Just One Look Read online

  Just One Look

  Dara Girard

  Contents

  Just One Look

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Also Available

  About the Author

  Copyright Information

  Just One Look

  Dara Girard

  * * *

  * * *

  Published by ILORI PRESS BOOKS LLC

  www.iloripressbooks.com

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Author.

  * * *

  About the Book (Return of the Black Stockings Society #4)

  The look of love?

  Professional organizer Caryn chandler thinks her life is perfect.

  Until her new perm makes her hair fall out, she breaks up with her boyfriend and she bumps into Adrian Everett. The man she’d left standing at the altar eight years ago. When an invitation from the Black Stockings Society arrives promising her a second chance at love, she jumps at the chance to fix her biggest mistake.

  However, the now wealthy Adrian wants nothing to do with Caryn, until she turns up on his doorstep sporting a sexy pair of stockings.

  Can just one look really change everything?

  Chapter One

  “Did you follow the instructions?”

  “Of course I did,” Caryn Chandler said as her best friend, Terri Reed, cut away the remnants of her hair.

  “You probably used the wrong strength or left it in too long. This is not something you should do by yourself the night before an important event.”

  “I know that now,” Caryn said as she watched more of her hair fall to the ground. Not that there was much left after her home perm had turned into a disaster. She usually went to the hair salon, but, just once, she wanted to do it herself. She wanted to look good at her niece’s wedding the next day. And it had seemed so simple. Millions of women did it, why couldn’t she? She was great at following directions and she’d checked each step twice. They were clear and straight forward. How hard could it be?

  Obviously, harder than she thought because after applying the cream, waiting for it to take hold and straighten her hair, something went wrong. She still wasn’t sure what. All she knew was that when she went to wash the cream out, her hair shouldn’t have come out too. First there were just a few strands, then clumps, then handfuls. She’d screamed, wrapped her hair in a towel and called her friend who could barely understand her message.

  Moments later, Terri, a small woman with smooth tan skin, arrived on her doorstep looking tired, the warm Friday evening behind her. “What are you talking about?”

  Caryn took off her towel and showed her.

  Terri’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”

  “What should I do?”

  “There’s nothing you can do. We’ll have to cut it.”

  Which was how they ended up in Caryn’s bathroom trying to save what little hair Caryn had left on her head, her black, shoulder length hair now just a memory.

  “Your sister is going to flip when she sees you,” Terri said. “Maybe you should cancel.”

  “I can’t cancel. What excuse would I give?”

  “You can make up something.”

  “They’re expecting me.”

  Terri shook her head and sighed. “What came over you?” She glanced around the pristine baby blue bathroom where the towels were lined up with precision, the toothbrush and paste sat with military-like perfection in a ceramic white cup. “This experiment is so unlike you.”

  “I just wanted to try something different. Peter thought I should shake up my routine a bit.”

  Terri rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you listen to him. You’re fine just the way you are.”

  Caryn glanced at her watch. “I wonder when the stores open.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I have to buy a wig before Peter picks me up.”

  “You’re taking him to the wedding?” Terri said, her voice cracking in surprise.

  Caryn adjusted the blue towel around her shoulders. “Of course. He’s my boyfriend and it’s time he met my family.”

  “It’s time he met any of us,” Terri mumbled.

  “He has a busy schedule.”

  That had always been his excuse—no reason, he liked to correct her—because he traveled a lot for his business—media relations for a digital firm—and when he got home he had to recuperate and didn’t want to be around others. ‘I’m so glad you understand me,’ he always said with a smile. She also had to understand that because of his hectic schedule he tended to be forgetful. However, she’d reminded him three times about the upcoming wedding.

  “Did you get your suit?” she’d asked him last week when they’d returned to her townhouse from a concert in the park.

  “What suit?” he asked, pouring himself a glass of grape juice.

  “For my niece’s wedding,” Caryn said, grabbing a sponge and wiping up the drops of grape juice that hadn’t made it into the glass. “It’s black tie.”

  He sat at the kitchen table, propping his feet up on another chair. She bristled at the motion but was glad at least she’d gotten him to take his shoes off. He always seemed to be sprawling somehow, he was tall, attractive, in a comfortable way, with reddish brown skin and dreds. “You have a niece old enough to get married?” he said.

  “Yes, my sister’s husband’s daughter.” I’ve told you this before! she wanted to say, but didn’t. “She’s really a step-niece but that doesn’t matter.”

  He nodded. “Oh, yeah, right. Your sister’s the one who married the old guy with money.”

  At forty-seven her sister’s husband, Louis, wasn’t exactly over the hill, but he was ten years older than her sister Ella and fifteen years older than Peter and herself. He’d come with two daughters from his previous marriage, but Caryn saw no distinction. She enjoyed being an aunt. And her niece’s big day meant a lot to her. She wanted Peter to share the day with her. “So you’ll get it tomorrow?”

  “Get what?”

  Caryn took a deep breath. “The suit.”

  “Don’t worry I’ll get it. You can be so uptight sometimes,” he said, flashing a slow, sexy grin. “You need to learn to relax.”

  She did know how to relax, just not as much as he did. Most times he seemed as if he were sleep walking through life. His bedroom eyes and soft voice had initially attracted her. As a woman who was always alert, always scheduling things, he was a good contrast. He made her laugh. He helped her to slow down her pace, since she could be easily excitable, but at times his pace seemed glacial. It took four months before he agreed that they should be exclusive, six months before he let her see his place. Seven before he introduced her to a friend, the only one he seemed to have. A part time musician and full time bartender name “Muscle” (because he didn’t appear to have any), who joked that Caryn was too g
ood for Peter. Sometimes she wondered if he had really been joking.

  Peter got looks wherever he went. He had a laidback air—like a man lazing on a Caribbean beach, possibly high on something—that seemed to draw women to him. Many times at a restaurant he seemed to be looking past her, not at someone else, just in another space. ‘Lost in thought,’ he’d say. Or ‘I’m paid to think so I can’t help myself.’ And she learned not to mind. At least she tried to. She didn’t mind the faraway looks, the causal grins, the slow pace, the ‘don’t worry so much, babe’, but she hated when he forgot things. She had a drawer filled with wasted theater tickets and cancelled reservations and many memories of missed dinners and forgotten dates. And each time he’d smile and kiss her, tell her how sorry he was and buy her something or make it up to her in bed.

  But this time she didn’t want excuses or make up sex. She’d sent him text reminders. Put the wedding date on his digital calendar, so that he’d get an alert, and marked it on his favorite calendar in his bedroom, where a picture of a beautiful woman straddled a yellow Ferrari in a way that didn’t seem feasible. She’d not give him an excuse. She’d even shown him her dress two days ago.

  “You look good,” he said, admiring the spaghetti strap dark purple dress as he sat in her living room. “What’s the occasion?”

  She paused. “My niece’s wedding.”

  He snapped his fingers and nodded. “Oh yeah, right. The bride better watch out.”

  It was a corny joke, but she decided to let it pass. She knew she looked good, but not as good as a beaming twenty-two year old bride who wore a size two. “So are you ready?” she asked him.

  He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Ready for what?”

  “The wedding.”

  He frowned. “What wedding?”

  “The wedding we’re going to in three days.”

  He nodded again. “Oh yeah, that.”

  “Please tell me you got a suit.”

  He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t worry, babe.” He kissed her. “I’ll get to it.”

  She stiffened. “You shouldn’t wait until the last minute.”

  “It’s not the last minute.” He grinned. “You said I have three days.”

  “Maybe I should go with you today.” She pulled out her mobile phone. “We could—”

  “Sorry,” he said, placing a kiss on her shoulder. “I’ve got things I have to do.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll get the suit.” He kissed her other bare shoulder. “Relax.”

  His touch felt good, but his words made her nervous. How could she relax when he should have gotten his suit days ago? “And you’re supposed to pick me up. We can’t be late.”

  “We won’t be late. You know I don’t do things the way you do, you’ll just have to trust me.” He wrapped his arms tighter. “Don’t you trust me?”

  Only sometimes. “Yes.”

  “That’s my girl.” He released his hold and playfully slapped her on the bottom. “You need to loosen up a bit. If you’re not careful you can sound like a nag.”

  His words hurt. She didn’t think she was nagging him. She didn’t expect him to schedule every minute the way she did, or to get tasks done months before they were due, but she had hoped that he would at least understand how much this day meant to her. She wanted him to show a little interest in finally meeting her family and friends. But maybe that was unfair. Few things excited him. He wasn’t a man who showed a lot of emotion. He was even-keeled like an ocean at rest, unlike her ex, Adrian, who…no that was years ago and she didn’t want to think about him.

  Maybe that was why she’d messed up her perm. She’d been so eager to prove that she wasn’t a nag, that she could be as nonchalant as him, that she hadn’t followed the instructions perfectly. Sometimes his lackadaisical mood made her wonder if they truly were a good match. But she believed she learned a lot from him and vice versa.

  “I don’t think we’ll have enough time to get you a good wig,” Terri said, setting the scissors down.

  “I saw a place with plenty.”

  “It’s not that simple. You don’t just go in and pick something off of a mannequin head. You want good quality and to be fitted.”

  “You’re right. I don’t have time for that. I just need something that will pass.”

  Early the next morning, Caryn went shopping and found a slick, light brown wig with bangs, back home she changed into her dress and waited for Peter in her living room, imaging what he’d look like in his suit.

  And waited, wondering if she should have chosen to give the new couple a different gift.

  And waited, hoping that Peter hadn’t forgotten the time he was supposed to pick her up.

  And waited until she was certain that he had.

  She called him. When he didn’t picked up. She texted him.

  Where are you?

  Seconds later he replied, Why?

  The wedding!

  Sh** was that today?

  She gripped the phone, imaging it was his neck, and shook it. You idiot! She took a deep breath before she called him. This time he picked up. “You know it was today!” she said before he could speak.

  “Right. Sorry. Things got a little crazy and—”

  She paced. “Crazy? You don’t know crazy. I’m going crazy right now.”

  “I didn’t mean—”

  She stopped in front of a window, staring up at the cloudless spring sky. “You were supposed take me.”

  “I’ll shower and change and grab something to wear.”

  “You can’t just grab something, you were supposed to rent a suit!”

  “Listen, babe. It’s no big deal. I’ll just—”

  She watched a sparrow land on a thin branch of a dogwood tree, causing white petals to fall on the lawn and in the road. “It is a big deal.”

  “Do you want me to meet your family or not?”

  A car sped down the street, smashing the petals into the ground. “Yes, but—”

  “Then you have to take me as I am. We’ll be a little late, but—”

  “Forget it.” Caryn hung up, blinking back tears of anger. She turned off the ringer when the phone rang. She didn’t want to talk to him. She should have gotten the suit for him. She should have had it hanging on his closet door with notes about when to put it on, when to pick her up. But the truth was, he’d disappointed her for the last time.

  She wiped her tears and reapplied her makeup then grabbed her purse and keys and got in her car. She wouldn’t let him ruin her mood. It was the perfect day for a wedding.

  Just as she started the ignition, she got a call from her sister.

  The special ringtone she’d given her sister always made her smile. “Don’t worry,” she said once she answered. “I’ll be right there—”

  “I’m not calling about that. I need your help.”

  “Why?”

  “The wedding planner double booked the reception hall.”

  Chapter Two

  Two hours.

  She was supposed to make a miracle happen—create a stress free, beautiful wedding reception to accommodate one hundred guests—in two hours.

  Caryn met briefly with the wedding planner, a friend of her niece’s who looked ready to burst into tears, and the hotel manager where the reception was to be held. She discovered that while the large meeting room was no longer available, a small meeting room which opened into a small alcove, with a private fenced in garden area with awnings would work as a backup. The hotel manager promised to provide the tables, chairs and basic covering, in addition to two portable bars that could be used on either side of the venue. He also agreed to call in several wait staff to help, and suggested a buffet-style set up instead of a sit down.

  Caryn also met with the chef, who assured her that the food would not be a problem. He could accommodate her, for a price, which she was willing to pay. The main areas she needed to focus on were the decorations and entertainment. Fortunately, because he
r niece had relied so heavily on the wedding planner, and had not taken any notice of what had been planned for the reception, Caryn knew that whatever she came up with would work, as long as it was a success.

  She glanced at the clock seeing the minutes clicking down to when everything had to be ready. She called a neighbor of hers, who had two teenage sons, basketball players. Her offer of fifty dollars for one hour of work was enough temptation and resulted in her getting the services of five strapping young men to help with the decorations. She recruited Terri to help her by going to a nearby craft store and getting a supply of satin ribbon, crepe paper and an assortment of glass bowls. Caryn called a local florist and begged them to deliver whatever fresh flowers they had available. They surprised her with two large bouquets of cream colored roses which she placed on either side of the doorway, and an assortment of flowers, for use as centerpieces.

  Since she planned on a buffet-style setting, she didn’t have to worry about name plates and seating arrangements, except for the main table to host the bride and groom and their parents. Caryn used the satin ribbon to make a creative design for the head table, twining the ribbon over the table and around the legs. She created small flower baskets bursting with white lilies, callas, and poms surrounded by lush green using the small centerpieces the florist sent and the extra ribbon to hang them along the awning, creating a festive atmosphere.

  By the time the guests arrived, lights sparkled along the bushes and walls enclosing the area, crepe paper in pastel colors, were shaped and formed to look like large billowing petals, creating an elegant backdrop where the buffet stood. The two portable bars were used for the refreshments and a cupcake station, where guests could pick up a piece of the wedding cake, and add a topping, if they wanted, before having the item wrapped in plastic if they opted to take a piece home, instead of eating it there.

  Since there was really no room for dancing, Caryn called in a favor from a friend who was a member of a steel pan group, who agreed to provide the music.