Perfect on Paper (34 page)

Most of the auction winners were straight off the rack at Nerds R Us, but they were really nice people, and who could knock their enthusiasm? And the few celebrities in the group were actually pretty cool, too. At first things were a little tense, but once everyone had squirted a few tubes of social lubricant down their throats, one and all had a good time. We danced up a storm with everybody in sight, and I wished my camera had fit into my elf-size purse.

After the party ended, the three of us headed out to a small jazz club in Greenwich Village. We made our way through the crowd and sat down in the back. “Okay, ladies, what’s the drink of choice?” Andie said. “Lemon drops? Kamikazes? Jägermeister?”

“Jägermeister?” I said. “That stuff is still around? Have you ever noticed that you can taste that stuff days later when you burp?”

“That’s gross,” McKenna said.

“Yes, yes it is,” I said. “And that’s why I’ll be ordering a vodka tonic.”

“And a lemon drop to go with it,” Andie said. “You’re not getting off that easy, birthday girl.”

“All right, fine.” I hated shots, but hell, it was my birthday. Okay, it was after midnight and thus no longer technically my birthday, but whatever.

The next morning we didn’t wake up until after eleven, and it wasn’t pretty when we did. I called room service and ordered three plates of scrambled eggs with cheese, two orders of curly fries, three large bottles of lemon-lime Gatorade, a bottle of aspirin, and three Diet Cokes. Nothing was going to make our suffering go away completely, but I was pulling out all the stops to try.

When the food arrived, I tipped the bellman and rolled the huge tray into Andie and McKenna’s bedroom. They were still facedown on their beds.

“Rise and shine, honey buns, time to get a move on,” I said.

“I gave at the office,” Andie said.

McKenna groaned and sat up with her arms crossed over her face. “Aspirin, I need aspirin.”

At noon we finally made it down to the luxury spa on the second floor, all three of us wearing dark sunglasses, shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops. I gave the receptionist my name, and she smiled and looked down at the schedule in front of her. “Welcome to the Plaza Spa, Miss Bryson. It looks like we’ll be treating you and your guests to a steam sauna, a Swedish massage, and a European cleansing facial. Then we’ll serve you a light lunch in our sun room, followed by a deluxe manicure and a paraffin wax pedicure. You’ll finish off with a tray of chocolates and coffee, all compliments of
People
magazine, with birthday greetings from Tracy Leiderman.”

Andie and I took off our sunglasses and looked at each other.

“I could get used to this life,” I said.

She nodded. “Hell yes, you could.”

The receptionist walked us back to the changing room, where thick robes and slippers were waiting. I looked around. Vases of fresh flowers were on nearly every flat surface.

She handed us each a steaming tea cup with tiny green flowers painted on it. “Your aestheticians will be by for you shortly. Feel free to relax in the recliner couches in the lounge area while you’re waiting,” she said.

I took a sip. “Okay, thank you so much.” I hadn’t even started my treatments, and I already felt like a princess. As she walked away, I lowered my voice and leaned toward Andie and McKenna. “It’s amazing how a spa visit can make you feel so special, as if the people you’re paying to saw the calluses off your feet really want to be there, ya know?”

“Totally,” Andie said.

Hours later, we floated out of the spa feeling like new women. A thousand dollars worth of pampering can do wonders for a hangover. We had been rubbed and scrubbed, manicured and pedicured, oiled and spoiled, then fed and fed some more. We graciously thanked the staff and headed back upstairs.

I opened the door to our suite and walked into the master bedroom. “All right, I’m finally ready to get dressed and take on the day,” I said.

“You mean ready to get dressed and take on the afternoon,” McKenna said. “It’s four o’clock.”

I plopped down on the bed. “Four o’clock already? Good lord. Way to waste an entire day. We barely have any time left for shopping!”

Andie sat down next to me. “Are you kidding? You think spending four hours at a fancy spa,
for free
, is a waste?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Look at me, already taking this princess thing for granted.” I pulled my cell phone out of my backpack and was about to stick it into my shoulder bag when I saw that I had a new voicemail.

“Hi, Waverly, it’s Kristina. Happy birthday! How was the party last night? I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier, but I’ve been slammed at the hospital. Shane and I are both free tonight though, so we were wondering if you’d like to get together for dinner. Give me a call when you get this message, okay? Bye.”

“Darn it,” I said. I’d called Kristina a few days earlier to let her know I was going to be in town.

“What’s the problem?” McKenna said.

“That was Kristina. She and Shane invited us to dinner tonight, but I can’t go. Why did I tell Tracy I would give up my one Saturday night in New York?”

“Because you’re a good person, that’s why,” McKenna said.

I groaned and put my head between my knees. “You’re right, you’re right. But still, frick, frick, and more frick.”

“Huge bummer though,” McKenna said. “Hunter would totally flip if I had dinner with Shane Kennedy.”

I stood up and put my hands on my hips. “Okay … let’s get going, missy and missy, or we’re going to missy out on what little remains of this beautiful day. I’ll call Kristina from the road.”

We headed out into the crisp October sun and decided to walk around the neighborhood a bit. In our drunken stupor the night before we’d seen some boutiques we wanted to check out.

We made it about two blocks before detouring into the very first coffee place we saw. On the way outside I called Kristina and held the phone up to my ear, then looked at the huge latte in my other hand. “Have you ever noticed that you’re like a tractor beam for hungover people?” I said to the cup.

“Hey, Waverly, how’s it going?” she said.

“Hi, Kristina. It’s going great. How are you?”

“I’m good, just curious about this crazy singles auction you mentioned in your message the other day. Was it fun? And are you free for a birthday dinner tonight? Shane would like to see you, too.”

I bit my lip. “I wish I could, but apparently the guy who bid on me couldn’t stick around for the party last night, so now
I’m
stuck having dinner with him tonight. Can you do lunch or dinner tomorrow instead?” It all sounded so ridiculous.

“Hmm … we’ve got plans tomorrow,” she said. “What time is your date? Maybe we could meet you for a drink before? Where are you staying?”

“He’s picking me up at seven thirty, so that might work. We’re staying at the Plaza. Would meeting there for a drink around six thirty work for you?”

“Let me check with Shane. Hold on a sec.”

I looked at my watch. It was already nearly four thirty.

Kristina came back on the line. “Okay, that works. We’ll meet you in the Oak Room bar at the Plaza at six thirty. Sound good?”

“Perfect, see you then.”

I closed my phone and turned to McKenna and Andie. “Did you catch that?”

“Six thirty,” McKenna said.

“At the hotel,” Andie said.

I nodded. “Yep, but I guess that sort of squashes our shopping spree,” I said.

“No biggie. We have all day tomorrow, and I’m too lazy to try on clothes right now anyway,” Andie said.

“How about we head up to Central Park and lie in the sun for a bit before getting you ready for your big date?” McKenna said.

“That sounds absolutely perfect,” I said. “Let’s go.”

An hour and a half later, we were back in our suite. I was in a towel with wet hair, on my knees, and rummaging through my suitcase to find something suitable to wear. I’d brought only one fancy dress with me, which I’d already worn, and everything else I had was either business casual for the following week’s press interviews or super casual for lounging around and shopping. I had inexplicably forgotten to pack a cute outfit for what was supposed to be my big Saturday night out with McKenna and Andie. What was wrong with me?

Tracy had said my date would be picking me up in a limousine, so I figured the appropriate attire required a little more effort than jeans and flip-flops. Plus they were going to take our picture for the next week’s issue of
People.
Oops.

“I have nothing to wear! N-A-D-A!” I yelled from the bedroom.

McKenna and Andie were sprawled out on the couch in the living room watching a DVD of
Save the Last Dance
and eating Pringles from the minibar.

“Sorry, can’t help you and your shrimpy body!” McKenna yelled.

“Sorry, can’t help you and your Amazon body!” Andie yelled.

We were definitely the Three Bears, which totally sucked, because they both had really cute clothes that would never fit me.

After several failed combinations, I finally walked into the living room wearing a pair of lightweight black capri pants, a red sleeveless button-down cotton shirt, and a pair of black flats with those miniature socks that make it look like you’re not wearing socks. I had my hair down and wore a thick black headband.

“How about this?” I said.

Andie paused the movie and looked up at me. “You look like Skipper, Barbie’s younger sister.”

I frowned. “You suck.”

“You asked.” She laughed and turned back to the TV.

I walked back into the bedroom and stripped, throwing the pants and top into the growing pile of clothes on the floor next to my suitcase. I looked over at the clock on the nightstand. It was six fifteen, and I was still in my underwear. Crap. What was I going to wear?

Then I remembered a cute little cotton tank top I’d stuffed with my lingerie into the upper lining of my suitcase. I ran over and pulled it out. It was simple and black, with thin spaghetti straps and a built-in bra. Definitely dress-up-able. Then I headed back over to the pile of discarded clothes and began to dig. I thought I had a skirt in there somewhere that might work … where was it … c’mon, honey … throw me a bone here … bingo!

I pulled out the dark pink skirt with a thick black stripe around the hem. It was an A-frame cut and fell a couple inches above the knee. I had passed it over before because I couldn’t find anything to go with it, but this black tank might do the trick. I put them both on and stood in front of the mirror.
Not bad.
Then I dug through my shoes and found a pair of black open-toed slides with two-inch heels. I slipped them on and looked in the mirror again.
Not bad at all.
All I needed now was some jewelry. I ran into the other bathroom and rummaged through McKenna’s jewelry sack. She practically never wore jewelry, but she had some beautiful stuff. I found a thin silver chain with a tiny round diamond pendant. I slipped it around my neck and then put on my own diamond stud earrings. I looked at the full-length mirror.
Yes!
It was wrinkled, but it was definitely a cute outfit.

I walked back into the living room and held my arms out to the side. “Okay, Joan and Melissa, is this better?”

Andie paused the movie again and looked up.

“Well done. Good girl!” She sat up and clapped.

“You look great,” McKenna said.

“Thank you, thank you very much.” I curtsied, then stripped. “Hey, Mackie, I borrowed your diamond necklace. And can one of you please run an iron over these while I fix my hair and makeup? Thanks loves, you’re peaches.” I threw the skirt and tank top at them and ran back into the bedroom.

At six forty we headed downstairs to meet Shane and Kristina. Hunter had begged McKenna to call him and then keep her phone on so he could listen in. She had told him the wedding was off.

The bar was pretty empty, so we spotted them right away. Kristina stood up and trotted over to greet us. “Hey there, it’s great to see you!” She gave me a hug. Her shiny black hair was pulled back into a low bun.

“Hi, Kristina, it’s great to see you, too. These are my friends McKenna and Andie from San Francisco.”

“Ahhh, the famous Mackie and Andie. It’s great to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about both of you.” She moved behind us and gave us each a gentle shove in the back. “Okay, ladies, let’s get a move on and go meet my husband. The clock is ticking before Waverly’s big date.” We headed over to where Shane was sitting.

He stood up when we reached the bar. “Hi, Waverly, how’s it going?” He leaned down to give me a hug.

I hugged him back on my tiptoes. “Hi, Shane. It’s great to see you. Were you always this tall?”

“Yep, it must be you. Are you standing in a hole?” Then he leaned down and whispered in my ear. “So have you found any more grey hairs?”

“Watch it, Mr. Kennedy,” I whispered back. Then I playfully pushed him away and introduced him to McKenna and Andie.

“Can I get you ladies a drink?” Shane said.

I saw that he and Kristina each had a glass of white wine in front of them. I looked at my watch. It was barely six forty-five. Hmm.

“What the hell? I’ll have a glass of merlot,” I said.

McKenna looked at me and laughed. “Think
that
will help with your hangover?”

I held out my hand. “I’m sorry, have we met? I’m Waverly Bryson.”