“You know, you didn’t have to drive us all the way out here to see the stars,” I said. “Every time I kiss you, I see stars.”
“Oh, Nick.” She sighed. “I feel the same way.”
We were both silent, as if processing the truth that whatever was between us was something special. It occurred to me that it needed to be handled with extra care. I wasn’t sure I was up to the task, given my history of short unemotional hookups, but I knew that for Annabelle I wanted to try.
“Hey, Nick,” she whispered. “Have you made a wish yet?”
“No, have you?”
“I’ve made a dozen,” she laughed. “Your turn.”
I glanced up and sure enough, in a matter of seconds, a skinny blaze of light shot across the sky. I closed my eyes. I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be normal again, I wanted my body to stop giving out on me, I wanted to be who I used to be . . . my thoughts stopped right there.
Would the old me have let Annabelle drag him out of his house and drive him out into the desert to look at shooting stars? Nope. The old me would have been busy making deals, working angles, getting what I wanted when I wanted it with a piece of arm candy hanging on me that was as much a testament to my success as the Rolex I wore or the sports car I drove. It hit me then, like a closed fist to the temple, that I didn’t want to be that guy anymore.
Instead, I found myself wishing for something wholly unexpected. I wished that I could be a better man for Annabelle, for Lexi, and most important, for myself.
“Well?” she asked. “Did you make a wish?”
“I’m working on it,” I said. I glanced at her, catching sight of her profile, the slender nose, full lips, and stubborn chin, barely visible in the dark, and yet still so lovely.
“Is astronomy a hobby of yours?” I asked. It wouldn’t have surprised me if it was. In fact, I was getting to the point where I expected nothing but surprises from Annabelle.
“No, but I follow NASA on their social media, and I love the pictures they share of deep space,” she said. “Looking at star clusters, galaxies, nebulas, and supernovas makes everything down here seem, I don’t know, overwrought and ridiculous, like pesky coworkers or rude salesclerks—”
“Or overbearing landlords,” I added. She laughed, which had been my intention, and it made my chest thrum with pleasure.
“Yes, well, I don’t really know any overbearing landlords,” she said. I snorted and she laughed some more. “All of that”—she gestured up at the sky—“it makes me feel like I’m just a teeny tiny speck of cosmic dust and that all of the things I worry about are even less than that, you know what I mean?”
“It doesn’t make you anxious, being so tiny in this enormous universe surrounding us?” I asked. “It doesn’t make you feel insignificant?”
“No.” She shook her head. I saw her smile again. “It makes me feel relieved, like no matter how badly I screw up—and boy, have I—it’s okay. When I look out into the vast universe, I realize that a lot of stuff is really not that big of a deal.”
“You’re breaking my brain, Goddess,” I said. I was trying to keep it light, but in all honesty, she was challenging me in ways I hadn’t expected.
She laughed again. “Sorry, my dad’s a mathematician so my sister and I were frequently encouraged to go big in our thinking.”
“Well, you don’t get much bigger than this,” I said. I opened the flask of whiskey and took a big sip. I handed it to Annabelle, who did the same. It fought off the chill, and as its heat coursed through me, I settled back into my seat, pulled my fleecy blanket around me, and stared up at the sky.
Annabelle handed the flask back to me, but I didn’t drink any more. I didn’t want anything to take the edge off this time with her. As I watched the falling stars—I didn’t care if it was technically a meteor shower—I made wish after wish, and they all began and ended with her.
Annabelle
21
“Thank you all for making Lexi Brewer’s project a priority,” I said. “I know it’s a tight turnaround, but I’m confident we can do amazing things. We’re Vasquez Squared.”
Christian, ever the competitor, let out a roar and raised his fist in the air. This was greeted by laughs from the rest of the staff.
I was standing in front of the whiteboard in the meeting room at the office. I glanced around the big table and smiled at my coworkers. Their enthusiasm for Lexi’s project was off the charts, and I was genuinely excited to see what they all came up with.
Because there was so much to be done, we’d broken everyone into teams. So Christian, a graphic designer, and Shanna, a copywriter, would prioritize working on the materials for the gala, while Booker and Luz took on the overall branding of the housing development with their team of designers. Carson and I would oversee the execution of the deliverables in our capacities as art director and creative director. Sophie and Miguel as chief creative officers and owners of the studio would act in an advisory capacity as needed.
I handed out the creative brief as well as packets of information to the teams that explained what Lexi’s project was all about. As a net-zero housing development, the goal was to create a self-sustaining community that required little to no support from the utility companies for power or the city for waste management or water. Lexi was utilizing fascinating technologies in her structures like gray-water harvesting for irrigation and toilet flushing, and green roofs for insulation and temperature management. She even planned to use electrochromic glass, which tinted as needed like sunglasses. Composting both food waste and human waste were to be incorporated as well. I saw Luz make a face when she read about that, and I had to hide my laugh.
“If there are no more questions—” I began but Carson interrupted me, because of course he did.
“I have one,” he said.
I felt the entire room watching me. I pasted a smile on my face and said, “Sure, what is it?”
“How did you meet Lexi Brewer?” he asked. He was reclining in his seat in a casual pose, but I could see the tension in him as he fidgeted with his pen, twirling it between his fingers.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.
“I just find it interesting that you’re brand new to Phoenix, don’t know a soul, and yet here you are, bringing in a huge new client with quite the generous budget.” He paused to tap his pen on the proposed budget for our work for Lexi, the budget Nick had signed off on under her name, and then back up at me. He was smiling but it left me cold.
I supposed I should have expected this. My bringing in a huge client threatened all of Carson’s plans to oust me. He was going to do anything he could to undermine me, including questioning the Golden Goose I’d brought to the table.