pillow, the square root is three. I considered applying the quadratic formula, but
Layla. It was Brooklyns happy voice in my ear and I felt her arm go around my shoulders. I thought youd never get out of the shower.
Its a great shower. There was something sensual and indulgent about endless hot water.
What are you drinking? Brooklyn sounded overly cheerful.
Vodka martini, Sophie said. You?
I had a Sunburst Bramble across the lobby there. I wouldnt recommend it.
She wore a short, mauve halter dress with a full skirt that swirled around her toned thighs. Her ankle-high gladiator heels were mottled purple and silver. As always, she looked trendy and stylish.
The bartender seemed to magically appear. The Sunburst Bramble wasnt to your taste? he asked Brooklyn, obviously having overheard her comment. Would you like me to replace it with something else?
Would you? Brooklyn responded. Thats so sweet of you.
He slid a slim, leather-bound cocktail menu in front of her.
Why dont you pick, she said, sliding it back with a swish of her shoulder-length blond hair. Something sweeter, maybe with strawberries or a little Irish Mist?
I did a mental eye roll. This was the Brooklyn whod gotten us free milkshakes at the beach all summer long. Only that Brooklyn hadnt been engaged to be married.
How many drinks have you had? I asked her, wondering if shed hit the minibar while I was in the shower.
Just the one. But Im about to have another.
I told myself to quit worrying. She was in a good mood, and that was great. This was her weekend, after all. I didnt know why I was borrowing trouble.
The bartender brought me my drink.
Im off to the ladies, Brooklyn said. When my drink comes save it for me.
I turned my head to call after her. Will do.
I saw three different men follow Brooklyns progress as she walked to the lobby. It was always that way with her. I wasnt sure she even noticed anymore.
I think Nat really wants to see exotic dancers, Sophie said to me.
I refocused my attention on Sophie. No way.
Nat was the most straitlaced of the four of us. She was James, only in female form. She was literally a librarian.
I think she might be ready to burst out of that shell.
That would be entertaining, I said, thinking it really would.
Nats long-term boyfriend had split with her a few months back. I knew she hadnt dated anyone since. I also knew Henry had been hard on her self-esteem.
Sure, Nat wore glasses. But they were cute glasses, and she had the sweetest spray of freckles across her cheeks. Her brown hair might not be the most exotic of shades, and she wasnt glam like Brooklyn, but she had the most beautiful smile that lit up her pale blue eyes.
Shes chatting up a guy right now. Sophie inclined her head.
I turned to surreptitiously follow Sophies gaze.
Sure enough, Nat was at a corner table, head leaned in talking to a guy in a nicely cut suit jacket and an open-collared white shirt. He looked urbane attractive, but more fine-featured than appealed to me. But then I wasnt Nat.
Something banged above us.
I reflexively ducked as my adrenaline surged.
The room suddenly turned black, garnering audible gasps and a few high-pitched shrieks from the crowd.
It went quiet.
Whoa. I blinked to focus.
What was that? Sophie asked into the darkness.
Something broke.
It sure did.
My eyes adjusted, and I could see the candles now, little dots of light on the tables illuminating the faces closest to them. They reflected off the windows. Beyond, across the bay, I could see the lights of ships and sailboats in the distance.
Nothing but a power failure, folks. It was the bartenders hearty voice. It happens sometimes. Please sit tight and enjoy the ambience. Im sure the lights will come back on soon.
At least were not waiting on our drinks, Sophie said, lifting her glass to take another sip.
I wonder if Brooklyn will be able to find us. I looked around, but I couldnt see much of anything beyond the candlelight.
Hey, guys. Nat appeared and hopped up on the stool next to Sophie.
What happened to your man? Sophie asked.
When the lights went out, he squealed like a little girl.
Thats disappointing, I said.
Sometimes I wondered if there were any good men left in the world. I had a list of qualities. I mean, it wasnt a long list, mostly to do with integrity and temperament. But squealing like a little girl was definitely not on it.
So not the type to rescue you from a bear, Sophie said to Nat. She sounded disappointed.
There was laughter in Nats voice. Who needs rescuing from a bear?
I might go camping, Sophie said.
You? Nat asked.
Five-star restaurant manager, downtown high-rise-dwelling Sophie was definitely not the outdoor type.
Well, maybe you, Sophie said.
Nat had been known to spend time outsideat least in her rooftop garden.
Then thats definitely not my guy. Nat took a two-second gaze back over her shoulder.
I realized then, that after a mere five minutes Id wondered if Nats guy would be the guy. It could have been a really romantic storyNat meeting the love of her life while spending a girls weekend in San Francisco celebrating Brooklyns wedding.
We were all single. Well, Brooklyn wouldnt be single for long. But Sophie, Nat and me hadnt had a lot of luck meeting men.
Good guys were hard to find. I could list the flaws in each of my dates from the past six months: too loud, too nerdy, too intellectual, too moody.
I knew how it sounded. And I realized perfectly well what I was doing with that list. If I focused on the guys, I didnt have to explore the possibility that it was mewhich, of course, deep down, I knew it was.
Id love to live in denial. And I would if I could figure out a way that I didnt know denial was denial.
So far, I hadnt been able to make that work.
Wheres Brooklyn? Nat asked.
Ladies room, I said.
Sophie craned her neck to gaze across the dim room. She should be back by now. I hope shes not stuck in an elevator.
Im going to go look for her. I slid off my bar stool.
Youll get lost, too, Nat said. Or youll trip and break your ankle.
I remembered my black-and-gold sling-back stilettos. They were stylish, but not the most stable footwear in my closet. Nat made a good point.
Instead, I retrieved my phone from my purse and shot Brooklyn a text.
I climbed back up and took a sip of my drink.
We all stared at my phone for a few minutes, but Brooklyn didnt text back.
Stuck on an elevator, Nat said in conclusion.
Or in an ambulance, Sophie said. I bet she was rushing to get back to us in the dark, and it all went bad.
Dont even joke about that, I said. There are five hundred people coming to her wedding.
And its a long way up the aisle at St. Fideliss, Nat said. What if she broke her leg?
She didnt break her leg, I said and then realized I was tempting fate. I mean, I hope she didnt break her leg.
Brooklyn with a broken leg would be an unmitigated disaster.
It was thirty minutes before the lights came on. When they did, conversation around us spiked for a moment, and there was a smattering of applause.
The bartender went back to work, and the waitresses began circulating around the room. Brooklyn still hadnt returned from the ladies room, and I looked at the lobby entrance, trying to spot her.
There she is, Sophie said.
Where? I asked, disappointed in my powers of observation.
Left side of the lobby. Talking to a guy.
I leaned in for a better angle, but I still couldnt see her.
It looks like she got more support from random men than I did, Nat said.
Hes hot, Sophie said.
I got down from the bar stool so I could see more of the lobby.
Whoa, both Sophie and Nat said in unison.
What?
I saw a broad hand on Brooklyns shoulder, and I could almost feel the touch myself. The rest of the man was blocked from view by the lounge wall.
She smiled, and then the hand disappeared.
I surged forward, but whoever he was walked away too fast.
Seriously? Sophie said. The three of us are all single, and she ends up with him in the blackout?
Fate is cruel, Nat said.
What did he look like? I asked.
Hot, Sophie said.
Tall, Nat said.
Tall and hot, Sophie said.
Thanks for that specific detail, I said.
Brooklyn was coming toward us.
Who was that? Nat called to her.
Can I meet him? Sophie asked.
You dont get to call dibs, Nat said.
Dibs, Sophie said.
Brooklyn was smiling and shaking her head as she drew closer. Her cheeks were flushed, and there was an odd brightness to her eyes.
What happened? I asked.
The power went off, she said.
Did you get his name? Sophie asked.
Brooklyn shook her head. Cant help you with that.
He squeezed your shoulder, I said.
From my vantage point, the touch seemed intimate. That tanned, strong hand squeezing down on Brooklyns shoulder had sent a shiver up my own spine.
I tried to imagine how James would feel about someone touching Brooklyn that way. He wouldnt like it. Of that, I was sure.
He was saying goodbye, Brooklyn said.
Whats wrong with you? Sophie asked me.
Who squeezes a strange womans shoulder? I asked.
Who doesnt? Sophie returned.
Its not like he kissed me, Brooklyn said.
For some reason, her words didnt make me feel any better.
He can kiss me, Sophie said.
It suddenly occurred to me that Brooklyn might already know the man. That would explain the touch.
But if that was true, why wasnt she saying so? Was the guy an old boyfriend? Not that she could have an old boyfriend without me knowing. It was impossible.
Were going to be late for our dinner reservation, Nat said.
Was my drink ever served? Brooklyn asked.
I think it got lost in the excitement, Sophie said.
As if on cue, the bartender arrived. I think youll like this one. I call it an icy wave.
The drink was in a tall glass, blue green in color, with lots of crushed ice and a strawberry garnish.
Thank you, Brooklyn said to him.
He waited while she took a sip.
I waited impatiently to ask her another question.
Its good, she said.
The bartender beamed.
Before I could speak up, shaggy-neat-hair guy walked back into the lounge. The sight of him sent a jolt of electricity across my chest. I sucked in a breath.
He seemed to hear me, or maybe he just felt me staring, because he turned, and we locked gazes. This time there was no mistaking it.
His mouth crooked into a half smile. I couldnt tell if he was greeting me or mocking me. It could be that my lust was obvious to him even at this distance.
No, not lust, I told myself. Lust made my reaction sound salacious.
This was interest, no more, no less. And there was nothing wrong with being interested in a good-looking guy across the bar.
We have a reservation in the Moonside Room, Nat said, interrupting my musings.
I forced myself to break the gaze.
And I was absurdly proud of breaking off the look first this time. I found myself smiling in satisfaction. I had to resist the urge to check shaggy-neat-hair guys reaction to my shift in attention.