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Naomi nodded and looked down at the half-eaten food on her plate. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she liked Jen. She could see why Scott liked her, too, although she wished more than anything that it was different.
“I know about keeping the mind busy,” she said, thinking that a job as big as Jen’s would normally keep her completely distracted from all of her woes, if it wasn’t Jen’s house she was working on. She knew that because it was Jen’s home, she was going to be constantly reminded of Scott, and she knew that that was going to be a terrible burden on her, but it was one that she was going to have to take and face because she had a business to save, and three jobs there for herself, Malaika, and Keisha, and it all depended on her getting the money to buy the building. Redecorating Jennifer Jones’ house was the only way that it was going to happen.
Jennifer leaned closer to Naomi as if to confide in her. “Well, I’ll be honest with you, part of the reason I’m trying to keep myself so busy is because I’m trying to get over a guy, and that’s never easy to do. I’ve found in the past that the best way to do it is to be so preoccupied with something fun and good, that I don’t have time to think of the guy, or of the past, and I do really want everything here redone, but part of it is to distract myself from him.”
Naomi looked at her in surprise. Jennifer had told her right at the beginning that she was over at Scott’s house just the night before, and it was all Naomi could do to block from her thoughts the unbidden images of the two of them having an intimate evening together. Hearing her say that she was trying to get over a guy was the last thing that Naomi had expected to come out of her mouth.
Jen saw her surprised look, and explained a little more. “Well, you see, he really wasn’t the best guy for me. I fell right in love with him, and I shouldn’t have; I mean… he was into so much bad stuff. He was doing drugs, but I didn’t know that when I started dating him. I didn’t find out until way later. Actually… I’ll tell you the truth, I felt so stupid about it; I found out from the media.
The newspapers and magazines broke a story on him and his drug problem and even a criminal record I knew nothing about. I love David; I still do, but I had to let him go when all of that happened. I miss him so much. We were great together, but his life was so screwed up that he couldn’t stay with me. Plus, he was arrested and put into jail, so I couldn’t really have a boyfriend in jail, you know. Talk about bad press.” She rolled her eyes and her shoulders slumped slightly.
With a shake of her head, Naomi tried to wrap her mind around everything that she was hearing Jen tell her. “David?” she asked quietly, as she tried to puzzle it out.
Jen nodded. “Yeah. It’s really lonely without him, but I didn’t see him much on the road while I was touring anyway. He was always flying back and forth to meet me, and then when all the drug stories were published, I just broke up with him. I couldn’t take it anymore. It’s just a little lonely now. Or a lot, I guess. Still, the redecorating will keep him off of my mind, and I’ll be able to focus on that and the music project for the children with cancer, and that will help so much.”
Naomi cleared her throat softly and looked at Jen with a lowered brow. “I thought that… that you were seeing Scott Thompson. Isn’t he your…” she trailed off. She couldn’t make herself say it. It made her sick to even ask, but she didn’t understand what losing David had to do with Jen being with Scott, unless she was using Scott to get over David.
Jen’s face twisted for a moment and then she laughed. “Oh god no! Scott and I are just friends. I know that the media always makes it out to look like we’re dating, but there isn’t anything going on between him and me. We’ve always been just friends. I like him a lot; heck, I love him, but not that way. No chance. He’s really not my type.
See… we went to a party together as a friend couple, and the papers got wind of it and snapped some photos that made it look like we were together, so instead of arguing with them, we just let them print whatever they want, and we never corrected them. There’s not really a point in trying to correct them; they’re going to do what sells the most papers and magazines, and having us as a hot celebrity couple seems to sell a lot of papers, so we just ignore it. We did decide that we’re the perfect friend couple for events and awards ceremonies and stuff like that, so we go together to those kind of things, but we’re not really a couple. That would be too weird… like, kissing my brother. Ugh.” She made another face and shook her head, making her big blonde curls shiver around her face.
Naomi could barely breathe, or think, or move. She swallowed hard as she realized that Scott had told her the truth, and that she had mistakenly been horrible to him and left him, thinking he had cheated on her with Jennifer Jones, when it was never the case.
She remembered him trying to tell her the exact same story, and she knew then that he had been telling her the truth, and she had shunned him for it. She hadn’t thought that she could feel worse about everything that had happened with him, but as she sat there, it was clear that she hadn’t yet felt as bad as she could.
“Are you okay? You don’t look so good,” Jen asked, giving her a closer look.
She nodded. “Yes, Jen, I’m good. It’s just been a big day, and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Oh! Well gosh, why didn’t you say so? Here I’ve kept you all of this time, and I probably should have let you go. Anyway, just email me about the rest of the details on the house, and start as soon as you can. I really want to dive into this, and I can’t wait to work with you. Scott’s place is a dream, and I love it, so I know I’m going to love the work you do here, too!” She finished her wine.
“If you’d like to eat the rest of lunch, please do, don’t feel rushed to go, but if you need to leave, then I totally understand, and I don’t want you to worry about it. You can come back as soon as you’re ready.” She smiled and reached over to pat Naomi on the hand. Naomi gave her a genuine smile for the first time then, and squeezed her fingers gently in return.
“Thank you. I appreciate that! I’m sure I can get started on this tomorrow,” Naomi told her as she stood up. Jen stood up beside her and walked her to the front door of the house, giving her a big hug before she opened the door for Naomi to leave.
“Thank you so much! I can’t wait to work with you!” she called out as Naomi got into her car and waved goodbye. It had been a far more amazing morning than she had ever imagined it could be. When she got to the end of the driveway, just before the guard’s house, she pulled over and parked her car, reaching for her cell phone. She had to talk to Scott. She had to tell him that she had been wrong about everything, and she knew as she sat there texting him, that she had to tell him that he was going to be a father.
She was surprised that he texted her back right away. He told her that he was glad to hear from her, that he missed her, and that he definitely wanted to see her. Gratitude washed through her and over her, and she felt more relief and happiness in her than she had in a long while.
Things were beginning to brighten for her. She had a job with a kindhearted and generous woman, one that would enable her to keep her business. She had been wrong about Scott cheating on her and having an affair with that woman, and she was going to tell him that they were going to be parents. Things seemed to be lightening up, and she could feel it all throughout her body.
It was a faster drive down through the hills to get to Scott’s house from Jen’s than it was to get to his house from her office. She was there in less than fifteen minutes. She parked at the front of his house and went to the door, ringing the bell. She still had the key to get in for her decorating work, but she didn’t want to walk right in while he was home.
Her heart was in her throat as she waited to speak to him, and when he opened the door and looked at her, she could see that he was anxious to see her, but he was slightly guarded, and she could not blame him for that. She had been very harsh with him the last couple of times that they had spoken to each other.
He was elated to see her, standing there in his doorway in a stylish soft yellow summer dress that brought out the golden tones in her dark brown skin. She looked beautiful, as she always did to him, and he wanted to take her into his arms right away, but he knew that things were too tense between them for him to act on his impulses. He smiled at her warmly and invited her in, and she smiled back and walked with him to the living room.
“It’s so good to see you…” he said quietly, wondering what it was that had brought her there to him, and simultaneously not even really caring what the real reason was. He held his arms open to her, hoping she would let him embrace her, and to his great joy, she walked straight into his arms and hugged him in return, holding herself close to him as they stood together.
At long last, she let him go, taking a step back from him
and looking up at him. “First, I want to thank you for recommending me to Jennifer Jones.”
He looked at her in surprise. He was certain that Naomi had hated her for what she had thought was the affair Scott was having with her. “Jen?”
“Yes,” Naomi continued. “She called me today and asked me to go over to her house. She wants me to decorate it. I’ll admit, I only knew her first name when I went over there, and if I had known who it was that I was going to see, I probably wouldn’t have gone at all, and that would have been a huge mistake on my part. She’s a really wonderful lady.”
Scott blinked in total surprise. “Wonderful… yes… she’s pretty wonderful.” He grew silent as he watched Naomi, wondering where she was going with everything she was saying to him. He couldn’t have been more surprised by what she had already said.
