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Two hundred and twenty dollars later, Miranda sashayed out of City Central Plaza and breathed a sigh of relief. The TrimTummy briefs combined with the Lose Weight Fast Detox Kit should do the trick!Money well spent. Except for the twenty-dollar t-shirt – aka – support-brief-hiding-top, and the vanilla scented candle she couldn’t resist. She would start managing her money better from tomorrow.
With half an hour until her shift, Miranda grabbed a fruit smoothie for lunch (sandwiches were a no-no for the next few days), and wandered into her favourite bookshop. She always chuckled on observing the customers with their heads tilted to one side, eyeing the spines of books. She headed straight for the health and fitness section and tilted her head to match.
I must get around to reading that. ‘The No Fail Plan for Permanent Weight Loss’ caught her eye, a book she’d bought a few months ago that still sat unread on her bedside table underneath ‘Dress for your Body Type’ and ‘Six Weeks to a New You’. Miranda’s fingers traced the spine of a book about the keto diet for health, when a book in the self-improvement section nearby diverted her gaze: ‘Finders Keepers – Attracting your Ideal Man’.Her heart fluttering, she glanced left and right to confirm no one was looking, and picked up the book. The red and gold cover screamed passion andromance, and the picture of two hands lovingly intertwined reminded her of what she longed for. According to the back cover blurb there were seven steps that would supposedly lead her to her soulmate.Seven steps, huh? That sounds doable.
That familiar urge, that possessed sensation Miranda often got while shopping, carried her towards the shop counter. To hide the book, she grabbed the book about keto diets on the way. Maybe it was a bit desperate to buy a book on finding a man, but the clock was ticking and there was no time to waste. Besides, Liz said they had to do something new.This could be it.Wow, not even twenty-four hours since the first meeting and she’d already done her homework.Gold star for me!
Miranda tapped her card to pay and slid it back into her purse.
‘Would you like a paper bag?’ the shop assistant asked.
‘No thanks, I’ll put them in this one.’ Miranda shoved the books into the biodegradable bag she’d had to buy from Target for fifteen cents because she’d forgotten to bring her fabric one. She could add it to her overflowing bag collection at home that was probably worth enough to buy dinner with. As she turned away from the counter, the weight of the bag lessened as it gave way, the contents falling on the floor in front of the line of people behind her.Damn!She shouldn’t have bought the heavy candle. Everyone stared for what seemed like a whole five minutes at her little self-improvement collection: a detox kit, beige support briefs, and a book on how to find a man – what a desperate combination! In an attempt to avoid an embarrassing ‘Miranda Moment’ at the wedding, she’d inadvertently created another. Warmth flushed her cheeks as she bent downto pick up her items.
‘I’ll get you that bag now.’ The shop assistant grinned.
A man from the line came over to help. ‘Thanks,’ Miranda whispered, keeping her head low.
‘Don’t forget this,’ the man said, handing her the keto diet book that had landed further away.
She looked up at her Good Samaritan and the temperature of her face increased a few degrees.Whoa! Hallelujah, there is a God. The most beautiful blue eyes met hers, and a cheeky smile stretched into his tanned cheeks. ‘Um, thanks.’ She smiled awkwardly, then turned and dashed from the shop into the comfort of the anonymous crowd outside, barely noticing that she’d knocked over a book on the way out.
Why do these things always happen to me?
Miranda walked on with shoulders back and chin raised, trying to force an air of confidence in her stride. She arrived at the hotel to start her shift at reception, then stopped, her jaw dropping.
Oh. My. God.
Knowing there was no easy way to do it, she took a deep breath and stepped through the golden rimmed doors, a blast of cool air doing nothing for the heat climbing up the back of her neck.
‘Miranda, I’d like you to meet our new concierge,’ said Pedro, her friend and colleague of three years.
‘Miranda! Good to see you again.’ The concierge grinned.
Good, my arse.‘Hi. David,’ Miranda spoke through gritted teeth, her fingers automatically clenching into a fist. She knew all too well who the new concierge was. David Oaks. The one who charmed his way into her life only to charm his way into her friend’s bedroom.
THREE
“Think of life as a terminal illness, because, if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived.”
~ Anna Quindlen, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, 2000
It was four months after the wedding when Gina Longwood realised she’d married the wrong man. They’d been driving home after dinner with her family when an awful argument had erupted. She didn’t remember all the details, only the sickening feeling in her stomach that she had probably made the worst decision of her life. He’d said something about her cooking not being as good as her mother’s, and had not-so-kindly suggested she take lessons. That in itself wasn’t so bad, it was the realisation that he expected her to follow in her mother’s – andhismother’s – footsteps: Become a good little housewife and take care of her husband’s every need.Gina had watched the dilution of her mother’s identity in the deluge of cooking, cleaning, and caring. That life wasn’t for her. Definitely not. She needed a career and purpose outside the home for her own fulfilment – and sanity. She’d wanted a husband to becomepartof her life, notbecomeher life.
But five years on, she was stillwith Marvin. After all, shehadpromised the whole ‘till death do us part’ thing.‘A Giovanni never breaks a promise,’her mother, Marlina, always said. And he wasn’t the world’s worst husband, she was grateful to be with an intelligent man who had a secure job, liked the same television shows, and … well, it was nice to have someone to come home to at night.
Gina tried to shut out the thoughts telling her to leave him, but they were making themselves known more and more lately. Sometimes they were sudden and random; like those annoying pop-up windows on websites that urged you to take action of some kind, but instead of saying ‘subscribe now!’ or ‘we recommend you update your anti-virus software’, they said ‘unsubscribe now!’ and ‘we recommend you update your husband’. Other thoughts found their way into her mind more subtly; like when she found herself comparing her husband to the new rug she bought for the living room, which ‘just didn’t feel right’ once she brought it home. Like her husband, she’d kept the rug anyway.
Now, having committed to The Life Makeover Club, despite almost backing out of her decision to join, she knew there’d have to be changes in her life. Whether those changes would affect her marriage she wasn’t sure, but the tide was turning and something had to give. She was both excited and terrified of what may lie ahead.
Gina pushed open the door of the M2M Marketing offices and walked out into the hall, tryingalso to push aside her confusion so she could simply enjoy a refreshing lunch break and come back to work renewed. She checked her voicemail – a message from her mother wanting to organise Gina’s thirty-seventh birthday party – then turned her phone to silent for some peace and quiet. She’d call her mother tonight during her allocated ‘home administration’ time slot, when she’d make calls, send emails, pay bills, and other such things.
Sliding her sunglasses on as she exited the office building on Clarence Street, Gina walked around the block to the corner of York Street where a stunningly attractive man in blue surgical scrubs stopped her in her tracks.
‘On your lunch break?’ he asked, and without waiting for a reply he shoved a book into her hand. ‘Here’s some reading to get you through the day, with our compliments.’
Despite his pleasing appearance a twinge of annoyance stiffened her shoulders and she adjusted her shirt collar. She didn’t like to be interrupted during the limited time she had for lunch, and could choose her own reading material thank you very much.
The stethoscope around the man’s neck glinted in the sunlight and his mouth eased into a smile you’d never tire of seeing. Gina diverted her gaze to his knapsack, emblazoned with the Harlequin Mills & Boon logo, then to the book in her hand. ‘Bedside Manner’ was the title, with a picture of a hunky doctor leaning over a female nurse on a bed.
